By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

Linebacker Keenan Robinson signed his rookie contract with the Washington Redskins on Thursday morning, becoming the sixth of the nine players the team selected in the NFL Draft to agree to terms.

The 6-foot-3, 242-pound Robinson was chosen in the fourth round, 119th overall, out of Texas. He played outside linebacker while in college, but the team is planning to move him inside to serve as a backup to both London Fletcher and Perry Riley.

He had 106 tackles, including 10 for a loss, a sack and a safety, and forced two fumbles in 13 games during his senior season.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed, though rookie contracts are for four years.

Quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins and guard Josh LeRibeus are the only Redskins draft choices to have not yet signed a contract.

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan spoke favorably of the team’s plan to move Niles Paul from receiver to tight end this offseason, comparing the transition to the one made by Shannon Sharpe shortly after joining Shanahan in Denver in 1990.

Paul

“I hate to compare anybody to a Hall of Fame player, going into their second year, but Shannon Sharpe came into Denver at exactly the same height,” Shanahan said Wednesday afternoon during a scheduled appearance on ESPN 980 Radio. “He was about five pounds less than Niles Paul weighed. He was a receiver coming out of Savannah State and we moved him over to the tight end position and he had a pretty darn good career, which everybody obviously knows. Niles has the mindset to be an excellent player. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t make the transition very easily.”

Paul, at 6-foot-1, weighed 224 pounds at the beginning of last season, but he has added approximately 10 pounds since January. He played in 13 games as a rookie last season with two starts at receiver, but played mostly on special teams, catching just two passes for 25 yards and carrying the ball once for a seven-yard gain.

Amongst his greatest assets is his speed. Paul has been timed in the 4.5-second range in the 40-yard dash, and that quickness served him well on special teams, where he made four tackles last season as a gunner. Plus, the Redskins’ versatility with the tight end position could offer new opportunities for Paul to make an impact.

“He could actually move to the fullback position as well,” Shanahan said. “What I mean by that is, sometimes you take that tight end off the line of scrimmage and sometimes you motion him into the backfield, and it gives you a number of things to do offensively that you haven’t been able to do in the past.”

He’ll have plenty of competition at tight end. Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Logan Paulsen and Richard Quinn, all of whom played in a game last season for the Redskins, are still under contract, and the team also signed Beau Reliford, an undrafted free agent out of Florida State two weeks ago.

Shanahan also addressed his expectations for quarterback Robert Griffin III, who the team chose with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft last month, as well as the ensuing selection of quarterback Kirk Cousins, the moves the team made in the offseason and the salary cap penalties during the 15-minute appearance.

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By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

ASHBURN – When he hadn’t yet received a phone call the morning of April 28, the start of the third day and fourth round of the NFL Draft, anxiety started to build for Kirk Cousins.

A three-year starter at Michigan State, Cousins had been told for weeks he was one of the better quarterback prospects. He believed it, and perhaps he was guilty of inflating his own expectations, thinking the hype meant he’d be chosen as early as the second round.

When the second round passed, and then the third, and Friday turned to Saturday, Cousins couldn’t help but feel disappointed. His mind raced, his fears grew, and just when he started to hope that one team – any team – would take him, his phone rang.

It was Mike Shanahan, the Washington Redskins’ head coach, on the line.

“You don’t want to feel too bad for the guy,” said Keith Nichol, one of Cousins’ receivers at Michigan State, “but it’s not a circumstance he expected.”

The Redskins had taken Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 overall selection in the NFL Draft, giving up three draft picks, including their first-round choices each of the next two years, to move up four spots to select him.

Griffin is a phenomenon, a fan favorite, an affable human being whose talent and charisma are immeasurable. Shanahan has said he thinks Griffin can be the Redskins’ quarterback “for the next 15 years” and that in the NFL, he can “do some things that haven’t been done.”

A hundred picks and 40 hours after Griffin was drafted, Cousins was officially announced as the Redskins’ fourth-round choice.

“We all know the situation that I’m in,” Cousins said.

Always An Uphill Battle

That Cousins finds himself in a seemingly unfavorable circumstance is nothing new. He attended Holland (Mich.) Christian High School, with its 1,000 students and a short history of football, and in the first quarter of the first game of his junior season – also his first varsity game – Cousins broke his ankle.

