Injury-riddled Donovan McNabb questionable for season opener
The Washington Redskins received some bad news on Monday. It would appear that newly acquired quarterback Donovan McNabb’s nagging injuries have followed the 12-year veteran to the Capital City, and he may not be available for the Redskins' season opener against their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.
"I really don't know for sure," head coach Mike Shanahan said Sunday. "That's why it's day by day. We'll see how it goes." McNabb did not suit up for last week’s exhibition contest due to an ankle injury sustained in week two of the pre-season against the Baltimore Ravens.
Shanahan believes McNabb’s ankle is too sore for his quarterback to play this week in the pre-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. "It's quite sore," Shanahan said, "and I don't think he could go if it was a regular season game. He's got to rehab it and hopefully get it better."
Luckily for Washington, the game against the Cardinals isn’t a regular season game, so McNabb has additional time to heal his ankle. Even if McNabb was healthy, he likely wouldn't have played against the Cardinals anyway, because Washington is opting to rest their starter to avoid injuries.
McNabb has struggled thus far in his two exhibitions, completing a mediocre 16 of 34 passes for 264 yards. He has thrown for one touchdown but was also a victim of an interception. But McNabb missing time in the regular season is nothing new. McNabb is injury prone and has not played one full season since 2003. He has battled injuries in the later stages of his career and went down for a two-game stretch last season.
The news out of Redskins’ camp was more optimistic concerning the return of running-back Clinton Portis, who sprained his right ankle against the New York Jets.
"I don't think it's too serious. It's not a big setback," Shanahan said. "I would anticipate him being able to practice in a couple of days."
Reliable fullback Mike Sellers also missed last Friday’s game after spraining his left knee and remains day-to-day and should be back in the line up shortly.
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