The 5 O'Clock Club: Recap of injuries, PUP list, suspensions & players MIA prior to opening day

The 5 o’clock club aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.

Phil Taylor - NT

Defensive tackle Phil Taylor‘s return to action this summer set him up to be one of the year’s best comeback stories, but it looks like that will have to wait until at least 2018.

John Keim of ESPN.com reports that the quad injury Taylor suffered in the Redskins’ preseason game with the Bengals will keep him out for the entire season. Jay Gruden said on Sunday that Taylor would have an MRI on Monday and the results of that test delivered the bad news.

A 2011 first-round pick in Cleveland, Taylor’s first few years showed a good deal of promise but he missed 11 games in 2014 and then all of the last two seasons because of knee injuries. He impressed at Redskins camp this summer, raising hopes that he could pick up where he left off that have apparently been dashed.

A.J. Francis and Joey Mbu are the next two players up on the depth chart at nose tackle in Washington, although they could also shuffle Ziggy Hood inside as they make a plan for life without Taylor.

It appears as if -- following Taylor’s injury — the Redskins are going to enter the season, once again, without a true nose tackle, having cut both Mbu and Francis following the final preseason game.

Keith Marshall - RB

late April:

While Marshall would remain sidelined for his entire rookie season, the University of Georgia product attacked his rehab with the hope of potentially being take off Injured Reserve. Veteran center Kory Lichtensteiger was ultimately the Redskins player selected to return from Injured Reserve, but Marshall continued to get his body ready for a second NFL season.

“It was unfortunate, it is not what you dream of, but at the same time it is what it is and I kind of have to deal with it the best way possible,” Marshall said. “I definitely feel better because I got the whole year off on IR to heal up and take care of my body. Going from college football to the training process for the Combine last year, you really don’t get a break but I had a little break this year. I feel good, I feel healthy, ready to go and feel like I am in good shape.”

late July:

Redskins’ second-year running back Keith Marshall tore the patella tendon in his right knee during Saturday’s practice and will miss the entire season, two people with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

It’s a tough break for the 2016 seventh-round pick, who missed all of his rookie season with an elbow injury.

Marshall also suffered season-ending injuries twice during his career at Georgia, including a torn ACL in 2013. He recovered and in 2016 clocked a 4.31-second, 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, the fastest time that year.

Trent Murphy - OLB

March 2017 - Suspension

linebacker Trent Murphy was suspended four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.

That’s some bad news for Washington considering Murphy finally cashed in on his potential in 2016 after two disappointing years in the league. A second-round pick out of Stanford, Murphy registered just six total sacks in his first two seasons.

But in 2016, Murphy submitted a nine-sack season. He finished the year as Pro Football Focus’ seventh-most productive pass rusher among all 3-4 outside linebackers, accumulating 55 total pressures (sacks, hurries, and hits) on 372 pass-rushing snaps.

August 2017 - injury

The Redskins have reportedly lost OLB Trent Murphy for the season with a torn ACL. Murphy was injured in last night’s preseason loss to the Ravens when a Baltimore player rolled up on his leg. Murphy was already set to miss the first 4 games of the year due to a suspension for a PEDs violation. Now the Redskins will look to replace a player who had 9 sacks, 47 tackles, and 3 forced fumbles last season. Murphy is on the last year of his rookie contract with the Redskins.

Note: Murphy will serve his suspension while he is on IR; he will be eligible to play again when he is back to full health.

Deangelo Hall - DB

September 2016 - injury

Is DeAngelo Hall at the end of the line?

The Redskins cornerback turned safety suffered a torn ACL against the Giants on Sunday. That will end his 2016 season. This is the second time in three seasons that Hall has suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3. In 2014 he suffered a torn Achilles in Philadelphia. In between, in 2015, he had a toe injury that sidelined him for five games.

June 2017 - pay cut

DeAngelo Hall is back for a 14th season, but he won’t be making as much money as his contract originally called for him to get in 2017.

Hall told reporters at the Redskins facility on Wednesday that he agreed to a pay cut recently. Hall was set to make a base salary of $4.25 million and count just under $5.1 million against the salary cap in the final year of his deal. He didn’t share the details of the new arrangement. [Ed. note: OverTheCap has this note, “Hall agreed to waive the $1.25M 2015 guarantee out of his contract in February” and lists Hall with a 2017 base salary of $2.3m and a cap hit of $3.11m]

Hall moved from cornerback to safety during the 2015 season, but he didn’t get too much time at the new spot last season because a torn ACL in the third week sent him to season-ending injured reserve.

The Redskins placed DHall on the PUP list over the weekend.

1 September 2017 - another restructure

Redskins have restructured DeAngelo Hall's salary again. Was $2.2 million. Now $1.1 million fully guaranteed. Plus some incentives.

DHall begins the 2017 season on the PUP list.

Kevin Bowen - OT - early June

The injury reportedly occurred during...practice. Bowen was blocking on a play when he apparently tweaked his ankle and fell to the turf, obviously in considerable pain. The event sent the practice bubble into silence, and many players came to his side. He was carted off the field, but according to ESPN’s John Keim, the injury is not as severe as it appeared to be.

Bowen was signed as an undrafted free agent out of East Central University in 2016. He made it to preseason last year, but he was injured in the first preseason game and promptly placed on injured reserve.

