ASHBURN — The Redskins began their organized team activities this week as the offseason program continues. Minicamp is not far off and training camp is on the horizon now, too. After a Memorial Day weekend off, players return to the field on Tuesday. But here are five observations from this past Wednesday’s session that was open to reporters:

Strong safety will again be a battle

This is a lingering issue. Last year Duke Ihenacho and Jeron Johnson competed for the starting job at strong safety. But Ihenacho, who decisively won the gig, fractured and dislocated his left wrist in the season opener and Johnson quickly faded from relevance. The Redskins turned to other options. That didn’t pan out too well. Ihenacho is back, but this time he has better competition: David Bruton, Jr., a former teammate in Denver. Bruton started three games for the Broncos last season and has far more experience than the since-cut Johnson did. Bruton took repetitions with the first teamers in OTAs last Wednesday, but you can expect Ihenacho to get his share during OTAs and minicamp.

Preston Smith can MOVE

That shouldn’t be. Smith is an outside linebacker and listed at 6-foot-5, 271 pounds. But he’s noticeably lighter this spring and somehow kept up with tight end Jordan Reed on a throw downfield from quarterback Kirk Cousins. The pass was a little beyond Reed, but Smith was there to make a play if needed. Smith said later he’s dropped just three pounds so it’s not a huge difference. But let’s just say that weight looks re-distributed. He looks leaner and should be an impact player all year after a strong finish to his rookie campaign.

Spencer Long an option at center

This has been expected all offseason. But it’s clear the Redskins want to have someone else to turn to if starter Kory Lichtensteiger gets hurt again. The Josh LeRibeus experiment last year didn’t always go smoothly. Long, the left guard last year after Shawn Lauvao was injured in Week 3 and lost for the season, took snaps with the second teamers. The coaching staff will continue to get him some experience the rest of OTAs and minicamp. LeRibeus remains an option there, too, but he worked primarily at left guard with the second team during the practice open to reporters.

“Kory [Lichtensteiger] is doing an excellent job so far for the first two days and obviously [Josh] LeRibeus got his experience last year,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “But, we don’t want to run into a situation again where we lose somebody and something happens to the next guy and then we can’t even function. So, we want to make sure we have players in-house that know how to play the position.”

Su’a Cravens continues to learn linebacker

The rookie second-round pick is learning the defense from inside linebacker on out. The hope is he can transition between that spot and safety depending on the team’s needs and what offensive packages it’s facing. But he has to show he can play at both spots first. On Wednesday he stayed at inside linebacker working with the second teamers. Work at safety will likely wait until training camp. It’s a lot to process for a rookie so it remains to be seen if Cravens can contribute all over the field right away.

Injury watch

Outside linebacker Junior Galette (torn left Achilles), running back Chris Thompson (torn labrum, left shoulder) and left guard Shawn Lauvao (torn ligaments, left ankle, right foot surgery) all sat out this week and won’t participate until training camp.

The team still awaits word on safety Kyshoen Jarrett, who suffered nerve damage in his shoulder on Jan. 3 in a game against Dallas. He has seen specialists in Denver, but the team still won’t say what those findings are.

Inside linebacker Perry Riley, Jr. (broken right foot) was hurt in December. He tried too hard, too fast to return to the field for Washington’s playoff game against Green Bay and has been in a walking boot during OTAs. He insists he’ll be ready for training camp, however. One injury to keep an eye on for next week: Rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson, the Redskins’ first-round pick, has a sore Achilles tendon and didn’t participate in team drills on Wednesday.

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