Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said Tuesday that Josh Norman will be week-to-week with a rib fracture, Rob Kelley will be day-to-day with an ankle injury and Trent Williams is going to have an MRI on his knee.
The Washington Redskins head into the bye week with three starters currently dealing with injuries.
On his conference call Tuesday afternoon following Washington's Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said that cornerback Josh Norman (rib fracture) will be week-to-week, running back Rob Kelley (ankle) will be day-to-day and tackle Trent Williams (knee) will have an MRI.
All three players suffered their injuries in Monday night's game.
In the second quarter of the 29-20 loss at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Norman landed on Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley's heel before being sidelined. The cornerback was checked on by the training staff before entering the locker room just before halftime and not returning.
He was ruled out for the entire second half.
"I came in and got X-rays and saw one of my ribs had something done to it," Norman said after the game. "I wanted to come back out, but the team specialist thought it was best if I stay out. I said I was, but it's a long season, but we just want to be cautious."
Depending on how long Norman's injury impact's his health status, the Redskins may have to look to some of their younger cornerbacks in Quinton Dunbar, Fabian Moreau and Joshua Holsey in place of the six-year veteran.
Washington doesn't return to game action until Oct. 15, though, so the bye came at a good time for Norman's recovery.
"We're going to go back and lick our wounds, come back out here in a week and try to get a 'W,'" Norman said. "We came out here for it, so it's just very disappointing that I wasn't able to be there with my teammates when they needed me the most. Like I said, I'm pretty upset right now. Human, mortal body, and you try to go out there and think you're more than that and sometimes it sits you down."
Kelley suffered his injury in the second quarter as well, as the running back managed just 23 rushing yards on seven carries before being removed from the game. The second-year Tulane back had been dealing with a rib injury that kept him out of Washington's Week 3 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
If Kelley once again can't play in two weeks against the San Francisco 49ers, the Redskins will look to the combination of Samaje Perine, Chris Thompson and Mack Brown.
Perine tallied 27 yards on six carries against the Chiefs and while he did have a costly fourth quarter play in which he failed to secure a toss from Kirk Cousins, Gruden is confident that the fourth-round pick can be a playmaker for this offense.
"I think he's still in the process of developing, like all young running backs are," Gruden said. "The kid for Kansas City is a special guy – [Kareem] Hunt – but Perine is in a spot right now where he's just continuing to get the workload, especially if Rob Kelley has got an ankle injury for any due time. He's going to get more and more reps and he's going to get better and better."
As for Williams' knee cap injury, he'll undergo an MRI to determine the severity. The Pro Bowl tackle was sidelined for four offensive snaps against Kansas City.
"He irritated his kneecap and we're just getting an MRI," Gruden said. "He did it in training camp a little bit and it kind of aggravated a little bit so we'll get an MRI and go from there. Get the proper treatment, get him ready."
Third-year tackle T.J. Clemmings saw his first action with the Redskins in his place. Clemmings was active for the first time this season with Ty Nsekhe currently out for a few weeks following surgery on a core muscle injury.
