Washington Redskins strong safety LaRon Landry said his strained left Achilles’ tendon feels better this week after he sat out Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. He added that he looks forward to returning to the field in Seattle, if Mike Shanahan will allow him.

“I feel a lot better. Like I said before, when it started aggravating me, I knew it was something that was going to nag me for the duration of each week,” said Landry, who missed seven games last season with microtears in the same tendon. “Just pounding on it caught up to me, and it got a little sore and aggravated. Flared up and I let it wait and settle down to being manageable. At this point, the latter part of the season, I think it’s going to be a little achy. It just depends on how achy. It feels good this week. I’m looking forward to playing on Sunday. Can’t wait.”

Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush leaps just short of the end zone as LaRon Landry defends Nov. 13. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)Shanahan held Landry out of last week’s game because the fifth-year pro’s sore Achilles kept him from practicing. Landry said last Friday that he would “be pretty hurt” if he wasn’t permitted to play, because he viewed the meeting with Dallas as “a big game,” and he wanted to help his team win.

But on Monday Shanahan said that without practicing, it is difficult to play well.

“Normally, if guys can’t practice Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, the chance of them playing well on game day, at least in my experience, is slim and none,” Shanahan said. “A lot of times you’ll have guys missing Wednesday and Thursday, not a lot of times, but sometimes and, all of a sudden on Friday, they feel pretty good. Then, you have to evaluate them depending on what player it is…A lot depends on what type of experience, what type of player he is, what your gut is on how he handles situations like that. So there’s all different types of scenarios. Usually the players that play the best have at least practiced.”

Landry said Wednesday he wouldn’t “do too much politicking,” for playing time.

“I don’t really do too much talking,” Landry said. “If he feels comfortable putting me in the game plan to play on Sunday, that’s what I’m going to do. But I’m going to trust my body and communicate with them and whatever he decides, it’s on them.”

Landry has played without going through full weeks of practice previously in his career. Last season, after he first suffered the injury in Week 6 against Indianapolis, he played three more weeks despite taking only practice reps on Fridays. After Week 9, the tendon was too painful for him to walk normally, and he was shut down for the whole season.

The safety said Wednesday morning that he planned to practice Wednesday, but added that he does believe that he could remain effective on limited practice time.

“If I don’t practice no day, I’m not going to forget how to play on a Sunday,” said Landry, who this season has 44 tackles, half a sack and a forced fumble. “I don’t forget how to play football. It all depends on the coaching staff and if they want me to play.”

Five Washington Redskins players are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, and the team officially ruled strong safety LaRon Landry out for the season opener on their Friday injury report.

Tight end Chris Cooley (knee), starting free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring), running back Ryan Torain (hand), return specialist Brandon Banks (knee) and receiver Donte Stallworth (shoulder) all were limited for a fourth straight practice and are listed on the injury report as questionable.

Landry, who hasn’t practiced since Monday, is the only Redskins player that has officially been ruled out.

Meanwhile, the Giants could be without starting defensive end Justin Tuck (knee) and backup tight end Travis Beckum (hamstring), who were both limited in practice, according to the team’s injury report.

The Giants have ruled out cornerback Prince Amukamara (foot), linebacker Jonathan Goff (knee) and defensive end Osi Umenyiora (knee) for Sunday.

ASHBURN,Va – Another morning, another Redskins practice. We may be getting to that point in training camp where every day is groundhog day. That is, the team is running very similar practice routines each day.

But before practice even began, the team released its unofficial depth chart for this Friday’s preseason opener against the Steelers. There aren’t really a ton of surprises, but Rex Grossman will be the first team quarterback and Mike Sellers is the fourth team tight end (not a great sign). 

The team is clearly working toward Friday’s game, as the offense and defense primarily went over goal line and two minute drills this morning. 

Here a couple other nuggets from this morning:

Ryan Kerrigan’s learning process continues: The Redskins top draft pick had a very interesting day today. For one, this wasjust his second practice back from his knee injury, and his third practice overall in camp. Secondly, it’s clear he’s still learning the linebacker position.

In the goal line drills, he worked primarily in coverage, going against tight ends Logan Paulsen, Fred Davis and Mike Sellers. Early on, he was fairly solid, forcing pass breakups on Paulsen in the endzone. Fellow linebacker London Fletcher and linebacker coach Lou Spanos cheered on Kerrigan after each deflection.

“Way to go, Ryan!”, Fletcher yelled.

But several plays later, Kerrigan showed why he still has plenty of learning to do. Lining up against Davis and Sellers, he was unable to keep up with them, being out of position for two completions made to his side.

Afterward, once special teams drills began, Kerrigan was pulled aside to the far field by Spanos. The LB coach worked personally with Kerrigan to help teach him the nuances of coverage in various situations. The two of them worked off to the side for about twenty minutes, before they went back to rejoin the team. Kerrigan is expected to be a starter in Week 1, and it’s clear the coaching staff wants to catch him up to speed as quickly as possible.

“Good job, Ryan.” Spanos said after their session. The two then went to the main field for the resumption of goal line drills. 

After practice was over, I asked Kerrigan about the one-on-one session with Spanos.

“Just more coaching” he said. “Being a rookie, and making a position change to outside linebacker, I need all the help and pointers I can get.  We do that every day whenever I’m not on a certain special team, [we] go to the side and furthers my knowledge of the position.”

Fletcher also chimed in on Kerrigan’s learning process.

“He looks comfortable in space. He doesn’t look unnatural,” said the Redskins defensive captain. “The tough part for him will have to be with the communication, understanding ‘Am I a rusher? Or am I a cover guy?’, and then being able to compute that stuff very quickly.”

Kerrigan is hoping to get some playing time against the Steelers, and will look forward to finally getting a chance to master the outside linebacker position in game situations.

Kicking battle takes shape: Today saw another step towards deciding who the Redskins field goal kicker could be. Graham Gano and Shayne Graham started kicking field goals of 40 plus yards in distance, with both of them looking pretty sharp. In the end, Gano was 6 of 7 on his attempts and Graham was 5 of 7. Does that mean much? It’s hard to tell right now. Nothing matters in this competition until either of them can show they can do it consistently in game situations.

Players who didn’t participate in today’s practice: O.J. Atogwe (hamstring), Malcolm Kelly (foot), Artis Hicks (mild concussion), Ryan Torain (hand)