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Colt Brennan's only action with the Redskins this year came in preseason, and then he went on injured reserve
Jim Zorn could very well be one of the first to exit Redskins Park, but will QB Colt Brennan be right behind him?
Brennan will start exercise once he gets his doctor's clearance, but will he still be a member of the team? |
BY RICH CAMPBELL
ASHBURN
--The new year can't arrive fast enough for many at Redskins Park. The discontent, uncertainty and disciplinary issues continue to multiply at various levels of the organization as the Washington Redskins crawl to the finish line. Most would agree that it's time for this wretched season to end.Colt Brennan is eager to flip the calendar, too, but for a different reason. It will mark the end of his lost season and the beginning of his return to the game. While his teammates scatter to their offseason pursuits, Brennan's work will just be starting.
"It has definitely been a real test," said Brennan, who has missed the whole season on injured reserve following hip surgery in September. "I'm so glad that I'm a couple weeks from totally closing that chapter and moving on to something totally awesome."
New general manager Bruce Allen is in the process of evaluating all 71 Redskins players and determining the extent to which they will be part of his effort to rebuild the team. There are 53 on the active roster and eight on the practice squad. Brennan is one of 10 on injured reserve.
Each player's status involves nuances that will help Allen decide his fate. Some have glaring contract concerns; others are affected by age, talent, health or depth at his position.
Brennan's case is among the most intriguing. Put yourself in Allen's shoes for a moment and consider it.
You have on your roster an inexperienced quarterback who will be 27 next August. He is signed through 2011 with a relatively small salary, so there's no issue there. He was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NCAA history, but he's unproven in the NFL--save for a promising rookie preseason--and presents some mechanical concerns with his sidearm throwing motion.
There also is greater uncertainty at the quarterback position. Starter Jason Campbell is likely to be a restricted free agent. Backup Todd Collins is under contract for 2010, but he'll be 39. It's a question mark on an offense with plenty at several positions.
So to what extent should Brennan, coming off a season on injured reserve, be part of the plan?
"The only thing I can do is hope that I get another great opportunity to go out and play this preseason and that I'm healthy," Brennan said.
HOW TO REACT?
He has come a long way from his standout rookie preseason in 2008. Remember when Redskins fans were pining for head coach Jim Zorn to replace Campbell with Brennan? That seems like eons ago.
Brennan has a humble outlook these days. With his pedigree as a sixth-round draft pick, he realizes that Allen and a new coach might deem him expendable.
"I still feel like I really, really have to go out there and earn a lot of respect," he said.
Spending the last few months as a bystander has reinforced that point.
Once Brennan could move around after his surgery, but before he was cleared to begin physical rehabilitation, he spent his hours at Redskins Park sitting in on offensive and defensive meetings.
He attended most home games and scheduled his check-ups with Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colo., on weekends when the Redskins played on the road.
Like many players on injured reserve, he had to contend with the negative emotions that result from the inability to contribute to the team.
"You just feel like you don't know how to react," Brennan said. "If I'm on the sidelines, should I cheer? Should I just get out of the way? You feel like you have a total pause on your life for a little while where you have to just sit, watch and wait."
He tried to make the best of the situation. He visited his sister in Colorado whenever he traveled to see his doctor. He went on a duck hunting trip with friends in Illinois last weekend as the Redskins prepared to play a Monday night game.
He visited Miami Dolphins receiver Davone Bess, one of his former teammates at the University of Hawaii, for a game. And he has hosted some out-of-town friends for home games, a luxury that active players can't enjoy because they must stay at the team hotel on the night before each game.
Meanwhile, though, his development as a quarterback became stagnant.
"I think for a quarterback [on injured reserve] it could help to be involved in every single thing you can," Zorn said. "I think the involvement is good, but to get out there and physically do it is where you get better. I think those things are real setbacks."
WONDERING 'WHAT IF'
Brennan saw Campbell struggle at times during the season. It was natural to wonder whether he would have gotten a chance to play when Campbell was benched in Week 6.
But how well could Brennan have performed, realistically, if he tried to play through the torn labrum in his hip?
"That's the only thing I tried to soothe myself with," Brennan said. "Had I worked through it and had I gotten a chance, I might have had to go out there and not be physically where I want to be."
Brennan is determined, however, to salvage something from his season on the sideline: confidence in facing adversity.
He recalls the interception he threw against the New England Patriots in the preseason that was returned 99 yards for a touchdown. He responded by throwing a touchdown pass later in that game and by completing 10 of 14 passes against Jacksonville in the following game.
Brennan pulled his stats from the Jacksonville game off the top of his head.
"That's what you have to show as a quarterback, that you can bounce back from something negative," he said. "I really thought in the worst time, I really rose up and did some good things to solidify myself and make them say, 'Hey, let's not give up on this dude yet.'"
Brennan is eager to build on that, and he'll take a significant step in that direction this week.
He expects Dr. Philippon to clear him to resume football activities. With the help of his agent, he plans to hire a personal trainer to get him back into top shape in time for the start of offseason workouts in March.
There likely will be a new coach by then. The roster could be drastically overhauled.
For now, Brennan will wait with the rest of his teammates to see how Allen steers the club.
"If we do go a different direction and changes are made, all I can hope is that whoever people are brought in like me," Brennan said. "Hopefully they respect what I've done and hopefully see potential in me."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
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