Not a huge shock here—the Redskins will bring in candidates for the punting job, likely foreshadowing the release of punter Durant Brooks.

Brooks cost the team three points with a short punt from the end zone in the third quarter of Sunday’s two-point loss to the St. Louis Rams. After the Rams went three and out, they were still in range for a field goal on the drive.

As Brooks told me on Sunday, his first three punts were actually of good quality, but the first one looked ugly and drew some boos from the crowd, which seemed to have made up their mind long before they set foot in FedEx Field on Sunday.

After the game he also remembered his first season at Georgia Tech, where he would eventually become the nation’s top punter. He said he struggled in his first season there, but was saved by some good bounces—bounces that weren’t happening for him this year.

He’s also fallen victim to the impatience of an NFL team, especially one that just lost to the St. Louis Rams. London Fletcher summed it up best for me. He said: “I don’t know anything about punting. That’s what we have a special teams coach for.“ I think the front office takes a similar approach—if the punter’s broke, just replace him. They don’t need to know how he works, just that he will work in pressure situations.

Brooks replaced outgoing punter Derrick Frost at the start of this season. There’s no word on who will be auditioning to replace him, or even if Brooks would be sent to the practice squad to get more work in hopes of improvement. Perhaps coach Jim Zorn will address that during his weekly press conference, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. today. We’ll have an update as soon as that happens.

Posted by Michael Phillips in • Professional Football
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