The Redskins announced a host of roster moves on Wednesday, signing four players to the 53-man roster and two more to the practice squad.
Tight end Kori Dickerson and defensive lineman Melvin Williams--both newcomers--were signed to the active roster while cornerback Rufus Brown and running back Dahrran Diedrick were signed from the practice squad.
The four roster spots became available this week when linebacker LaVar Arrington, running back Clinton Portis and cornerback Ade Jimoh were placed on the team's injured reserve list and offensive lineman/tight end Dan Goodspeed was released.
Dickerson, 6-4 and 235 pounds, was with the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this season. Last year, he was on the Eagles' practice squad for 14 games and saw action in two regular season games and one postseason game. He made the most of his playing time, hauling in two touchdown passes.
Dickerson was originally signed as a rookie free agent with the Eagles in 2002. He spent part of the 2002 season on the team's practice squad before being allocated to the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe and appearing in World Bowl XI.
After making a successful transition from linebacker to tight end his senior year at USC, Dickerson went on to start 12 games for the Trojans and caught 25 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams, 6-2 and 269 pounds, was a fifth-round (155th overall) selection by the New Orleans Saints in the 2003 NFL Draft. He had brief stints with San Francisco and Miami after being waived by the Saints in October 2004.
In Williams' rookie season, he appeared in 15 games with two starts and recorded 15 tackles (12 solo), one pass deflection and a fumble recovery.
A graduate of Kansas State, Williams finished his college career with 70 tackles (40 solo), two forced fumbles, eight pass deflections and 13.5 sacks.
To fill the two practice squad roster spots, the team has also signed cornerback James Bethea and linebacker Maurice Jones.
Bethea, a rookie out of California, is 5-9 and 196 pounds and most recently spent time on the Detroit Lions practice squad. Jones, also a rookie, is 6-0 and 249 pounds. He was an outside linebacker at South Florida University last year
Goodspeed was released by the Redskins on Tuesday. He had signed with the team on Dec. 15 but was inactive for two games.
