Brown on the road to recovery

The Redskins could be getting some help for one of their weakest areas in the next month or so.

Among the topics that Mike Shanahan covered in his Monday news conference that were washed away in coverage of the RG3 concussion was the status of offensive tackle Jammal Brown. And it was positive news.

Brown was slated to be the Redskins’ starting right tackle this year but he strained his hip while running wind sprints on the eve of training camp and he has been on the PUP list ever since.

It was no shock that Brown was hurt. He has been hobbled by hip problems at various times since joining the Redskins in 2010.

The Redskins’ Plan B is Tyler Polumbus, a journeyman utility offensive lineman. Of the 43 offensive tackles who have taken at least 75 percent of their teams’ snaps Pro Football Focus grades Polumbus 41^st. Even if Brown can play at an average or slightly below average level he would represent a major upgrade at the position.

The rules mandate that players who start the season on PUP miss the first six games. There then is a three-week window during which they can start practicing. The team has 21 days after the player starts practice to decide if they want to activate him.

It looks like Brown could start practicing when his window opens next Tuesday, or soon thereafter. “He just went up to New York to talk to his doctor,” said Shanahan. “The doctor feels very good. [Brown] is going through conditioning. He’s going through football-related drills. The doctors feel like there’s a chance for him to be back after the bye week. So that’s a good sign.”

The bye week comes after the Redskins’ Nov. 4 game against the Panthers. If Brown can play after the bye, his debut would come against the Eagles on Nov. 18. That’s the 10^th game of the season so the Redskins would have Brown for a little less than half the season.

That is assuming, of course, that Brown stays healthy. It’s hard to say if he will be at a lower risk of injury since it will be about 10 months since he last played in an NFL game or if re-injury is inevitable.