Mike Shanahan Talks To Reporters For First Time Since Senior Bowl

Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan this morning spoke to reporters for the first time since the Senior Bowl. Redskins beat writer for the Washington Times Rich Campbell is at the NFL owners meetings in Florida, and has been tweeting out some of the highlights.

We had a few injury updates to start with:

Shanahan: Hankerson should be ready by June 1. #Redskins

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan: Cooley (knee) is having a good offseason. #Redskins

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan: Jammal Brown has regularly been at Redskins Park this offseason. Yoga classes have helped him break up scar tissue in right hip.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

So in general, good news on the injury front. Leonard Hankerson is making good progress, Ken's best friend Chris Cooley is looking good, while Jammal Brown has been working on his troublesome hip all offseason.

More after the jump.

Shanahan also touched on the topic of Peyton Manning.

Shanahan: Trading for the No. 2 pick AND signing Peyton Manning "was definitely a possibility." Confirms they met with Manning.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan believes the Redskins were legit contenders for Manning because they met with him for so long.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan confirmed he and Kyle met with Peyton for five hours at Shanahan's Denver home. They watched film.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan doesn't believe the Redskins' trade for the No. 2 pick affected Manning's decision not to choose Washington.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

It appears then, that there was indeed an interest from the Redskins in Manning despite having traded for the second overall pick. Could you imagine if we had landed Manning, and the Colts went with Griffin? Luck would have ended up behind Manning, but in DC! Still, it's very interesting to hear that they were willing to make a play for Manning after the trade for the Rams second overall pick, especially given that Robert Griffin is the presumed selection at that pick. Manning and Griffin are two very different quarterbacks, so would have been interesting to see how the offense would have changed for each guy.

We finally then got onto the topic of free agency and the cap penalty.

Shanahan would not comment on how salary cap penalty is affecting offseason plans. #Redskins

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan on the cap penalty: "We found out an hour before" the start of free agency. #Redskins

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

Shanahan on Eddie Royal getting away: "You've got to make some tough decisions relative to the cap."

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

I find that last quote interesting. Despite not commenting directly on how the cap is affecting their offseason plans, he did say that Eddie Royal couldn't be brought in because of the cap. Now that could just be that Royal was asking for too much for his value, but could also be a slight hint at the cap penalty being felt at Redskins park.

Here's a couple of quick hitters to end on:

On Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan.

Shanahan: Redskins targeted WRs Garcon and Morgan knowing "we might have to overpay."

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

On London Fletcher.

Shanahan is praising London Fletcher's value. Says negotiations are ongoing. Wouldn't say how big the dropoff to Plan B is. I'll say it: big

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

On the location of raining camp.

Shanahan: Training camp probably will be held at #Redskins Park in Ashburn.

— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) March 28, 2012

It's good to hear from Shanahan again after the Redskins went silent for a while. Definitely some interesting quotes to digest there. If you are on Twitter, make sure to go give Rich Campbell a follow (click here). I suspect all of you are already. If you aren't, then shame on you!