Offensive lineman Vaughn Parker may have been active for Sunday's 31-7 victory over the New York Giants, but he didn't play in one of the best displays by Washington's offensive lines this season. Still, just being able to avoid the inactive list was a positive step for Parker, who is in his 11th season.
Parker was signed early in the season after the Redskins released right tackle Kenyatta Jones, and the team saw him as an upgrade at the position. Jones had started after a season-ending injury to Jon Jansen in the preseason opener. However, Parker has not fully recovered from a knee injury that caused him to miss the 2003 season with the San Diego Chargers. After signing with the Redskins, he had his first NFL practice in more than one year. Ray Brown, who turns 42 Sunday, has performed well in his place after initially being expected to be a reserve.
"When I got here ... they knew what my situation was and I'm just working myself back to be ready to play," Parker said recently. "And we'll see when that happens.
"I was a mess the first week I got here in everything: conditioning, knee. At that point, I hadn't practiced in over a year so I wasn't sure exactly how my knee was going to feel. I'm running the scout team right now. Everything's not back, but I'm light-years ahead of where I was when I got here."
When healthy, Parker, 33, has proven to be one of the league's better offensive linemen. Although Parker has played every spot on the line except center, he was exclusively a right tackle in his previous six (healthy) seasons. Now, with only four games left, the former UCLA product declines to predict if he will play this season.
"I don't want to put a timetable on it," Parker said, "but I'm moving in the right direction."
-- Nunyo Demasio
