John Matthews
WMAL.com
ASHBURN, VA — The Redskins’ hopeful season suffered a setback Tuesday, when the team placed kicker Dustin Hopkins on the short-term Injured Reserve list, and signed a rookie, Nick Rose, to replace him.
Hopkins, in his third season as the Redskins kicker, suffered a right hip rotator muscle strain, which will take several weeks to heal. He has hit on 9 of 11 field goal attempts this season, and 13 for 13 in extra point attempts. His placement on the IR list means he will not be eligible to return until December 17th, when the Redskins play the Arizona Cardinals.
The Redskins auditioned at least four kickers on Tuesday, and decided on signing Rose.
Rose, who played college football at Texas, has never kicked in a regular season NFL game, though he has had training camp stints with Atlanta and San Francisco. He hit on 27 of 38 field goals and 71 of 74 extra point attempts in two years of college play.
Rose is perhaps best known for his strong leg, which he has demonstrated in a YouTube video, hitting an 80-yard field goal on a practice field.
The Redskins are hoping Rose can be accurate enough to stick around. He is hardly the first rookie kicker to make his NFL debut for Washington – in fact, Hopkins launched his NFL career in Washington, as did veteran kicker Kai Forbath, who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings.
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