Jay Gruden Redskins Presser: Donald Penn has to learn the offense, it'll probably take him 30 seconds

Jay Gruden answered questions before the start of Day 6 of training camp practices this morning. He confirmed the signings of LT Donald Penn and G Hugh Thornton. He also confirmed that OL Tyler Catalina had been waived. The team also announced they were waiving center Casey Dunn with an injury designation.

Donald Penn:

Penn going from UDFA to Pro Bowler:

"That happens to a lot of guys. There’s a lot of guys that are undrafted that made it. Not many, but he’s one of them. I remember at Tampa Bay, we stole him off of Minnesota’s practice squad. He came in and played pretty well for us for quite a number of years. He’s just a guy who is solid in technique, he played a couple games last year and they tried to move him to right tackle, probably was not ready for that so much. [He’s] more of a left tackle I think. He is just a good, solid veteran to have.”

Hugh Thornton:

Tyler Catalina:

Bryce Love:

Jordan Brailford:

Adding a veteran OLB:

"Not right now. I feel really good about the outside backers, really. I think Ryan Anderson, [Ryan] Kerrigan, Montez Sweat, and Cassanova [McKinzy] – those four guys are doing a great job. Marcus Smith has had a good camp. He’s probably going to be down today he’s got a little bit of a groin, or a hamstring, one of the two. Obviously [Jordan] Brailford showed a lot of promise in OTA’s. I think it’s a solid group.”

Marcus Smith:

Trey Quinn:

“Yeah, we’ll have to wait and see if someone else can emerge as a return guy, whether it’s [Jimmy] Moreland or we like [Greg] Stroman back there, he did some good things. So we have a couple other options we could look at. But, you know, at the end of the day, if he’s our best returner then he’ll be our return guy. If he’s our best inside slot player, he’ll be our inside slot player. We still have a long way to go before we announce any starters or anything like that, but he’s doing a fine job.”

Jon Bostic:

“It’s been great, it’s been great. Jon, I didn’t really know Jon from Adam, I didn’t really know a lot about him. But him coming in here and taking over as far as – he’s a great communicator, great communicator, knows the defense, you hear him calling out things pre-snap, loud, confidently knowing what to do, that goes a long way. Communication is one of the most important things you can have on defense other than talent. You’ve got to be able to communicate with all the things going on, with formation and personnel groups and he’s been a great surprise for us. Shaun Dion [Hamilton] is coming along on his second year, obviously Cole Holcomb, very, very smart player and instinctive so far, Josh Harvey-Clemons doing a good job, [Marquis] Flowers had a pick-six yesterday, he’s coming along, [B.J.] Blunt as a rookie getting his first reps, doing a good job. It really starts if you have a middle linebacker, that guy has to communicate the defense. He has to communicate the strong right, all the things he’s got to do, coverages, coverage changes if we have them, sometimes we’ll have multiple calls and depending on formation and what play we’re going in to and he’s got to communicate it. He’s been super so far.”

Ryan Kerrigan:

“Well, when you talk about the definition of a professional athlete, Ryan Kerrigan will be at the top of your list. I mean, he’s in here pre-practice, getting ready for practice, post-practice, taking care of his body, meetings – practice he’s working hard. He’s always staying loose. He is just the ultimate pro. And, you know, there is good fortune, too, involved in that. He plays with great leverage, great hands, stays out of harm’s way pretty much. He’s just been fortunate and a great player and a great pro.”