Shanahan not concerned by OL injuries - yet
The Redskins are expected to take the field for Thursday's preseason opener at Buffalo minus three starters along the offensive line, but offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said he's not concerned about those injuries at this point in training camp.
"It's part of camp. Yeah, we have three starters who aren't practicing right now. I'm hoping we'll get them back by Week 1, if not before," Shanahan said Wednesday. "It does help your overall depth, and you hope those starters come back healthy and don't miss a beat."
Right tackle Jammal Brown remains the biggest concern as he deals with a hip injury. Shanahan said the positives are that Brown didn't need surgery and backup Tyler Polumbus has played well.
Left guard Kory Lichtensteiger is expected to miss the entire preseason following arthroscopic knee surgery and right guard Chris Chester isn't expected to play against Buffalo due to a sprained ankle.
"The starters don't play a ton anyway," Shanahan said of the first preseason game. "They start to play more and more each week, so it becomes more of a factor each week.
"You hope by New Orleans (in the regular-season opener) that those guys are ready to go."
Among the starters who won't see a lot of action Thursday is quarterback Robert Griffin III. Shanahan said he wants the rookie to go out and have some fun in his limited snaps, and learn from seeing a different defense.
The goal is to keep RGIII progressing each day and getting more comfortable in a pro-style offense.
"Each day is a learning experience for him," Shanahan said. "Each day when he does struggle with something, he's very focused on not really trying to brush that aside and skip that. He really wants that again the next day so he can get that rep and get better at it."
RGIII has maintained a smile throughout training camp, but he's under a heavy microscope as the anointed starter.
"No a lot of rookie quarterbacks play right away, and we know he's going to. We know it's going to be tough, so we try to put him in these tough situations to get him prepared," Shanahan said. "The good thing about Robert is you know he's capable of doing it all, and he enjoys the challenge."
Another key to RGIII's success will be his supporting cast. Roy Helu and Evan Royster are competing for the feature role in the backfield, and Tim Hightower can insert himself into the mix as he continues to recover from last year's knee surgery.
"Nothing is set in stone, but that's what the preseason is for," Shanahan said. "Hopefully one of those guys will make our decision easy."
Washington brought in a slew of new receivers over the offseason. But one of the surprises early in training camp has been the emergence of Brandon Banks, who is competing for the top backup job to free agent addition Pierre Garcon.
"I love Banks," Shanahan said. "He gets the ball in his hands on special teams and makes a lot of plays. The few times we've gotten the ball to him on offense he's made some plays too.
"Banks is really trying to show us how consistent he can be. Being an everyday receiver instead of just a gadget guy. I'm excited about him."