He returned midway through the season, but didn’t do enough to earn a scholarship from a major college. Even the 3,204 yards and 40 touchdowns he threw for during his senior season weren’t sufficient; it wasn’t until Mark Dantonio took over as Michigan State’s head coach in Nov. 2006 and was hurting for players that Cousins received an offer.

He redshirted in 2007, his first season, and served as the backup to Brian Hoyer, now in New England, in 2008. Nick Foles was considered the Spartans’ heir apparent at the position when Hoyer graduated, but he transferred to Arizona before the 2009 season.

That left Cousins to compete with Nichol, a transfer from Oklahoma, for the job, which he won. Nichol moved to receiver, and by the time Cousins left Michigan State, he had won 27 games, more than any other Spartans quarterback.

He also set school records for passing yards, touchdowns and efficiency, as well as completions and total offense, and he left amongst the top 10 in Big Ten history in completion percentage, passing yards and touchdown passes.

“For us, he was extremely poised and strong-armed and could get out of trouble when he needed to,” Dantonio told a Detroit radio station last week. “We weren’t sacked very often, and I think that was the result of him making good decisions and everything else going on around him.”

Cousins graduated Michigan State with a 3.684 grade point average and earned national awards for his academic achievement. Highly regarded by his teammates for his work ethic, he was only the second player in school history to be named captain three times.

“He is a competitor,” Nichol said. “He’s always prepared for the game. You hear about Peyton Manning, the way he prepares for games, and if he can take that to the college level – I think that’s who he’s very similar to. He’s almost so prepared. He knows exactly what’s going on.”

Putting It In Perspective

The Redskins’ rookie mini-camp concluded last Sunday, and before Cousins walked off the field for the fifth and final practice, he was mobbed by dozens of television cameras and reporters. It didn’t take long for him to be asked about the scrutiny he’s facing as Washington’s other rookie quarterback.

Taking the 6-foot-3, 214-pound Cousins has been a controversial move, one seen as an unnecessary attempt to undercut Griffin. Shanahan, who met with Cousins at the Senior Bowl in January and again at the NFL Combine in February, said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a player he regarded so highly, even though he’s a quarterback.

“You’ve got to do what you think is best for your football team, and once I start thinking about reactions, then I don’t think I’ll be doing this much longer,” Shanahan said. “But the thing I always do is I look at every play a guy makes and I make decisions. To me, that was an easy decision at that pick in the fourth round. Time will tell.”

Shanahan consulted with Griffin the morning Cousins was drafted and told him of the team’s plans to look for another quarterback. He reassured Griffin privately it wouldn’t impact his status as the starting quarterback, and then, at the conclusion of the rookie mini-camp, announced the same publicly.

Cousins didn’t want to talk about what he thought of his selection by the Redskins, or what it may mean for his career going forward. Instead, he reaffirmed his support of the franchise, of Griffin, of the coaching staff, and reverted to the coaches’ adage of being one play away and ready to take the field.

“I didn’t expect as a fourth-round pick to be one of the more talked-about players in the draft,” Cousins said, laughing. “But I think it’s a neat thing. I think it shows why it’s a great place to play, being in Washington. There’s a lot of passion for football in this city, and it’s gonna make it a fun place to be part of this season.”

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

Tim Hightower posted a message on his Twitter account late Sunday night suggesting he had returned to the Washington Redskins, and multiple reports confirmed the running back has agreed to terms on a new contract with the team.

Hightower

Hightower, who turns 26 next week, uploaded a picture of himself wearing a Redskins hat with the message “I’m back.” Teammate Evan Royster responded to the message by writing “Good to have [you] back.”

The running back rushed for 321 yards and a touchdown this past season, his first with the Redskins, before tearing the ACL in his left knee Oct. 23 against Carolina. His rushing yardage remained tops amongst all Washington running backs for another six weeks until Roy Helu, the eventual leading rusher, surpassed him.

Hightower, born and raised in the Washington area, said when the season ended he wanted to return to the Redskins. He met with New England last month but left without agreeing to a deal, and Washington head coach Mike Shanahan reiterated support for bringing Hightower back as recently as three weeks ago.

