Here is what you need to know on this Monday, August 7, 26 days before the Washington Redskins cut their roster to 53 on September 2.

Timeline

The Redskins last played a game 218 days ago; they will open the 2017 season against the Eagles at FedEx Field in 34 days.

Today’s schedule: Walkthrough 10:35; Jay Gruden press conference 2:45; Practice 3:00; players available after both practices.

Days until:



—Preseason opener @ Ravens (8/10) 3

—Preseason vs. Packers at FedEx Field (8/19) 12

—Sunday night Raiders @ Redskins (9/24) 48

Redskins hot topics

RICHMOND—Here is a look at what’s going on at Redskins training camp just a few days prior to the team’s first preseason game.

—Jay Gruden was asked about the performance of Bashaud Breeland so far in camp. He was very hesitant to answer. The transcript from PR read, “He’s doing good… He’s such a competitive guy. He gets in trouble sometimes, he’s so overly competitive, but for the most part, I like what he’s doing, man.” That ellipsis was an awkward moment of silence. The “overly competitive” part is what my main observation has been. He seems to gamble too much and he may be out of position sometimes. There is time to work it out but for right now the fourth-year player is not looking good.

—Gruden took a peek at the roster cut situation regarding head count at each position. He mentions what areas have the key battles. "Yeah, I've thought about a lot of different scenarios, both outside linebacker, safety, corner, inside backer. I mean, we have some issues we're going to have to deal with as far as the 53-man roster,” said Gruden. “I think it'll all play out. You know, everybody's happy with everybody right now, but at the end of the day, people are going to have to perform in the preseason.” There will be a lot on the line in the preseason games starting Thursday night in Baltimore.

—The two last items are questions from fans via Twitter and Facebook.

I’ll take one on each side of the ball. The offensive side is easy. RB Mack Brown will get a lot of chances to shine. Rob Kelley was dealing with some neck pain last week and he might not play at all. Chris Thompson’s snaps will be limited. Samaje Perine may get six carries. That will leave a lot of work for Brown, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry in the preseason last year.

On defense, I’ll go with a more obscure player. Inside LB Pete Robertson has been making plays all over the field in practice. I don’t think that the first-year player out of Texas Tech has much of a shot to make the roster but he will make his case for a practice squad spot or perhaps a look by another team.

https://twitter.com/aac7791/status/894258114987479044

Gruden was asked that on Sunday and his answer was, well, not an answer. "Not yet. We’ll see how we get through the next two practices, see where we are,” he said. But there is no reason to think that he will vary from what he has done in the past. In the first preseason game last year Kirk Cousins, Pierre Garçon, and DeSean Jackson each played the first possession, which lasted eight snaps. The starting offensive line stayed in and protected Colt McCoy for another series, a total of 17 snaps. So the correct answer here is one or two series, eight to 15 snaps.

If Galette doesn’t start he will play about the same number of snaps that the starters do. Brown should come in for nickel situations early and play some base defense later. Regardless, he will be on the same snap count as the starters.

Don’t ask me to figure out Jim Tomsula’s D-line rotation. There is no apparent pattern to go on. Watch and learn with the rest of us.

Stay up to date on the Redskins. Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page Facebook.com/TandlerCSN and follow him on Twitter @Rich_TandlerCSN.

Tandler on Twitter

Role reversal, sort of, with AJ Francis catching and Niles Paul on defense. #Redskins pic.twitter.com/xbZn71ntLs — Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) August 6, 2017

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