Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels suffered an injury Sunday to his anterior cruciate knee ligament, according to a source, a potentially season-ending injury that could lead to Jason Taylor coming to Washington.
Daniels hurt the knee during the team's first practice. He tried to jump over a teammate and came down on his knee. Daniels had to be carted off the field. Preliminary reports from the initial MRI indicated damage to the ACL and possibly more, according to a source.
Following the morning practice, the Redskins started working on trade discussions to replace him. According to another source, talks are underway with the Miami Dolphins for Taylor, who started the offseason by asking to go to a contending team.
With Daniels likely done for the season and Erasmus James starting camp on the physically unable to perform list recovering from knee problems, defensive end is the thinnest position on the Redskins. The Dolphins asked for a first-round choice for Taylor before the draft while he was competing in the "Dancing With The Stars" show on ABC. It is not know what the Redskins would offer the Dolphins for Taylor.
The 35-year-old Daniels is one of the team leaders on defense, and his loss would hurt the team. Demetric Evans is currently behind him on the team's depth chart.
The Redskins have not been in aggressive in free agency this season, so they would have no trouble handling Taylor's $8.1 million contract, but they also have the ability rework the deal. After signing all 10 draft choices before the start of camp, the Redskins have more than $9 million of cap room.