Redskins center Spencer Long heading to IR with knee/quad injuries

The Redskins Injured Reserve list keeps getting longer. The latest victim to fall to the injury bug is Spencer Long.

Throughout the course of the season, the Washington Redskins have suffered numerous injuries. Over the past couple of days, the team has had to put offensive playmaker Chris Thompson and disappointing wide-out Terrelle Pryor on the list ending their seasons. Tuesday, it was confirmed that another member of the offense would be hitting the IR too. That would be starting center Spencer Long.

Long has been dealing with injuries to both legs that have affected his knees and quad tendons. Per the Jay Gruden and the Redskins official Twitter, Long is getting surgery on his quad tendon, which necessitates the move to IR. While Long will be missed, the Redskins do appear to have a solid enough replacement for him on the roster.

The Redskins addressed the center position this offseason in the draft. After losing veteran center John Sullivan to the Rams in free agency, the team used a sixth round pick on Wyoming’s Chase Roullier. He has started four games this season and has generally been a solid replacement for Long.

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Similar to Long, Roullier possesses the ability to play both center and guard. However, Roullier’s more natural position is center whereas Long was better at guard. Having Roullier in the starting lineup has been little to no downgrade in place of Long. He has done well in run blocking and while he is still learning the NFL game, he appears to be a potential starter down the road. Getting him experience now will be beneficial to the team.

Long’s injury will still have a major negative impact on the Redskins. While they won’t have a downgrade in their starting lineup, their depth on the interior of the line is now shaky. The team’s backup center is former Oakland Raider Tony Bergstrom, who signed with the team when they were dealing with offensive line troubles early in the season.

Bergstrom hasn’t had a lot of success since being a third round pick of the Raiders. He only played in 25 games during his four years there and was a mediocre talent. He can get by as a versatile backup but if he needs to see extended time, that could get round for the team.

Realistically, the team may be better off using Arie Kouandjio as the backup interior lineman. Granted, he can’t play center, but he had a solid performance in his lone start for the team earlier this year. He has more upside than the 31-year-old Bergstrom and is probably more talented too. Ideally, the Redskins could have three backup linemen active on game day: Kouandjio, Bergstrom, and Ty Nsekhe.

Next: Previewing Redskins vs. Giants in NFL Week 12

Overall, losing Long is just another footnote on the laundry list of injuries the Redskins have suffered this year. It will be interesting to see how they deal with him as he hits free agency in the coming offseason.

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