Injured before the season

xgw01

The Washington Redskins on Tuesday signed free agent center John Sullivan and placed center Kory Lichtensteiger on injured reserve. Lichtensteiger suffered a calf injury in Sunday’s 29-27 victory over the New York Giants and was listed as “week-to-week” by Redskins Coach Jay Gruden on Monday.
It’s the second straight season Lichtensteiger has been placed on injured reserve; He’s played eight regular-season games in that span. The 31-year-old suffered from a neck injury that affected the strength in his left shoulder in 2015 but returned off the short-term injured reserve list to play in Washington’s only playoff game. Dallas Cowboys jerseys
Lichtensteiger is the fourth Redskins player to be placed on injured reserve this season. Pass rusher Junior Galette (Achilles’ tendon), defensive lineman Kedric Golston (hamstring) and safety DeAngelo Hall (knee) are also done for the year. Wholesale Chicago Bears jerseys
Prior to the injury, the Redskins had attempted to upgrade at center during training camp, given that they lacked depth. They tried to address it by trading for then-Patriots center Bryan Stork, but the acquisition was nullified after Stork’s failed physical. Wholesale Cincinnati Bengals jerseys
Sullivan arrives to Redskins Park with plenty of experience, but he also has some health concerns. He spent the past eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where he made 93 career starts. Sullivan missed all of last season because of a back injury he initially suffered during the preseason. He was cut by the Vikings in August and has been unsigned to this point.
When he’s healthy, Sullivan is a solid center who has fared well in the run game. Prior to the injury, he was a consistent fixture on the Vikings offensive line. The Notre Dame product made 57 consecutive starts from 2011 to 2014. Wholesale Cleveland Browns jerseys
It’s unknown at this point how quickly the 31-year-old will be inserted into the starting lineup. The Redskins used versatile offensive lineman Spencer Long to finish the game at center, but they didn’t have a third center option on the roster after waiving Austin Reiter and signing him to the practice squad after Week 1. Reiter was signed off Washington’s practice squad by the Cleveland Browns last week. Cleveland Browns jerseys
Washington also announced that it promoted offensive lineman Vinston Painter from the practice squad to the active roster, and signed cornerback Tye Smith to the practice squad.