“We want to have him back,” Shanahan said on April 25, the day before the NFL Draft began. “Obviously, we think he’ll be full-speed by the first of June, the middle of June, and hopefully we’ll get him re-signed.”

Should Hightower prove he’s healthy, he’s likely to resume his role as the Redskins’ featured running back. He ran for a season-high 96 yards against Arizona, the team he was traded from in late July, in Week 2, and had 88 yards on 17 attempts against the Panthers – an average of 5.2 yards a carry – before sustaining the injury in the third quarter.

The Redskins also have Helu and Royster, both entering their second seasons, at the position, and Tristan Davis is still on the roster after finishing last year on the practice squad. Alfred Morris, a sixth-round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic, is one of three rookies the team also has under contract.

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

ASHBURN – Representatives for the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys met with representatives from the NFL in Philadelphia on Thursday to address the salary cap sanctions the league levied against each team in March.

Stephen Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who serves as the league’s acting system arbiter, heard arguments from both sides after the teams filed a grievance over salary cap room they were docked on the eve of free agency in March.

The Redskins were penalized $36 million and the Cowboys $10 million over two years for circumventing league recommendations regarding the structure of contracts in 2010, a season without a salary cap.

Redskins general manager Bruce Allen said the team presented its case for approximately two and a half hours Thursday morning but declined to go into specifics.

“We got to present some of our issues and the league presented some of their issues, and we’ll leave it at that,” Allen said later in the day at Redskins Park, where the team was hosting an 80th Anniversary reception for former players. “I think we just have to let the process play out. We wanted to present our case, and we were able to present part of our case.”

Allen was uncertain as to whether another hearing will be scheduled or if Burbank has heard enough. He said an outcome was not reached Thursday.

While the league played without a salary cap in 2010, the Redskins front-loaded the bonuses of two of its players – cornerback DeAngelo Hall and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, now a free agent – into that season to provide itself greater flexibility under the salary cap in future years. The league maintained it warned teams not to do so as it would provide an unfair competitive advantage in the future, as others may be unable to spend so freely on players.

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

Ryan Kerrigan (left) and Brian Orakpo model the new Redskins throwback uniforms. (ZAC BOYER | The Free Lance-Star)

ASHBURN – The Washington Redskins unveiled throwback uniforms on Thursday that are reminiscent of what they wore when they moved from Boston in the mid-1930s.

The uniforms, meant to commemorate the team’s 80th anniversary, feature burgundy jerseys and pants that are more of a metallic gold than the yellow in their current color scheme. The team also had brown helmets are stamped with a leather-like pattern, acknowledging the leather helmets of football’s past.

Nike, which became the NFL’s official equipment supplier last month, worked with the Redskins to create the jerseys. They’ll be worn for two home games this season – the specific dates were not announced – and were modeled at a reception held at Redskins Park by linebackers Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan.

“I really like them,” Kerrigan said. “I think they look great, and it’s a nice little change of pace.”

The look will be complemented with burgundy and gold cleats and the Redskins’ logo from the era appears on a patch on each shoulder. Each jersey also has the motto “Team, Effort, Tradition” on the inside of the neckline.

“Yeah, it’s a great look, a great feel,” Orakpo said. “They’re gonna look good out there. We’ll get all 53 men wearing them and represent it.”

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

The Washington Redskins unveiled their 'Indoor Training Facility' at a reception on Thursday. (ZAC BOYER | The Free Lance-Star)

ASHBURN – With the Washington Redskins set to begin their 80th anniversary season this fall, the team used the occasion to officially unveil its Indoor Training Facility, a full-length artificial turf field shielded from the weather by an air-supported fabric structure – essentially, a bubble.

General Manager Bruce Allen said the construction of the bubble is only the first of many improvements the Redskins have planned for their team headquarters – improvements that, he said, will “maximize the players’ health and efficiency how we work.”

“We’d been looking at different ways to improve Redskins Park, to improve our football team, and we feel this is going to give us a good opportunity to work when we have some inclement weather,” Allen said.

The Redskins are, of course, able to use the facility in all types of weather – and likely will do so, especially when the team plays on the road against an opponent whose home stadium is enclosed.

“We open in New Orleans in that dome,” Allen said, referring to this year’s schedule. “That is a loud place, and our practices that week, we’re going to be able to simulate what a dome is, really is, versus those speakers you’ve seen on the field the last couple years.”