He had been splitting first team reps at left tackle with Vinston Painter, due to the absences of Trent Williams and Ty Nsekhe thus far. At 6-foot-9, Bowen is a mammoth tackle and a sight to behold. As long as the injury isn’t serious, the Redskins should give him a chance to get back into the swing of things.

Bowen is on IR. Although the gargantuan offensive lineman was no lock to make the roster, he’s been a regular at voluntary workouts, and if he continues to put the work in, he could pick up a bigger role as a backup. But first, he’ll have to get healthy.

Josh Doctson - WR - 6 August 2017

At practice on Sunday, Doctson left with a hamstring injury. CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Tandler was at the practice, and described the scene as such.

Doctson left practice and went onto a table in the trainer’s tent just off of the practice field. He stayed there until practice ended and then he slowly walked to the locker room, declining requests for comment.

While this may not initially seem like a big deal, and it could just be a minor issue, the Redskins should be concern. Doctson is an important part of the Redskins future and they need him to be the No. 2 receiver for this team. If he cannot stay healthy, that will make it very hard for the Redskins offense to function as well as they did in 2016.

Jay Gruden made a coach’s decision to hold Doctson out of the Bengals game, saying afterward that Doc would have played if it had been regular season. He was also held out of the Tampa Bay game, though Gruden said in a pre-game press conference that Josh wanted to play.

Based on comments from Jay Gruden, Josh Doctson appears to be healthy enough to play against the Eagles on Sunday. Many fans are skeptical about his health, and will believe it when they see it.

Su’a Cravens - SS - 15 August 2017

The Redskins originally thought it was a hyperextension or meniscus injury and gave a 2-3 week timeline for return. Jay Gruden also said there was no structural damage, but they had to wait for the swelling to go down. Schefter reports that Cravens will be ready for Week 1 of the regular season on September 10 at FedEx Field when the Redskins host the Philadelphia Eagles. That will be a month for Cravens to rehab the knee following surgery.

The loss of practice time before the season opener, if he is ready by then, will be an a setback in his development. The Redskins continue to try to solve their safety problem and will have players like newcomer D.J. Swearinger and Deshazor Everett ready to go if Cravens can't go next month.

3 September 2017

Su'a Cravens told some Redskins on Saturday he plans to retire, but a meeting with team officials has changed his mind for now, per sources.

Cravens wasn't at Redskins practice this morning. This isn't first time he's considered retirement

The 22-year-old Su'a Cravens, who was nursing a knee injury, now expected to miss start of season as Washington helps him address issues

Skins placing Cravens on non-football exempt list. He'll be gone a month, at least.

4 September 2017

Despite reports suggesting that Washington safety Su'a Cravens was talked out of retiring, the team’s official roster move regarding Cravens suggests he’s closer to walking away than staying.

Per a league source, Cravens is on the exempt/left squad list. If he doesn’t return within five days of receiving notice from the team regarding the consequences of not returning, he’ll be placed on the reserve/left squad list and done for the year.

Although Washington has not yet closed the door on Cravens, initiation of the exempt/left squad procedure forces a player’s hand. And if the player doesn’t come back, the player won’t be playing at all this year.

In the immediate term, it looks like this story will be resolved one way or another this week, but I suspect this one will be written about and discussed for a long time to come.

Spencer Long - OL - 22 August 2017

Jason La Canfora reports that Redskins center Spencer Long had a minor knee scope and is expected to return in two weeks. Long will miss the final two preseason games, and should be ready to play week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Redskins will turn to their 6th round rookie Chase Roullier to start in his place on Sunday when they host the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Redskins traded for some depth at center in late August, so the team seems to be hedging its bets on whether Long will be able to answer the bell by opening day. Right now, it looks as though Chase Roullier will be the starter when the Redskins take the field against the Eagles on Sunday.

Kendal Thompson - WR - August 2017

Last season, Kendal Thompson made it onto the Washington Redskins practice squad. Now, he is no longer a member of the team.

One of the surprise standouts from the 2016 Washington Redskins preseason was Kendal Thompson. The former collegiate quarterback from Utah and Oklahoma had come into the season needing some development at the position. However, he impressed in limited action and was a candidate for a spot on the 53-man roster.

The highlight of Thompson’s Redskins career was an 18-yard touchdown catch that he made in the team’s preseason win over the New York Jets. Thompson made the grab with just one hand, and it excited Redskins fans and the coaching staff alike. That play, coupled with his solid play in other aspects of the game, allowed Thompson to secure a spot on the practice squad.

Unfortunately, Thompson dealt with a leg injury throughout the offseason, and it landed him on the PUP list in training camp. He never was able to come off the list, and strong performance from other receivers limited the options the Redskins had with Thompson.

On Friday the Redskins released Thompson from the IR after paying him an injury settlement.

Kyshoen Jarrett - January 2017

One year ago Tuesday, Redskins rookie safety Kyshoen Jarrett was helped off the field at AT&T Stadium after a helmet-to-helmet collision with running back Darren McFadden during Washington’s meaningless regular season finale against the Cowboys.

Jarrett, an unheralded sixth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech who developed into a versatile contributor and a fan-favorite on defense for the Redskins during his first season, had suffered nerve damage in his neck and right shoulder. He saw a variety of specialists during the offseason, but was never cleared to return to the field and was waived by the Redskins in July.