With Ladell Betts sidelined with a knee ligament injury, the Redskins suddenly have a dire need at the running back position.
Not enough to risk a return by Clinton Portis, though.
Jim Zorn has ruled out Portis for this Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Portis continues to recover from a concussion suffered on Nov. 8 at Atlanta.
"There is going to be question if he plays against the New Orleans Saints [on Dec. 6] as well," Zorn said. "During that week, we'll get him moving and see how his concussion is reacting."
At this point, the Redskins have not considered putting Portis on injured reserve, Zorn added.
Portis was back at Redskins Park on Monday after seeing a concussion specialist in Pittsburgh.
"We have to make sure everyone is working together to get him back on the field," Zorn said.
-- HALL, HAYNESWORTH UPDATES
DeAngelo Hall suffered a sprained knee in the Dallas game, putting his availability for this week's contest in Philadelphia in doubt.
"He may be out for a week," Jim Zorn said. "It depends on how fast we can get him back…He played hard and finished the game. It's an MCL sprain and we'll see how fast we can get him back."
If Hall is unable to play, then Carlos Rogers would likely start at cornerback with Fred Smoot on the opposite side.
Albert Haynesworth sat out the Cowboys game to rest a sprained ankle.
Haynesworth is expected to continue to work on the treadmill this week. His status for practice is uncertain.
"He's trying to get that strength back in that ankle so he can handle the load that he is going to create on his foot," Zorn said. "We've just got to continue to work him in and see how quickly we can get him back."
-- ORAKPO'S MISS
Brian Orakpo has been one of the league's top rookies this season, recording seven sacks in 10 games.
After Sunday's 7-6 loss to Dallas, Orakpo said all he could think about was his near-sack of Tony Romo on the Cowboys' game-winning touchdown.
Romo eluded Orakpo and threw a 10-yard TD pass to wide receiver Patrick Crayton.
"It's frustrating," Orakpo said. "It rewinds in my head a lot because I had him. I made a great move inside, and Romo was being Romo. That's what he does. He's very slippery.
"He's a guy who has great presence in the pocket, so I take my hat off to him for that. He knows where his rushers are coming from. He was able to evade those rushers and make a play downfield."
-- SETBACK FOR COOLEY
Chris Cooley will remain in a walking boot for another 10 days as he continues to rehab from a fractured ankle.
"That is not good news for me," Jim Zorn said. "So he'll be another 10 days in the boot without weight bearing and that will set us back a little bit with him. We haven't talked yet with the doctor about how long the rehab is going to be after the boot is off.
"The bone is healing--it's just not far enough along to get him out of the boot."
It was hoped that Cooley could take the next step in rehabbing the injury this week. He had surgery on Oct. 28 and an optimistic prognosis had him returning on 4-6 weeks.