Not only does the facility contain a full-length field, but it has a “warning track” similar to most outdoor composite running surfaces. It is also over 100 feet tall, allowing punters room to punt the ball without restraint.

Multiple reports in recent months have indicated the Redskins may be interested in leaving their current home, constructed in the early 1990s, for a more modern facility – perhaps near RFK Stadium in Washington, or in Prince George’s County, Md., closer to FedEx Field.

Allen, though, said the improvements the team will implement could keep it at its current location.

“We’re hoping,” Allen said.

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

ASHBURN – Robert Griffin III won’t be able to meet the expectations that are placed on him as the Washington Redskins’ rookie quarterback. He’d like to do so, and it’s in his character to attempt to do so, but as the days pass since he was first connected to the team late last fall, the standards have steadily risen.

Griffin

He has gone from first-round draft selection to franchise quarterback to the one responsible for alleviating the Redskins’ woes over the past two decades all within the span of six months. In that regard, demands for a 16-0 season with a Super Bowl victory could be commonplace by the time training camp opens in mid-summer.

Griffin needs to remain grounded, and Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan knows this. That’s why Shanahan, in a brief meeting, sat down with the rookie and presented a few facts and figures.

Only five quarterbacks selected in the first round in the last 15 years have led their team to a winning record in their first season, Shanahan said. Those that have done so could rely upon two crucial assets: a successful running game and a defense that wins the turnover battle.

That means simplicity is key. And while his new teammates boasted about Griffin learning a significant portion of the Redskins’ playbook in the week leading up to the team’s three-day rookie mini-camp, which ended Sunday at Redskins Park, it may be best for Griffin to take a more reserved approach.

“You have to do what you know, and you know well,” Shanahan said. “That’s our job as coaches not to throw the whole playbook at him, but do what he does best and what he feels comfortable with. That’s what we’ll find out here over the next couple months.”

Determining Griffin’s abilities began with Shanahan’s film review late last season. It continued through the camps and combines, but really picked up this past weekend, when the quarterback joined over 60 others in controlled workouts at the team’s facilities.

The final session, a 90-minute, helmets-and-shoulders practice held Sunday morning, didn’t reveal much that wasn’t already known. After beginning with 45 minutes of conditioning and drills, Griffin completed 14 of 20 passes to a variety of receivers culled from colleges across the country, all of whom the quarterback had never thrown to before the weekend began, most of whom the dream of a professional career likely ended when the camp broke.

It was away from the field, in the facility and in front of the whiteboards, that Griffin truly began to master the bulk of his responsibility.

“We watched a lot of film,” Griffin said. “We have no game film, so we have to watch everybody do it – from Rex [Grossman] to Donovan [McNabb] to [Houston with Matt] Schaub, Sage Rosenfels, [New Orleans’] Drew Brees – everybody that kind of runs the same concepts. It’s good to see those guys and the way they break it down and the way they read it and the way they progress through their progressions.”

Of course, what those quarterbacks can do holds nothing to what’s expected of Griffin. Shanahan spoke glowingly not only about the quarterback’s abilities in the team’s traditional offensive system – the play-action quarterback keeps, the bootlegs – but also of the potential of getting out to the edge or even running the option.

“He can make plays when everything breaks down, Griffin said. “ The great quarterbacks that I’ve been around, the great quarterbacks that have won Super Bowls that I’ve been lucky enough to be with, that give you a chance to make a difference in a big game, are guys that can do things with their legs and make a play happen off-balance. He’s got that ability.”

That’s why, when the rookies and veterans come together Thursday for the first team mini-camp, Griffin will be working with the rest of the starters. He will proceed through organized team activities, and into training camp in late July, as the starting quarterback.

“This is what we do,” Griffin said. “It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do football things. We’ve been doing combines, and beauty pageants on pro days, but it’s time to get to football. It felt good to get out here, really get a chance to do the things that you study on page, on the paper, and go out on the field and perform it. It was a lot of fun.”

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

ASHBURN – Right tackle Tom Compton and running back Alfred Morris, the Washington Redskins’ two sixth-round picks, signed their rookie contracts on Sunday, the team announced.

