Donald Penn is going to need some work before he can start at left tackle for the Washington Redskins, provided the team needs him to do so.
To that end, Redskins coach Jay Gruden made it clear during a presser leading up to preseason Week 1 that Penn is going to see some quality work, according to Scott Jennings of Hogs Haven:
”Yeah, I think he’s a veteran, yes, but I still think he needs to play a lot. He played a little bit early for the Raiders last year. But just getting back into the groove. You’ve got to get back into football shape, work on his pass sets going back to left tackle, getting used to out terminology, cadence, all that. I think this will be a good game for him to just get back into the flow and get used to the way we talk [about] things, listen to our language and go from there. So far he’s progressed along pretty good.”
That makes plenty of sense given Penn’s limited playing time last year before getting hurt and the fact he only recently signed with the team.
Either way, the Redskins listed Geron Christian as the first left tackle on their first depth chart. It’s an “unofficial” listing, but for now, it isn’t too surprising to see Penn behind someone who has been around the team longer.
Should Penn knock off the rust and show well in exhibitions, he might not sit behind anyone on the depth chart for long if the Trent Williams holdout continues.
