Redskins lose rookie tackle Geron Christian for 2018 season

The Redskins fared well with offensive line injuries on Sunday, but the unit keeps getting thinner.

It’s never easy to respond to the loss of two All-Pro offensive linemen. The Washington Redskins know this well; their 2017 season was derailed largely due to offensive line injuries, and midway through the 2018 season, they’re without three of their starters, and another, Morgan Moses, is playing hurt.

The offensive line, in many ways, is the difference between a successful offense and an unsuccessful one. That’s why it’s painful to imagine what the Redskins offense would be like if their replacement players hadn’t stepped up on Sunday against the Buccaneers. Washington’s new acquisitions performed admirably, with Jonathan Cooper leading the way at left guard. They weren’t dominant, but they did enough to help the offense function, and thus, they should be commended.

That said, sifting endlessly through reserve offensive linemen is never a sustainable way to go through an NFL season, and today, the Redskins only grew closer to such a fate. Another week, another loss for the Redskins, who announced, via Jay Gruden, that rookie offensive tackle Geron Christian tore his MCL in Sunday’s win, effectively ending his 2018 campaign.

As mentioned in John Keim’s tweet above, the Redskins feel confident with Austin Howard as their swing tackle with Ty Nsekhe serving as a temporary replacement for Trent Williams, but the loss of Christian undoubtedly hurts the depth of the line. At this stage of the season, every loss is notable. The hope is that the Redskins can withstand just as they did in Week 10.

The loss might be more catastrophic for Christian himself. The third-round rookie was drafted as a future project with athletic upside at tackle, but when he saw action this season, he was very clearly behind the curve on his development with Bill Callahan. Perhaps the time off will allow Christian to both recover and grow stronger in the weight room.

Either way, as both the rookie’s performance, and that of Nsekhe, has shown, the third-round pick still has a ways to go before succeeding Nsekhe as the team’s swing tackle. This injury, with any luck, will not stunt his development.