ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -More than a dozen surgeries have been performed on Washington Redskins players since the end of last season. Some have had more than one. They’ve ranged from minor procedures for routine wear and tear to major joint reconstruction.
It’s not an unusual tally, football being as rough as it is. Sometimes the players themselves aren’t sure which of their teammates are healthy enough to attend a workout.
“You would drive yourself crazy if you tried to keep up with everybody,” said defensive end Renaldo Wynn, whose right elbow went under the knife in January.
The players will get a full sense of who’s ready and who’s still laboring in discomfort Friday when the Redskins begin their three-day mandatory minicamp. The minicamp follows weeks of voluntary practices and will be the last time the players are on the field together before the start of training camp in late July.
“I plan on taking part this weekend and letting it all hang out,” said safety Pierson Prioleau, who is working his way back from a torn right ACL. “I’m excited about being out there again with my guys and teammates and coaches and feeling like I can hold up my end of the deal.”
Prioleau got a head start on his rehabilitation – he was hurt on the opening kickoff of the opening regular season game last year. Since then, the list of Redskins who have had surgeries includes quarterback Mark Brunell (left shoulder), running back Clinton Portis (shoulder), defensive end Phillip Daniels (both ankles and one wrist), left tackle Chris Samuels (left knee), linebacker Rocky McIntosh (right knee), safety Vernon Fox (pectoralis muscle), tight end Todd Yoder (left knee), Marcus Washington (left hip and left elbow) and guard Randy Thomas (knee).
There have been others in the training room getting treatment for injuries that didn’t require surgery. Receiver Santana Moss strained a groin during one of the voluntary practices, and Portis’ recovery from the shoulder injury was slowed when he came down with tendinitis in one of his knees.
Late Thursday, the Redskins gave a status list for minicamp. Portis, Moss and Thomas are the only projected starters who are not expected to participate this weekend, while Daniels and Wynn are expected to take part on a limited basis. Two players trying to make the team – defensive end Justin Hickman (knee) and receiver Danny Melendez (hamstring) – are also out.
“You form an unusual bond with the guys that you rehab with all the time,” Prioleau said. “It’s a kind of bond that you never would like to form together – as the ‘Hurt Guys’ – but we use each other to push each other along.”
Asked to come up with a better name for the group than “Hurt Guys,” Prioleau said he hopes it’s a temporary group that doesn’t need a better name.
“Hopefully,” he said, “that group doesn’t exist in a couple of weeks.”
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