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Hackett joins receiver battle
Redskins camp notebook
Date published: 8/6/2009

BY RICH CAMPBELL

ASHBURN

--The Washington Redskins intensified the competition for their fifth wide receiver spot yesterday by signing veteran D.J. Hackett.

Hackett has 118 catches for 1,575 yards and nine touchdowns in his five-year NFL career. He played for the Seattle Seahawks from 2004-07 while Redskins head coach Jim Zorn was a quarterbacks coach there.

"I know the way he works and the way he wants things done," Hackett said.

The Redskins added Hackett after waiving veteran receiver Roydell Williams, who broke his left pinkie on Sunday and was expected to miss 3-6 weeks.

Hackett, 28, is competing with a group of unheralded receivers with little NFL experience. He has not played much special teams, however, and Washington's fifth receiver likely will be required to play a large role on that unit.

Washington has flirted with Hackett before. Most recently, he was invited to a tryout in May. Hackett said four teams expressed interest in him in the previous two weeks, but he received no offers. Carolina released him after he caught only 13 balls for 181 yards last season.

"Hack knows the offense, knows the terminology. He was here before for a short time, and he did great," Zorn said. "He worked right in today. Usually it takes a while to get up to speed, and he just ran the routes."

The Redskins' need for another receiver in camp became more urgent Tuesday when second-year wideout Devin Thomas missed practice to rest his balky right hamstring. He sat out again yesterday, as did fellow second-year wideout Malcolm Kelly, who also has a tight hamstring.


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Date published: 8/6/2009



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