I hate preseason.
Add starting Defensive End Phillip Daniels to the list of impaired Redskins. The good news is that Daniels appears to have only suffered a minor back sprain and is expected back within a week or two.
The bad news is that he will join starters Shawn Springs and Clinton Portis in the ranks of injured starters. I'm still holding out hope that Portis is ready for the season opener (at the very least our September 17th game at Dallas, which I will be attending). I'm less confident about Springs' chances, as is the coaching staff who went out and aquired defensive backs Mike Rumph and Julian Battle.
Battle is a former Kansas City DB picked up on free agency. Rumph, who has been plagued by injuries for the past two years, was aquired in a trade with San Fransisco for perennial underachiever Taylor Jacobs. Neither defensive back has impressed much in their NFL careers although they will both likely benefit from time under defensive guru Gregg Williams.
Regarding the trade, it has been categorized as "trash for trash" meaning that neither team aquired much from it. This is certainly true for San Fransisco, since Jacobs has done essentially nothing since the Skins drafted him in 2003. With the amount of depth at WR right now, there was little if any chance that Jacobs would make the roster, meaning the 49ers traded for a player they could've otherwise secured in free agency. Apparently the same is true for Rumpf in San Fransisco, so perhaps the trade works well for both teams. We can afford the depth at CB but not at WR, and vice versa for San Fran. I view trading away a player you were going to cut as a no-lose situation, though. Just me.