Redskins’ Smith sidelined again

After missing Weeks 5 and 6 of this season with a groin injury, Washington Redskins punter Hunter Smith aggravated the injury in his first game back and won’t punt Sunday at Atlanta.

“In the third quarter, I went out for a punt and felt it kind of tweak itself again,” Smith said of his appearance against Philadelphia on Oct. 26. “It’s something we’ve yet to be able to get right.”

Smith - who punted for the Indianapolis Colts for a decade without missing a game - rehabbed during the bye week but was unable to punt in practice Wednesday. That forced the Redskins to bring in former Dallas punter Sam Paulescu and ex-Tennessee punter Reggie Hodges on Thursday.

Coach Jim Zorn said the Redskins will sign Paulescu on Friday, meaning they will be forced to cut a player - likely defensive end Renaldo Wynn or running back Quinton Ganther.

“It’s very frustrating,” Zorn said. “With the rest and treatment, we had felt… that he’s going to be getting better. It hasn’t responded well. It’s getting to that point where I’ve got to make a decision [about putting Hunter on injured reserve], and yet I still want to give him another week and see if things get strong.”

Paulescu averaged a combined 42.0 yards on five punts for Denver in 2007 and 53 for Dallas last season.

Horton injures knee

Zorn said Chris Horton, who splits time with Reed Doughty at strong safety, injured a knee Thursday and couldn’t finish practice.

“I think he just tweaked it,” Zorn said. “We’re just taking precautions. I hope he’s going to be fine. I hope he’ll practice tomorrow.”

After spraining his right knee against the Eagles, tackle Stephon Heyer practiced fully for the second time; he is expected to start Sunday.

Ex-Redskins in Atlanta

Mike Smith is 15-8 since he took over a badly struggling Atlanta team last season, and the reigning coach of the year said an experienced staff has been critical to his success.

“I really believe this: There are a lot more unsuccessful coaching staffs than there are unsuccessful head coaches,” said Smith, who like Zorn is a first-time head coach. “I think it’s very important to put a staff around you that has the same philosophies that you do and believes the same things that you do schematically.”

Among the staff members are Terry Robiskie, who served as interim head coach for the Redskins and now coaches receivers in Atlanta, and Emmitt Thomas, who served as an assistant for the Redskins and an interim head coach for the Falcons and now coaches Atlanta’s secondary.

“Emmitt has been invaluable to me,” Smith said. “I’ve walked down the hall a number of nights and shut the door and bounced things off of him about how he would handle certain situations. Terry is very similar. I think it’s very important to have those types of guys around who know what you’re going through as a head coach.”

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