The Redskins have decided to place defensive tackle Brandon Noble on injured reserve, ending his season. It's the second time in three seasons that Noble has been placed on injured reserve without playing a down in the regular season.

To replace Noble on the 53-man roster, the Redskins signed rookie defensive lineman Aki Jones from the practice squad.

"Brandon's super important to us and what we decided was it was probably best for the team and for him to put him on IR instead of rushing him back," head coach Joe Gibbs said.

Noble had tweaked his surgically repaired knee during a practice before the first game of the regular season. A few days later, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, forcing him to miss the Redskins' first two games. He was expected to miss another 4-5 weeks, but coaches decided to put him on injured reserve because there was a bone bruise on the knee.

"It's a decision we didn't want to make," Gibbs said. "We'll hopefully get him healed up. I think at the end of the year, he'll make a decision about next year."

In 2003, Noble had reconstructive surgery on his left knee after suffering an injury during a preseason game. The 6-2, 305-pounder returned last year to play in all 16 games, with seven starts.

Noble recorded 38 tackles (19 solo) and one sack in 2004 and was named the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner.

The Redskins also announced on Thursday that the team had signed linebacker Nick McNeil to the practice squad. McNeil takes Jones's spot on the eight-member practice squad.

McNeil, 6-2 and 245 pounds, is a first-year player out of Western Carolina. He spent part of last season on the Green Bay Packers' practice squad. He was also a member of the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europe in spring 2005.