Washington Redskins Jason Taylor is likely to miss the season opener

Defensive end Jason Taylor could miss the football season opener for the Washington Redskins after he suffered a sprained knee injury, last Saturday night against the Carolina Panthers that may leave him out of the Redskins next game on September.4, against the New York Giants.

Taylor, who started 130 consecutive regular-season games in Miami before being traded to Washington Redskins last month, He will be out 10 days to 14 days – and that’s very good news considering the injury initially looked serious, with Taylor writhing on the ground and screaming.Limping while helped off the field, however, and was treated briefly on the sideline. Then he was taken to the locker room, where X-rays were negative. He also underwent an MRI, and it revealed that theres no ligament damage.

Losing Taylor, who was acquired to replace Phillip Daniels after Daniels blew out his knee on the first day of training camp, could have be a crippling blow to the defense.

“We are just waiting to see what kind of healer he is going to be, but the doctor talked about him having a little bit of a contusion there,” coach Jim Zorn said. “Were very fortunate there.”

Taylor, 33, hasnt missed a game since 1999.”I have been a quick healer in the past,” the Washington Redskins defensive end said Monday. “People think Im old. Im not that old yet, so hopefully those healing cells are still in there”,”Its live games, and Im not one for missing games”.-Jason Taylor

The Redskins open their season Sept. 4 in Giants Stadium,New York against the former Super Bowl champion New York Giants; Washington currently is a 3.5-point betting underdog on WagerWeb.com.

“Im not ruling him out of the opener,” Zorn said. “It will be based on how he improves, but he definitely wont play this Thursday. Well be cautious. If we had the choice [of him playing] between one game and 15, well take the 15.”

Washington Post writer Jason La Canfora said that he expects Taylor not to play in the opener, especially considering it’s a few days earlier than the rest of the league openers.

Demetric Evans and recently acquired Erasmus James would be among the contenders to start if Taylor cant play. Those two are better run defenders than Taylor but nowhere near the pass-rushing threat. With a healthy Taylor, who has 117 career sacks, and Andre Carter, the Redskins expect to have one of the leagues best edge-rushing tandems.

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