Blades, Westbrook had surgeries

Turns out that Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley wasn't the only Redskin to have surgery last week.

Sspecial teamers H.B. Blades and Byron Westbrook had their knees scoped on Oct. 27, a day after each tore his meniscus during the 27-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Typically, players need 2-4 weeks to recover from such operations. Since the Redskins were off last week, that means that the third-year men could return as soon as the Nov. 15 game with Denver.

Coach Jim Zorn, who neglected to mention the impending surgeries during his Oct. 27 press conference, said today that while Stephon Heyer was "gimpy" during practice, he expects the left tackle to start Sunday at Atlanta. However, Zorn was less sure than he was on Oct. 27 that Levi Jones, signed on Oct. 20, wouldn't fill in for Heyer against the Falcons.

-- David Elfin