ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins entered Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys struggling with injuries. The situation is even worse now.
Down three offensive linemen, including Pro Bowlers Trent Williams and Brandon Scherff, the Redskins watched their one truly healthy lineman, left guard Shawn Lauvao, leave the game against the Cowboys with a stinger.
Right tackle Morgan Moses played despite two sprained ankles. Third-string left tackle T.J. Clemmings now has a sprained ankle of his own.
Has Washington head coach Jay Gruden seen anything like this rash of injuries?
"No, I really can't say I have," Gruden said. "You try to prepare for that with your depth in training camp and obviously your practice-squad guys, you try to get them ready. But when you get overwhelmed on the offensive line and now at tight end and safety ... it becomes a challenge."
Washington has 12 offensive linemen on its 53-man roster -- a number that is usually eight, sometimes nine, but almost never reaches 10. Williams (right knee) needs surgery at some point, though he will attempt to practice this week. Scherff (sprained MCL, left knee) will do the same.
Top reserve tackle Ty Nsekhe, who filled in so well for Williams during a four-game suspension last year, will increase his workload this week after core muscle surgery last month, but there's no guarantee he'll be ready by Sunday.
Lauvao "could miss some time," according to Gruden. Starting center Spencer Long (knee/quadriceps) remains listed as week-to-week and won't play against the Seahawks, either. Rookie Chase Roullier started in his place on Sunday. Rookie Tyler Catalina, an undrafted free agent, started at right guard for Scherff.
And it isn't only the offensive line. Tight end Jordan Reed (hamstring) is hurt again. He previously dealt with a toe injury and a chest contusion. Gruden confessed Reed was unlikely to play against Seattle. And tight end Niles Paul is in the concussion protocol.
At safety, rookies Montae Nicholson (AC joint aggravation/stinger) and Stefan McClure (hamstring) could miss some time, Gruden said. There are only two other safeties (D.J. Swearinger, Deshazor Everett) on the 53-man roster. Fish Smithson is on the practice squad and veteran DeAngelo Hall is working to prove he's healthy enough to return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
Meanwhile, defensive end Jonathan Allen (Lisfranc sprain), kicker Dustin Hopkins (hip flexor strain) and inside linebacker Mason Foster (torn labrum) are already on injured reserve. And now defensive end Matt Ioannidis needs surgery for a broken hand sustained in the Dallas loss. Ioannidis won't be placed on IR yet in the hopes he can return soon. He is third on the Redskins in sacks (3.5).
"The issue is we've got 13 guys that are questionable and we only have seven guys that we can put inactive," Gruden said. "That's the major issue that we have right now. We have to try to get six of those guys up -- at least. Somehow."
NOTES, QUOTES
--The Redskins will continue to rotate inside linebackers Will Compton, a two-year starter before this season, and third-year pro Martrell Spaight. Those two are replacing Mason Foster, who was placed on injured reserve on Friday with a torn labrum in his shoulder.
Foster expressed his frustration with the move on his personal Twitter account Friday night with almost all of his anger directed at Redskins management and not teammates or the coaching staff. Spaight played 38 snaps on Sunday against Dallas and Compton had 29.
--Washington has had success with three-tight end sets in recent weeks, but injuries to Jordan Reed and Niles Paul made that impossible against Dallas on Sunday.
Vernon Davis was the only other active tight end. Rookie Jeremy Sprinkle is also on the 53-man roster and will likely play for Reed in Seattle on Sunday. Given the struggles of Washington's wide receivers, Gruden is losing players who have helped keep the offense afloat.
"(Losing Reed) impacts it. You have to figure out what personnel packages you're going to feature and go from there," Gruden said. "Hopefully we will get good news on Niles and then we have (Jeremy) Sprinkle ready to go -- and obviously Vernon (Davis) is the ageless one who has done a nice job of staying healthy."
NOTES: WR Jamison Crowder tied a career high with nine receptions in Sunday's loss to Dallas and set a career high with 123 receiving yards. But Crowder came out of that game with a hamstring injury and a lower-leg contusion so his status for Sunday's game at Seattle is in doubt. ... WR Terrelle Pryor had just one target on Sunday in a loss to Dallas and no catches. It was his worst game since the first time the converted quarterback played full time at receiver in the NFL on Dec. 20, 2015 against San Francisco (no targets, no catches). ... RB Chris Thompson has 442 receiving yards, the third-most for a running back through seven games since 1999. ... QB Kirk Cousins has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 37 games since the start of the 2015 season, which ties for most in the NFL during that stretch. ... CB Josh Norman recovered a fumble in Sunday's loss to Dallas. He has four fumble recoveries in two seasons with the Redskins.
REPORT CARD VS. COWBOYS
--PASSING OFFENSE: C -- Almost have to grade this one on a curve for QB Kirk Cousins, who was missing three starters on the offensive line -- two of them Pro Bowlers -- and lost left guard Shawn Lauvao during the game. He was sacked four times. Conditions were also miserable with a steady rain all game. Cousins still managed to complete 26 of 39 passes for 263 yards and a touchdown. But for whatever reason he's still not connecting with wide receivers Terrelle Pryor and Josh Doctson, who had one catch on four targets combined. That's not good enough. Tight end Jordan Reed (one catch, 5 yards) wasn't a factor, either, and left with a hamstring injury. Wide receiver Jamison Crowder (nine receptions, 123 yards) had his best game of the year.
--RUSHING OFFENSE: D -- The offensive-line injuries had to play a role here, too, but the Redskins haven't been able to run the ball even when healthy. They managed just 49 yards on 15 carries (3.3 yards per carry). In poor weather conditions, that put way too much stress on the passing game. It's not like Dallas had a big lead and Washington was forced to throw the ball, either.
--PASS DEFENSE: B -- Cornerback Josh Norman (broken rib) returned, which was good. But the late scratch of opposite corner Bashaud Breeland (hamstring) hurt. It wasn't a passing kind of day with the rain, and Dallas was doing just fine with running back Ezekiel Elliott on the ground. But the Redskins held quarterback Dak Prescott to 14 completions and 143 yards. They also sacked him twice and didn't allow a touchdown through the air.
--RUSH DEFENSE: D -- Elliott did whatever he wanted with 150 rushing yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns. Prescott added a 10-yard run, but it was all about Elliott, who averaged 4.5 yards per carry.
--SPECIAL TEAMS: D -- The biggest play of the game came against the special teams unit. Kicker Nick Rose had his 36-yard field-goal attempt blocked and returned 86 yards to set up a short touchdown run by Elliott. Instead of leading 16-7, the Redskins trailed 14-13. That overshadowed anything else on special teams. Rose made his other two field-goal tries, but also missed an extra point that would have cut Dallas' lead to 26-20. Punter Tress Way had a nice evening with one punt downed inside the 10 and a 63-yard punt nullified by an illegal touching penalty. The return units did nothing of note.
--COACHING: B -- Hard to fault the coaching staff too much for a 33-19 loss that was a seven-point game with 54 seconds to go. Given their injuries on the offensive line and the mounting injuries on defense, it's impressive the Redskins kept it close at all with so many backups and fringe roster players. The run defense has been solid most of the season, but is starting to slip thanks to injuries and was exposed by Elliott.
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