Prized draft picks walked off the Redskins Park practice field along-side NFL hopefuls on Sunday afternoon, culminating the team's three-day Rookie Camp.
It's safe to say most of the rookies attending the camp on a tryout basis won't be signed to the off-season roster. But were there some diamonds in the rough?
"Yeah," head coach Joe Gibbs said. "I think we have some guys here who we definitely want to bring into camp. When you get this many guys together--it always surprises me because it's always one of the exciting things about football--there will be some who will make a run at [the off-season roster]."
With the camp over, coaches and personnel officials immediately got to work studying film and evaluating the unsigned players in camp, Gibbs said.
"We got a lot of film from the weekend and we're going to go over all of it, meet with the coaches and make some decisions about our personnel," Gibbs said. "We worked with rookies for three days and everybody had a great attitude. We have some guys here who we think can help our football team."
If personnel officials are to sign one of the tryout players, the team would have to release somebody from the roster. The roster is currently at its maximum limit of 80--with the Redskins' six NFL Europe players and six draft picks not counting against that limit.
Gibbs indicated that personnel decisions would be based on depth at certain positions.
"At some positions, we have our numbers exactly divided up into the numbers we want to bring into camp," Gibbs said. "At other positions, we'll have to release somebody to add a guy. With receivers, we can bring in quite a few. So it's by position, really."
The six drafted players--first-round picks Carlos Rogers and Jason Campbell, fourth-round pick Manuel White, Jr., fifth-rounder Robert McCune, sixth-rounder Jared Newberry and seventh-rounder Nehemiah Broughton--all left the camp with an understanding of what's to be expected of them at training camp.
Broughton strained a hamstring during Saturday's practice, Gibbs said. Otherwise, each of the Redskins' draft picks acquitted themselves well during the Rookie Camp.
"We felt like we knew what we were getting [in the draft] and that's what we got," Gibbs said. "It's the start of a process for them. You can't make a whole lot out of it--it was only three days of work. But as coaches, it helps us make an evaluation and kind of finalize our roster heading into camp."
The Redskins will continue with voluntary workouts and NFL-approved workouts through May. In mid-June, the team will host its only full squad mini-camp.
"We're going to have our mini-camp, as opposed to other teams, late in the year. We're going to go as late as we can in the summer because we're pointing to that."
