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Updated at 9:14 p.m. EDT Sunday, July 20
As it stands now, coming off a knee injury and entering a crowded DE situation, Erasmus James — the failed former first-round pick of the Vikings who was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round draft pick — is far from guaranteed a roster spot. The team hopes that James, coming off ACL surgery last season, can be in shape to contribute at some point this preseason. The cautiously optimistic hope is that he can be ready to play in the final two preseason games, which would give him a chance to show he can contribute and make the roster. But with projected starters Jason Taylor (acquired in a trade after Phillip Daniels was lost for the season with a torn ACL, suffered on the first day of training camp) and Andre Carter, plus backups Chris Wilson and Demetric Evans, two players whom last year’s coaching staff liked, James must be impressive and hope that the team will keep five defensive ends on the 53-man roster, which is not far-fetched. One thing that could help James rediscover his college effectiveness is a return to the weight he played at with Wisconsin (where current Redskins DL coach John Palermo worked with him). He was in the 255- to 260-pound range there but bulked up to 275 pounds or more with the Vikings, and new Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache is a proponent of having James drop the weight, as opposed to former coordinator Gregg Williams, who liked his ends to be bigger.
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