ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - The good news for the Washington Redskins is that right tackle Jammal Brown doesn't need surgery on his chronically ailing left hip. The bad news is that there's no timetable for him to return to action.
Brown, 31, missed four games last season with hip and groin injuries after being sidelined for all of 2009 with New Orleans following surgery on the left hip. The two-time Pro Bowl selection trained strenuously this offseason with yoga and Pilates only to re-injure the hip while running sprints on the eve of training camp's July 26 start.
``The doctor recommended some anti-inflammatories. We're going to bring him back here and get him back in football shape,'' Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Wednesday. ``I don't think anybody knows (if Jammal can return) until you put him through the conditioning drills, treatment, give him a workout and see how he reacts the next day.
``Can he practice pain-free? We're not going to activate him, take him off PUP until he's ready to go. If he's able to go, and we feel like there's a good chance he'll stay injury-free, he'll be on our football team. If not, obviously he can't.''
Tyler Polumbus, who started three of the final four games last season in place of the injured Brown, is Washington's starting right tackle again, at least for the short term. Shanahan said he has confidence that the Redskins can compete with Polumbus, 2011 rookie free agent Willie Smith, former Tampa Bay starter James Lee, and former Chiefs starter Jordan Black at right tackle.
``Jammal went to the Pro Bowl, so he's an exceptional player,'' center Will Montgomery said. ``I don't know if Tyler's a Pro Bowler, but you can definitely win a lot of games with Tyler.''
NOTES: Defensive end Kentwan Balmer had an absence from practice for an unknown reason, according to Shanahan. ... Linebackers London Fletcher and Ryan Kerrigan were given rest days as was end Stephen Bowen, who had arthroscopic knee surgery during the offseason. ... The Redskins, 5-11 last season, open the preseason at Buffalo on Sept. 9.
