The worst season of tight end Chris Cooley’s otherwise consistently strong career took a nasty turn Sunday.
A broken left index finger will require surgery and knock Cooley out indefinitely, according to coach Mike Shanahan. Grant Paulsen of 106.7 reported Sunday Cooley would be out roughly six weeks.
Cooley will also seek more opinions on his knee. Depending on what he finds there, it’s worth wondering if we’ll see Cooley again this year.
Cooley hasn’t looked like himself this season because of his knee problem. He never seemed to fully recover from offseason surgery, and has lacked foot speed. Cooley has just eight catches for 65 yards this season.
We mentioned during the bye how healthy the Redskins have been this season overall. Apologies for the jinx. Cooley’s injury will be compounded by a high ankle sprain for left tackle Trent Williams, and a season-ending knee injury for guard Kory Lichtensteiger.
If nothing else, the schedule favors Washington in the short term. They face Carolina on Sunday, and the Panthers defense hasn’t stopped anyone.