Earlier this week, Clinton Portis pronounced that he expected to play on Sunday night in Dallas. On Friday, head coach Joe Gibbs said he wasn't so sure. The team downgraded Portis's status to doubtful.

Also, Gibbs said that cornerback Shawn Springs will not play in Sunday's game.

Portis missed practice for the third consecutive day on Friday as he continues to recover from lingering soreness associated with his shoulder.

"It's really just because of soreness," Gibbs said. "He hasn't been able to get the soreness out of there. It's kept him from practicing, so we'll downgrade him."

Asked if he was ruling Portis out for Sunday's game, Gibbs replied: "Well, I think if a guy doesn't practice, he's not going to play. So we'll downgrade him."

Gibbs added: "He'll probably tell me that he can play on game day. But he didn't practice, so we'll move him down accordingly."

If Portis is unable to play, Ladell Betts, T.J. Duckett and Rock Cartwright would share the workload at running back against Dallas, Gibbs said.

After practice, Portis was cagey about his playing status.

He pointed to a bag filled with his pads and equipment and said: "All I know is, this bag is going to Dallas. You guys have seen some miracle things happen."

At his locker, reporters commented about the colorful sneakers Portis was wearing. He replied: "I'll tell coach I'll get him a pair if he lets me play."

Springs also missed all three days of practice this week as he recovers from abdominal surgery last month. With Springs out, the Redskins will rely on Carlos Rogers, Kenny Wright, Mike Rumph and Ade Jimoh to man the cornerback position.