The Washington Redskins have signed center John Sullivan
The Washington Redskins had a busy day Tuesday as they made six roster moves, including the signing of free agent center John Sullivan.
The 31-year-old Sullivan is a nine-year NFL veteran who played his whole career with the Minnesota Vikings before being released during the preseason. As recently as 2013, a case could have been made that Sullivan was as good as any center in the NFL. He’s had some knee problems and his 2014 campaign was a down one by his standards, but at 31 he should have more left in the tank.
Sullivan becomes the oldest member on a young Redskins offensive line.
The Redskins also signed offensive lineman Vinston Painter from their practice squad.
Painter has previously been a member of the Broncos, Browns, Giants, and Dolphins. For a 26-year-old, he’s awfully well traveled.
To create the roster spots for Sullivan and Painter, the Redskins placed safety DeAngelo Hall and center Kory Lichtensteiger on Injured Reserve.
Hall tore his ACL during this weekend’s game is will miss the remainder of the season. The defensive back also tore his Achilles in 2014.
Head coach Jay Gruden talked a little about Hall’s injury.
“He’s a captain, you know? He’s coming along, playing a lot better and better at safety, so it’s pretty significant,” Grudens said. “Now [Will] Blackmon will take over at that position and we’ll go from there. Will played well when he came in. From a player perspective, Will’s right there with him, but from a leadership standpoint, D-Hall has done a lot for this organization, a lot for this team. He’s going to be missed.”
When asked about Hall’s football future, Gruden said “we’ll have to see.”
“I think he’s got to really take a look at it and see where he is once he does the rehab if he wants to try it again,” Gruden said. “I haven’t talked to him about that – his future or anything – we just want him to get well first. We want him to have the surgery and make sure he recovers. That’s the No. 1 priority right now. After that we’ll wait and see.”
Cornerback Tye Smith was signed to the practice squad and linebacker Amarlo Herrera was released from the practice squad.
