It was reported earlier this week that Washington’s all-pro left tackle Trent Williams will miss about a month due to a thumb injury. This was already a cause for concern, but things only got worse for one the best offensive lines in football as left guard Shawn Lauvao, right tackle Morgan Moses, and elite right guard Brandon Scherff all suffered injuries in sunday’s beat down against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Injuries- On the first drive of the game Shawn Lauvao was bull rushed by Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Jarrett pancaked Lauvao and he couldn’t get up. It was later reported by Fox Sports’ Pam Oliver that he injured his knee and couldn’t put any weight on his leg. It was reported today that Lauvao tore his ACL and is out for the season.
Morgan Moses also injured his knee in the game, although he would return he was clearly not at full strength. Moses was not able to keep up with extremely speedy Vic Beasley as he picked up three holding penalties over the course of the game. While he will likely play again next week in Tampa, odds are that he will not be at full strength.
The big one though, is the injury to Brandon Scherff. Scherff is one of the leaders of the team both on and off the field. Jay Gruden announced today that the two time pro-bowler tore his pectoral muscle and is out for the season. Seeing the headline of Scherff being placed on IR made my stomach drop, things are bad up front for the ‘skins.
Who is Left?- Currently the Redskins have ten offensive linemen on the roster. Trent Williams, Morgan Moses, Geron Christian, Ty Nsekhe, Chase Roullier, Casey Dunn, and Tony Bergstrom. As I was writing this they signed former Ravens starters Austin Howard and Luke Bowanko, and former seventh overall pick John Cooper. Subtract Trent Williams until at least the Thanksgiving showdown against at Dallas and we have nine left.
Right now we have say the starting o-line will look something like (going left to right) Ty Nsekhe, Chase Roullier, Tony Bergstrom, ?, Morgan Moses. Austin Howard is a tackle, so he may step in if Morgan Moses needs to recover for a week. The question mark at right guard could be anyone of the remaining players, the skins could roll out Casey Dunn, or a new guy since both Bowanko and Cooper are guards.
Are they any good?- This starting five should make any Redskins fan afraid. The O-line has arguably been the best unit on the offense, yet they are now missing three starters including their two top players, not to mention their 3rd best player Morgan Moses was clearly injured last week and was a liability. Am I saying that the season is ruined because of these injuries as they were last year? No, the ‘skins still play the softest schedule in football and once Trent Williams returns this line will look much, much better as Nsekhe and kick inside and play guard, which in turns moves Roullier back to his natural position at center. Until that happens though, this may get ugly.