Coaches and team personnel officials concluded a week of roster evaluation on Friday, and without divulging specifics, Joe Gibbs indicated there would be changes at several positions.
"We came up with where we think we are, what our depth looks like and where we think we need help," Gibbs told reporters in an informal media session at Redskins Park.
"Now we start making our plans for free agency and the draft. I don't think we'll have the magnitude of changes we had last year, but I think there are going to be some areas where we are real aggressive."
Officials are also working on deals with the team's potential free agents. That group includes the likes of cornerback Fred Smoot, middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, long snapper Ethan Albright and defensive tackle Joe Salave'a, among others.
"We are working real hard on getting the contractual stuff that we need to get done," Gibbs said. "We are taking care of all of our free agents and redoing the deals that we think we need to redo. I had conversations with players on Friday morning and I told them how important it is for us to get that done. We have a list of guys that we need to get squared away."
By Friday evening, many of the coaches had departed Redskins Park ready for some time off. The majority of players are off until late March, although a handful of players were still trickling in, particularly those coming off of injuries.
Left tackle Chris Samuels and safety Matt Bowen were among those players at Redskins Park on Friday. Samuels was expected to have arthroscopic surgery on his ankle this week while Bowen is coming off of a knee injury that ended his season in Week 5.
Last year at this time, with Gibbs still learning the players on the roster, the Redskins had quite a few players with shoulder and knee injuries that would later limit them in mini-camps. That's not the case this year, Gibbs said.
"I don't think we are going to be held up with all of the shoulder injuries like we had last year," Gibbs said. "We just have a few minor things. Then we need to get our guys back who have had surgery. A lot of them are doing great. Matt Bowen this morning looked great and so hopefully we can all get healthy."
