WP:Ramsey May Need Offseason Surgery

[TK]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63410-2003Nov19.html

Ramsey May Need Offseason Surgery

Status for Sunday Still Uncertain

By Mark Maske

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, November 20, 2003; Page D01

Quarterback Patrick Ramsey sat out the Washington Redskins' practice yesterday because of his sore right foot, and said it is possible the injury will require surgery following the season. Backup Tim Hasselbeck practiced with the first-team offense and would make his initial NFL start Sunday night in Miami if Ramsey is unable to play.

Backup quarterback Tim Hasselbeck got in for a few plays against the Dallas Cowboys, and handed off to Sultan McCullough on this one. (Preston Keres - The Washington Post)

Coach Steve Spurrier and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said they would not play Ramsey if they think he would risk further injuring himself or hurting the team. But the coaches and both quarterbacks said they were counting on Ramsey to play, even as that appeared far from certain as Ramsey limped around Redskins Park with a protective boot on his foot. He is bothered by a bone bruise and the aggravation of an old fracture.

"I've played 10 games so far on it," Ramsey said. "I hope I'll be able to play this one. I'm going to evaluate it. It's more sore than it's been on a Wednesday [but] I'm expecting to play at this point."

Spurrier said he could wait until the weekend to make a decision, and indicated it's possible that Ramsey will practice today or Friday.

"He should be fine by the weekend," Spurrier said. "If not, Tim Hasselbeck practiced and he knows what to do. He'd be ready to go. He's probably going to play at some point. It could be this weekend or it could be later. . . . If that [withholding Ramsey] seems to be the thing to do, we would. But if Patrick's healthy, he's our starter. We still believe something good is going to happen."

X-rays revealed an extra piece of bone in Ramsey's foot when he initially aggravated his old injury in August, according to head trainer Dean Kleinschmidt. The injury is to Ramsey's fifth metatarsal, on the outside of his foot, the quarterback said. Ramsey reinjured himself in each of the club's past two games. Now the injury is the worst that it's been all season, and Ramsey received a cortisone injection on Monday.

In a season that has been full of bumps, bruises, sprains and strains, Ramsey said this is the worst injury. "This is something you can't just shrug off and go with it," he said.

Team officials have been consulting with a foot and ankle specialist and have discussed whether Ramsey should undergo offseason surgery, according to Kleinschmidt. Ramsey said it is a possibility.

Even so, Jackson said he would be very surprised if Ramsey doesn't play Sunday. "As long as he can move around and put pressure on that foot, he can be ready to go," the offensive coordinator said. "I think it's more sore than it's been, and we want to calm it down. Patrick is a tremendous competitor. If there's any way he can be out there, he will be."

Jackson added: "He has a high pain threshold. If he can play, I think he'll go play and go play well. We're very fortunate. There aren't a lot of young quarterbacks who can go play well. There's a Heisman Trophy winner [rookie Carson Palmer] in Cincinnati standing on the sideline. There are growing pains. I want him to play every game he can because that's another game of experience. It's getting him that much closer. These games are very valuable for his development."

Ramsey, 24, overthrew two open receivers for would-be touchdowns in the first half of last Sunday's 20-17 defeat at Carolina before rallying to throw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes. The second-year pro said yesterday that "maybe" his foot affected him on those misfires, adding: "I don't know. I still have to make the throws whether my foot hurts or not."

Said Jackson, "I want to believe those are things that he just missed."

Hasselbeck, 25, is best known for being the son of former NFL tight end Don Hasselbeck, the younger brother of Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and the husband of former "Survivor" finalist Elisabeth Filarski (now Hasselbeck). But Redskins coaches have liked what they have seen from the former undrafted free agent out of Boston College since signing him during the club's bye week last month after the team released Rob Johnson and had a contract offer rejected by Danny Wuerffel.

He threw his first three NFL regular season passes, completing two of them, when Ramsey was knocked twice from the Redskins' loss at Dallas on Nov. 2, and he has picked up the offense rapidly.

"He can run it all, and he throws the ball pretty decently," Jackson said.

Said Hasselbeck: "When you're a backup, you don't get a chance to play often. If it does come this week, I'll try to play the best I can. I'm still learning and getting an idea of the timing and how we protect certain things, things like that. That will keep coming along. But at the same time, I'll go in there and try to run the offense as best I can."

Hasselbeck is on his fourth NFL team and said he never before had been in the situation of knowing at midweek that it was possible he could start that weekend's game. "I know [Ramsey's] foot is hurting him," Hasselbeck said. "But he's such a tough guy and such a competitor, my guess is that he'll be ready to go. . . . But if he can't go, I'll go in there and do the best I can."

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles said the other Redskins players need to spend the week worrying about themselves instead of about the quarterback situation.

"We can't worry about that position," Coles said. "You have to worry about yourself and what you're doing. If [Ramsey] needs a little time off, that's fine. I'm just glad he's out there walking around okay."

The Dolphins seemed to be expecting to see Ramsey on Sunday. "He's a tough son of a gun," defensive end Jason Taylor said in a conference call with Washington area reporters. "I watched the Dallas game. They were tattooing him, and he kept getting up."

Washington Post staff writer Mark Maske will answer questions about the Redskins in an online discussion at 10:45 a.m. today at www.washingtonpost.com/ liveonline.