Hurting Redskins shuffle the deck

Washington Redskins safety Will Blackmon and centre Spencer Long are going through the NFL’s concussion protocol after being injured in a loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals.

Head coach Jay Gruden announced the player updates on a conference call Monday.

Blackmon’s departure from Washington’s 31-23 loss at Arizona meant more duty for Duke Ihenacho in the secondary. Long ’s injury opened the door for the Redskins debut of veteran centre John Sullivan.

Gruden said the team would have to look to bring in a backup centre if Long is unable to play this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. Gruden said the team would look into the status of starter Kory Lichtensteiger, who’s on injured reserve with a calf injury, and Ronald Patrick, who’s on the practice squad.

“(Starting left guard Shawn) Lauvao is our backup centre if he can’t go right now, so I’d like to keep him at guard,” Gruden said. “He hasn’t done a lot of centre work, so we’d have to get somebody in here (or) somebody up.”

The Redskins will get Trent Williams back after a four-game suspension, and Gruden said the plan is for him to be back at left tackle, where Ty Nsekhe played during his absence.

“The plan moving ahead with (Williams) is he’s our starting tackle and he’s the best in the business, so we’re excited to get him back,” Gruden said.

Tight end Jordan Reed missed the Cardinals game with a sprained left shoulder. Gruden said Reed’s status is day to day.

“Everybody is different with these types of injuries and hopefully he is a fast healer,” he said, “but we’ll take him day-to-day, get him his treatment and go from there.”