Head coach Joe Gibbs said Thursday that Patrick Ramsey should be ready to participate fully during this weekend's mini-camp. The third-year quarterback will test his right foot in a series of practices and is expected to join fellow QBs Mark Brunell and Tim Hasselbeck in passing drills and scrimmages.
"I think he's going to be taking most of the work," Gibbs said. "The only thing we didn't let him do before was get into traffic to prevent his foot getting stepped on. He's been throwing and he looks good. He's in great shape."
Since Ramsey had surgery on his foot last December, he has targeted the post-draft mini-camp as the first real test. He was diagnosed with a bone bruise last season-an injury that eventually sidelined him for the final six games of the year.
For his part, Ramsey is eager to apply his playbook and film-room study on the field.
"I haven't run any of these plays yet, at full speed, with the defense running around," he said Thursday. "It's going to be all brand new for me. I'm hoping I can go out there so that I don't fall behind [in learning the offense].
Ramsey is among several veterans who may have to play catch-up in learning Gibb's offense in practice. Several projected starters, including Laveranues Coles, Derrick Dockery, Shawn Springs and Marcus Washington were limited in practice at the last mini-camp, held March 26-28.
The second mini-camp will also be an opportunity for Gibbs to gauge how much the veterans have learned the offense and defense.
"The players can't get lost because we're not slowing down," Gibbs said. "It's going to be demanding. I think it'll tell you a lot mentally about the player. Are they the right kind of guy? It's going to take extra effort and extra study."
The mini-camp schedule includes a walk-through practice in the morning, a series of positional meetings, then practice later in the afternoon. Gibbs said he considered having two full-scale practices, but didn't want to push those players returning from injury.
The practices will also be Gibbs' first glimpse at some of the new rookies, including draft picks Sean Taylor, Chris Cooley, Mark Wilson and Jim Molinaro. The team also added 10 undrafted rookie free agents to the roster and will have two more players--first-year wide receiver O'Neil Wilson out of Connecticut and first-year defensive tackle Keith Ferguson out of Virginia Union--practicing on a tryout basis.
Said Gibbs: "I think we're going to give the rookies a lot of attention. They'll probably be held late in meetings. They're going to be getting extra meeting time. The point I'm trying to make is that there's a lot to cover and we don't slow down-we go hard.
"When a person is put in that situation, they learn a lot more than if we had to back up and start over again. I look at it as if we've got three hard days here, but then more time in the coming weeks for meetings and work."
