The NFL has suspended 25-year old TE Fred Davis and 23-year old LT Trent Williams, ending their seasons.  These are huge blows to the Redskins’ offense.  Davis has played in 12 games for the Redskins this year and he has caught 59 passes for 796 yards (13.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 55 games in his first four years with the Redskins and he has caught 131 passes for 1,648 yards (12.6 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Davis was the Redskins’ best receiver this year, so he won’t be able to be replaced.  23-year old LT Trent Williams played in 10 games (all starts) this year for the Redskins.  He has now played in 24 games (23 starts) in his first two years with the Redskins.  They both violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

The Redskins have lost 22-year old rookie WR Leonard Hankerson for the rest of the year due to a hip injury.  Hankerson played in 4 games for the Redskins this year and he caught 13 passes for 163 yards (12.5 avg).  But, Hankerson really stepped up against the Dolphins last weekend when he caught 8 passes for 106 yards (13.3 avg).  This is a big loss to the Redskins as they have been losing WRs left and right due to injury.

The Redskins have claimed 26-year old RB Tashard Choice off waivers from the Cowboys.  Choice played in 6 games for the Cowboys this year and he carried the ball 26 times for 75 yards (2.7 ypc).  He also caught 11 passes for 71 yards (6.5 avg) so far this year.  Choice has now played in 54 games in his first four years (all with the rival Cowboys) in the NFL and he has carried the ball 250 times for 1,139 yards (4.6 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Choice has also caught 64 passes for 497 yards (7.8 avg) so far in his career.  I like this move for the Redskins as Choice is as good or better than any back they have on the roster right now.

UPDATE:  (11/22/2011) – The Redskins have waived Tashard Choice.  Choice played in 1 game for the Redskins this year and he carried the ball 6 times for 7 yards (1.2 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 2 yards.

The Washington Redskins will be without WR Santana Moss for the next 5-7 weeks due to a fractured left hand.  Moss has played in all six games for the Redskins so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 301 yards (12.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jabar Gaffney and Anthony Armstrong will be the starting WRs until Moss returns to action and the Redskins need them to step up.  Gaffney has caught 23 passes for 361 yards (15.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year and Armstong has caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.

The Redskins have re-signed 28-year old LB Rocky McIntosh.  McIntosh played in 15 games for the Redskins last year and he had 110 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 passes defensed.  He has now played in 77 games in his first 5 years with the Redskins and he has 406 tackles, 7 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, 8 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 17 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  The Redskins were smart to bring back McIntosh as he is a tackling machine.

The Redskins have re-signed 28-year old safety Reed Doughty to a 3-year deal.  Doughty played in 15 games for the Redskins last year and he had 93 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles.  He has now played in 60 games in his first five years with the Redskins and he has 269 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 8 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Doughty doesn’t make a lot of big plays in the passing game but he does make a lot of tackles.  There wasn’t much left in the free agent market at safety, so it was smart to bring back Doughty.

The Redskins have re-signed 30-year old QB Rex Grossman to a 1-year deal.  Grossman played in 4 games (3 starts) for the Redskins last year and he completed 74 of 133 passes (55.6%) for 884 yards with 7 TD passes and 4 INTs (81.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 6 yards (2.0 ypc) for the Skins last year.  Grossman has now played in 41 games (34 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has completed 598 of 1,104 passes (54.2%) for 7,081 yards with 40 TD passes and 40 INTs (70.9 QB Rating).  Grossman also has carried the ball 61 times for 95 yards (1.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his NFL career.  Grossman will compete with John Beck and Kellen Clemens for the starting QB job in 2011.  Grossman has the most experience and he has led a team to the Super Bowl (with the Bears), so I think he has the early edge despite the fact that Coach Shanahan seems to like John Beck a little bit.  Grossman is 20-14 (58.8%) as a starting QB in the NFL, so he is a winner despite some shortcomings as a player.

The NFL has suspended 30-year old CB Phillip Buchanon for the first four games of the 2011 season for violating a league policy.  Buchanon played in all 16 games for the Redskins last year and he had 49 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble  recovery, 18 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This is going to hurt the Redskins a bit as Buchanon played really well for them last year.  But make no mistake, no matter which policy he violated….. this is Buchanon’s fault.

The Redskins have re-signed 30-year old OT Jammal Brown to a 5-year deal.  Brown played in 15 games (14 starts) in his first season with the Redskins in 2010.  He has now played in 73 games (72 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  This signing will make whoever starts at QB for the Redskins a happy man as Brown is a pretty solid offensive lineman.

The Redskins have acquired 25-year old RB Tim Hightower from the Cardinals for 35-year old DE Vonnie Holliday and a conditional late round draft pick.  Hightower played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he carried the ball 153 times for 736 yards (4.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 21 passes for 136 yards (6.5 avg) last year for the Cardinals.  Hightower has now played in 48 games (36 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 439 times for 1,733 yards (3.9 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  He has also caught 118 passes for 801 yards (6.8 avg) in his NFL career.  Despite only being 25-years old, Hightower has the most playing experience of any RB on the Redskins’ roster.  He could very well win the starting job at RB for the Redskins with a solid training camp.  Hightower is a good runner and he will likely be a solid fit in the Redskins’ scheme as far as the running game goes.

35-year old DE Vonnie Holliday played in 15 games in his only season with the Redskins and he had 29 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and he defensed 3 passes.  The Redskins won’t miss Holliday in 2011 as he is running on fumes. 

This was a great trade for the Redskins as Hightower still has a nice upside if he can cure his fumbling problem.  The Redskins certainly didn’t give up too much to take a shot on Hightower.