Washington Commanders

Anthony Lanier Heading To Injured Reserve For Washington Redskins

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Washington Redskins were forced to put Anthony Lanier on the Injured Reserve on Tuesday. That will end the defensive lineman’s season.

Anthony Lanier was one of the feel good stories of the Washington Redskins season. The undrafted rookie signed with the team as a free agent in the offseason and was extremely impressive in the preseason. His excellent play prompted the team to keep him on the final roster, and they kept him as one of their six down linemen for most of the season. However, his season has come to an end on Tuesday as the team placed him on the IR, per Redskins.com’s Stephen Czarda.

Lanier was an unheralded player in college, playing at Alabama A&M. The 6-foot-6 prospect showed some promise, but was never realistically an option to be drafted. The Redskins scooped him up soon after the draft and kept him during the offseason. By the time the regular season rolled around, Lanier was ready to be a contributor, and he showed a lot of promise in his first season.

In his first season, Lanier saw action in only four games and recorded a single fumble recovery. When he stepped into the lineup for the first time in Week 8, he was able to show flashes in limited playing time. He has the size and strength to combat opposing linemen, and he definitely has a lot of upside. The Redskins were excited about all of his potential, and rightfully so.

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However, in Week 12 against the Cowboys he suffered a leg injury that held him out of the next two contests. The Redskins were playing it safe with Lanier, and they did not want to rush him back for two reasons. The first is that he is a young player with upside, and they do not want to jeopardize his future. They made the mistake of doing that with Josh Doctson, and that is costing them right now. The second reason is that Lanier was only playing a small role, so he was not going to be badly missed. Still, his absence impacted depth on the defensive line.

On Tuesday, the Redskins were forced to make the decision as they added linebacker Nick Moody to the roster. The team had to move one player to make room for the depth linebacker, and Lanier ended up being the guy. This is not great news for the Skins, but it was probably the most sensible move they could have made, other than releasing an offensive lineman.

Moving forward, the Redskins will have to replace Lanier in the rotation. Candidates to see an increase in playing time are rookie Matt Ioannidis and Trent Murphy. Ioannidis could come in more on early downs as a run stuffing specialist while Murphy can play with his hand down more than he has in the past few weeks. Muprhy is a combination defensive end and rush linebacker, so his versatility will give him the edge in passing situation.

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