NFL presaeason 2015: Niles Paul gets carted off field
The Washington Redskins are not even to halftime of their first preseason game, and it already looks like they may be without their starting tight end for quite some time. In the second quarter of Washington’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, Paul sustained a brutal ankle injury that required an air cast and a cart.
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Warning, the following picture might be unsettling for you:
I think Niles Paul is out for the year, foot shouldn't look like this #Redskins pic.twitter.com/krC2CTbJAa
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) August 14, 2015
Paul was just named the Redskins starting tight end by second-year coach Jay Gruden, and it appears Washington better start looking for another option. Former Redskins star Chris Cooley has expressed interest in returning to the field after retiring following the 2012 season, but that might be a pipe dream for Cooley.
Jordan Reed will likely step into the place of Paul. Reed is in his third season out of the University of Florida and last season racked up 50 catches for 465 yards. In comparison, Paul amassed 39 catches for 507 yards and a touchdow. Paul, 26, was entering his fifth campaign out of the University of Nebraska.
The Redskins are one of those teams that need everything to go right if they are going anywhere in 2015. Washington is coming off a horrendous 4-12 campaign and did not do much to improve in the offseason. Much of its fate rests on quarterback Robert Griffin III finding the form that helped earn an NFC East title in 2012.
At least the Redskins have a quality pair of receivers in Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, although Jackson is currently out with a shoulder injury that happened when he tried to block a sled. Seriously.