By Ryan O’Halloran
CSNwashington.com
Following Monday’s practice, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was asked about a number of different roster decisions he made to get down to the 53-man limit on Saturday. A recap:
* Mike Sellers. The Redskins kept the veteran as the fourth tight end/second fullback after he made the transition to a new position. He will continue to play special teams. Tight end Chris Cooley’s lingering knee injury didn’t hurt Sellers’ status, either.
Shanahan: “Mike helped himself by having the mindset to go in and not be disappointed that [Darrel Young] was getting a shot to be the starting fullback. It’s always tough when you’re older to go in there and work as a third- or fourth-team tight end. But he never wavered. He worked hard. He’s a guy that can help us in a number of different ways.”
* Willie Smith. Undoubtedly one of the biggest surprise ‘makes’ on the roster, the offensive tackle was the only undrafted rookie free agent to make the 53, quite the achievement considering he had such a short time to make an impression.
Shanahan: “He has a lot of talent – a big guy with long arms. I didn’t want to take the chance to put him out there [on waivers] and lose him.”
* Ryan Torain. Not surprisingly, the Redskins didn’t give up on the injury-prone running back after he played – and survived – against Tampa Bay. He got the nod over rookie Evan Royster.
Shanahan: “Torain beat Evan out in the last game and that’s why he’s the third running back. We were hoping he could come back and play well and we thought he played well against Tampa to earn himself a position.”
* Evan Royster. He cleared waivers and was signed to the eight-man practice squad.
Shanahan: “It’s going to take some time [to develop]. I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Contact CSNwashington.com Redskins Insider Ryan O’Halloran at rohalloran@comcastsportsnet.com
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