Redskins sign three offensive linemen in the wake of injuries

There will be some new faces on the Redskins offensive line for the foreseeable future.

It was announced earlier today that the Washington Redskins had lost two offensive linemen for the rest of the season to injuries sustained in Sunday’s 38-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Shawn Lauvao suffered a torn ACL on the first drive of the game, replaced by Tony Bergstrom for the rest of the contest. Brandon Scherff tore his pectoral muscle in the second half; the injury was deemed serious at first glance, and today, confirmation of the torn muscle was attained.

With three starters already ruled out for next week, and a fourth (Morgan Moses) with his status up in the air, the Redskins will be forced to try out some creative offensive lineman combinations, and they’ll need to shore up the depth of that unit. Today, they took a step or three toward doing that, signing a trio of blockers up front: Guards Luke Bowanko and Johnathan Cooper, and guard-tackle hybrid Austin Howard.

All three players signed by Washington have starting experience, to varying degrees. Bowanko was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft and started fourteen games his rookie year. In the two following years, however, Bowanko only played in seven more before moving to Baltimore, where he played sixteen games, starting one, in 2017. He was also Morgan Moses’ team mate in college.

Jonathan Cooper was drafted in the top ten, acquired by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 7 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. Since then, Cooper’s had year-long stints with Cleveland and Dallas. He started 13 games for Dallas last year, and at 28 years old, he should be good insurance for Washington.

Austin Howard is the team’s oldest signing, nearing 32 years of age. Howard was a longtime starter in the NFL, but after starting at right tackle for the Ravens last year, he was released by the team, and picked up by the Colts, who cut him after an uninspiring preseason. Howard will now have to prove he belongs once again. He brings experience, if nothing else.

Given the circumstances, and the lack of quality options on the free agent market, these are the only kinds of signings Washington can make at the moment. At least one of these players will have to start in the coming weeks, and if Morgan Moses re-aggravates his injury, that number could go up. One has to wonder if Adrian Peterson’s inspiring late-career success won’t live much longer, as the proficiency of the offensive line will surely decline from this point forward.