After being cut by the Redskins nearly two weeks ago, defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins returned to the team on Wednesday to provide more depth along the line.
Defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins was in his bed in Northern New Jersey on Tuesday when his agent called his phone. He had a pretty good feeling the Redskins were the reason, and he was right.
"You get the call, get whatever you can packed up real fast and I had to go to the school and say goodbye to the kids and hit the road and came down," Jenkins said by his locker, hours after officially signing with the team on Wednesday.
The drive was familiar for Jenkins, who was signed by the Redskins on Aug. 29 before the team's final preseason game against the Buccaneers. He played well that game, recording three tackles, including a sack, but the Redskins released him just two days later when the roster was shaved to 53.
But after the team's regular season opener, in which the Steelers ran for 147 yards, general manager Scot McCloughan wanted to add another lineman to help with the depth at the position. That meant calling up Jenkins and offering him a spot on the team again.
"It's great. It's a great feeling," said Jenkins, who didn't harbor any resentment for his release. "To be back part of a team, to be back a part of the Redskins, who gave me a shot at the end of camp, it's a great feeling to be back out here."
It will still be a learning process for Jenkins, who only had a limited time period to comprehend the Redskins' playbook before having to turn it in. But the veteran, at 35 years old, has seen and played a lot of football and is used to adapting on the fly.
"My job is not to come in here and do something new or takeover," Jenkins said. "I'm just coming in and trying to fit in and be a good teammate and wherever I'm needed just be able to help."
As someone with lots of experience in the NFC East – he spent the last three seasons with the Giants, and the two seasons prior with the Eagles – he also has plenty of experience facing the Cowboys, whom the Redskins host on Sunday.
"They've got a talented offense all around the board," Jenkins said. "You've got to try and make them one dimensional. You can't let them come out and establish the run on you early because if they do, then they get to keep the whole playbook open and they can keep you back on your heels. You've got to try and go in and do the run stop and keep them one dimensional."
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Central Michigan product will offer the Redskins more versatility on the line to help with that goal. As for the last couple of weeks, Jenkins was just glad to be back on a team, regardless of the process it took to get there.
"It's good to be back playing," he said. "It wasn't too bad. Just a little bit of miles on the truck driving back and forth."
