The Washington Redskins head into Monday night's opener at FedExField with five players questionable including 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson.
This week's injury report is brought to you by Inova, the Official Health System of the Washington Redskins.
The Washington Redskins head into Monday night's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with five players as questionable.
Rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson (Achilles) and defensive end Kendall Reyes (groin) were limited on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before being full-go on Saturday, while running back Rob Kelley (shoulder) and guard Spencer Long (ankle) were full participants througout the week. All four are questionable.
Veteran nose tackle Kedric Golston (back) was a new addition to the injury report on Saturday as he did not practice. He is also questionable.
Doctson was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list last Saturday and practiced for the first time in months on Monday.
While the rookie wide receiver hopes to play on Monday night against the Steelers, he wants to make sure he's completely healthy and prepared before stepping into game action.
"Three months, not being able to run, run a route, just can catch. I've got to get back in the feel of the depth and where I'm running my patterns at," Doctson said earlier this week. "That's the biggest thing right now, just getting back to running these routes that I'm not used to versus in college."
If Doctson doesn't play Monday night, the team still has a bevy of receiving threats to spread out Pittsburgh's defense.
"We've got guys, Pierre [Garçon], [DeSean] Jackson, [Jamison] Crowder, [Jordan] Reed, we've got guys who are going to get it done," Doctson said.
Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said on Friday that the team is "hopeful" Reyes will be healthy enough to suit up in the team's regular season opener.
"He's progressing along nicely and I think [Saturday] will tell us a lot," Gruden said. "But, I think if he does go, we could go five or six defensive linemen. That will be the tough decision for us."
Jones suffered an AC sprain in the Redskins' preseason Week 2 game against the New York Jets. He returned to practice on Monday wearing a non-contact yellow jersey before going back to his regular white practice jersey on Wednesday.
Check out the top photos of Matt Jones from the 2015 season.
Even though he hasn't taken a hit since the preseason, Gruden believes he'll be able to withstand a physical Steelers defense.
"He's a tough guy man and the reason why you like him, you like his toughness and I think he can play through a little soreness which a lot of running backs do in the National Football League," Gruden said. "It's just a way of life. When you sign up to play running back in the National Football League, you're going to be a little sore, and he will be throughout the season and he's tough enough to deal with it."
Long, meanwhile, has been battling an ankle injury suffered on Aug. 26. Even though he's not in the starting lineup, the third-year Nebraska product is Washington's top backup at both left guard and center.
"He's a great asset for us on the offensive line because he can backup both guard positions and he can play center as effective as our starters right now and not many teams can say that," Gruden said.
Backup tackle Ty Nsekhe was listed on Friday's injury report with an illness, but he returned to practice on Saturday.
For the Steelers, wide receiver Markus Wheaton (shoulder), fullback Roosevelt Nix (back), center/guard Cody Wallace (knee), and cornerback Senquez Golson (foot) did not participate in any practice sessions throughout the week and have been ruled as out.
Wheaton had been bumped into the starting lineup with Martavis Bryant serving a suspension. Without the 2013 third-round pick, the Steelers will have to move forward with Darrius Heywar-Bey, Eli Rogers and Sammie Coates opposite Antonio Brown.
Nix is the only fullback on Pittsburgh's roster, while Wallace is the team's second-team left guard, right guard and center.