Former Bucs punter Bidwell joined Redskins

With hope to have a final solution to the team’s instability at punter spot, the Washington Redskins signed 34-year old free agent Josh Bidwell on Tuesday, making him the only punter on the team’s current roster and the seventh punter the team has used over the past two years.

Putting on the Green Bay Packers jersey in 1999 as a fourth-round pick, Bidwell spent four seasons in Green Bay from 1999 to 2003 but missed entire of his first season because of testicular cancer. Joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004 and spending all the last six years there, he again missed a whole season last season after having surgery on his right hip. His best season was in 2005 when he was selected to the Pro Bowl.

With a career average of 42.8 yards, Bidwell is expected to end the Redskins’ changes in punters. In last season only, the Redskins used four different punters as the first one: Hunter Smith missed three games because of leg injuries. Sam Paulescu, Glenn Pakulak and kicker Shaun Suisham each had a chance to fill in but none of them offered satisfying performance.

Redskins RB Portis will miss second straight game

The Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis has not been fully recovered from his concussion and has been ruled out for this Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.


Coach Jim Zorn made the decision after Portis missed Thursday’s practice. The running back has not been able to practice since he was injured in a helmet-to-helmet hit while playing against the Atlanta Falcons. Veteran running back Ladell Betts started in his place in last week’s game against the Denver Broncos and will do the same job this Sunday against the Cowboys.

Another injured player, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, remains uncertain about whether to wear back his Redskins jersey and play this weekend while still taking care of his sprained left ankle. Zorn said Haynesworth’s ankle’s swelling was starting to go down and he will make a game-time decision on the player’s playing status.

Redskins TE Cooley will hopefully be back within season

The Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said in his Twitter feed that he is hopefully able to be back in four weeks, and that means he could still play some games his Redskins jersey before the season ends.


A doctor had tests on the two-time Pro Bowl player’s broken right ankle and planned to have surgery on Wednesday. Four weeks is a long time missing but it is just much better than what Coach Jim Zorn expected. Zorn said earlier Tuesday that Cooley would be sidelined a minimum of six to eight weeks and would probably be placed on season-ending injured reserve.

Cooley stumbled to the turf without contact on the first play of the second quarter of Monday night’s 24-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. This guy has never missed a game since he was drafted by the Redskins in the third round in 2004. To lose him, the team loses their most reliable pass-catching threat.