Morris, at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds from Florida Atlantic, was the 173rd overall selection and finished his career as the Owls’ all-time leader in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns, as well as all-purpose yards.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Compton, from South Dakota, was chosen 193rd overall and started all 43 games in which he played over his final three seasons.

Washington also signed five players who tried out for the team over the weekend – Utah receiver Brian Hernandez, Marshall nose tackle Delvin Johnson, Kent State receiver Samuel Kirkland, Oklahoma State guard Nick Martinez and Florida State tight end Beau Reliford – and cut nose tackle Vaughn Meatoga and receiver Kelvin Bolden, who went undrafted out of Hawaii and Southern Miss, respectively, after being signed as free agents last week.

By ZAC BOYER | zboyer@freelancestar.com | @ZacBoyer

ASHBURN – The Washington Redskins had 62 players in their rookie minicamp on Sunday, including nine players they drafted, 11 they signed as undrafted free agents and 37 who were in attendance on a tryout.

Five veterans who finished the season on either the active roster or practice squad who have not played in a game were also eligible to participate in the camp for organizational depth and individual development. Those players were cornerback Travon Bellamy, quarterback Jonathan Crompton, running back Tristan Davis, receiver Aldrick Robinson and defensive end Doug Worthington.

Of those trying out, five were later signed to the active roster: Utah receiver Brian Hernandez, Marshall nose tackle Delvin Johnson, Kent State receiver Samuel Kirkland, Oklahoma State guard Nick Martinez and Florida State tight end Beau Reliford.

According to the roster provided by the team, the rookies in attendance were:

Drafted (9): Jordan Bernstine, Iowa safety, Tom Compton, San Diego right tackle, Richard Crawford, SMU cornerback, Kirk Cousins, Michigan State quarterback, Adam Gettis, Iowa right guard, Robert Griffin III, Baylor quarterback, Josh LeRibeus, SMU left guard, Alfred Morris, Florida Atlantic running back, Keenan Robinson, Texas linebacker.

Undrafted (11): Antwon Bailey, Syracuse running back, Kelvin Boldin, Southern Miss receiver, Lennon Creer, Louisiana Tech running back, Grant Garner, Oklahoma State center, Darius Hanks, Alabama receiver, Donnell “D.J.” Holt, California inside linebacker, Lance Lewis, East Carolina receiver, Monte Lewis, Jacksonville State outside linebacker, Brian McNally, New Hampshire outside linebacker, Vaughn Meatoga, Hawaii nose tackle, Chase Minnifield, Virginia cornerback.

Tryouts (37): Andre Anderson, McNeese State running back, Mychal Bailey, Kentucky free safety, David Blackburn, Central Michigan tight end, Wade Bonner, Mississippi State strong safety, Colin Boss, Middle Tennessee State center, Devon Brown, West Virginia receiver, Brandon Bullock, Marshall nose tackle, Terrence Campbell, South Carolina guard, Willie Carter, Howard receiver, Austin Cassidy, Nebraska strong safety, Tristan Dorty, Wake Forest inside linebacker, Cliff Exama, Grambling inside linebacker, Brian Hendricks, Wyoming inside linebacker, Brian Hernandez, Utah receiver, Antoine Hicks, TCU receiver, Nicholas Hixson, Hillsdale cornerback, Mark Huyge, Michigan right tackle, Darrell Jenkins, McNeese State strong safety, Delvin Johnson, Marshall nose tackle, Jarvis Jones, Oklahoma offensive tackle, Phelon Jones, Alabama receiver, Samuel Kirkland, Kent State receiver, Kentrell Lockett, Ole Miss outside linebacker, Marcus Lott, Coastal Carolina free safety, Nick Martinez, Oklahoma state right guard, Darren McNorton, North Dakota State running back, Keith Nichol, Michigan State receiver, Martavious Odoms, Michigan receiver, Josh Oglesby, Wisconsin left tackle, Tannar Rehrer, Memphis receivet, Beau Reliford, Florida State tight end, Eain Smith, West Virginia strong safety, Mark Spinney, Boston College center, Ian Thomas, Illinois inside linebacker, Everrett Thompson, Washington nose tackle, Stephen Watson, Michigan tight end, Ben Wells, Stephen F. Austin cornerback.