It started with a simple screen pass. Clinton Portis drifted left and pulled in the short pass, but the defense read the play right and quickly converged on him.
Portis reversed course, though, and across field he picked up Jason Campbell as a blocker.
LaRon Landry stayed with Portis, though, and eventually pushed him out of bounds for no gain.
After the play, Portis and Landry exchanged some verbal jabs with each other. It continued after practice and into the locker room.
It escalated to the point where Portis and Landry challenged each other to a 40-yard dash on the practice field.
They headed back outside and set up the impromptu foot race while Jim Zorn was still holding court with media.
A group of Redskins players watched from a hill overlooking the field. Fred Smoot was cheering on Landry.
It was a photo finish--too close to call a winner.
Still, the trash talking continued. Landry was convinced he won.
"Be for real," Landry told Portis heading back into the locker room. "Everybody saw it."
Replied Portis: "If he wants to feel like he won, then he can feel like he won. We're going to keep on running until there's a winner."
Smoot chimed in: "LaRon won."
So did Rock Cartwright: "From what I saw, I thought it was a tie."
Portis said it was the first time that he had run a 40-yard dash in about seven years.
He hoped that Jim Zorn would count the effort as an OTA workout.
Zorn responded: "No. He was on his own for that one. That was strictly voluntary."
#### -- DAVIS MISSES SUNDAY PRACTICE
In one of his first tests as Redskins head coach, Jim Zorn dealt Sunday morning with issues concerning a player who had missed the last of the mini-camp sessions.
Rookie tight end Fred Davis was a no-show at a team meeting early Sunday morning and did not attend mini-camp session No. 5.
After the practice on Sunday morning, the team told reporters that Davis had overslept.
"It's very disappointing, but this is a part of life," Zorn said.
Continued Zorn: "Every practice counts. There's no question [Davis] had a setback. Hopefully everybody will learn from the lesson that he is having--to learn right now about what it is going to take to get to a place on time, to be responsible."
#### -- LARGENT ATTENDS SATURDAY SESSION
Former U.S. congressman and Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent, who played with Jim Zorn in Seattle from 1976-84, attended the Saturday afternoon practice and watched from the sidelines.
Largent was so low-key during the practice that "nobody would know he's in the Hall of Fame," Zorn said.
Redskins pro scout Don Warren chatted with Largent for a time, but otherwise Largent watched quietly.
"I went over to our wide receivers and said, 'See that guy in the green shirt over there? He's in the Hall of Fame,'" Zorn said. "And they're looking at me [with a look of surprise on their faces.]"
#### -- SAMPSON, BOATMAN RELEASED
The Redskins released offensive lineman Kevin Sampson prior to mini-camp. Sampson was a four-year NFL veteran who alternated between the roster and practice squad last season.
The team also released undrafted rookie offensive lineman Shannon Boatman last Friday. Boatman did not pass his physical.
The Redskins had six undrafted rookies participating in the mini-camp on a tryout basis: former Maryland tight end Jason Goode; Hofstra defensive back Steven Tate; East Carolina Jay Sonnhalter; Tennessee defensive tackle J.T. Mapu; Delaware offensive lineman Rich Beverly; and tight end Brandon Davis out of Northern Illinois.
#### -- DOUGHTY'S CHILD
Safety Reed Doughty missed the Sunday morning practice but he had an excused absence due the health of his child.
Doughty's son Micah, who is almost two years old, recently underwent a kidney transplant.
Zorn said Doughty was given permission to be with his family at the hospital, adding: "There are some things that are more important than football."
