The Washington Redskins officially released quarterback Dameyune Craig yesterday, ending a shakeup of the passing corps that began with Monday’s signing of Shane Matthews.
Craig, who has no NFL starts, was told by coach Steve Spurrier earlier this week that he would be cut. Craig played college ball at Auburn, a Southeastern Conference foe of Spurrier’s former team, Florida.
Spurrier decided to sign Matthews, his former player at Florida, shortly after last weekend’s minicamp. The coach spoke with others in the organization and decided Matthews had a better chance to start than Craig.
Matthews, with 15 NFL starts, now is the expected front-runner in a three-way battle that includes Danny Wuerffel, another Spurrier protege, and Sage Rosenfels, Washington’s 2001 fourth-round draft pick. Spurrier has said, however, that Rosenfels is the current leader because he was with the club last year.
The Redskins also have rookie Patrick Ramsey, their first-round pick out of Tulane. Ramsey is the quarterback of the future but a long shot to start this season.
Craig’s release raises Washington’s salary cap room to a little more than $500,000, enough to sign a minimum-salary veteran but not much else. The Redskins must clear more than $3 million to sign their draft picks, money that is expected to come from the post-June 1 cut of defensive end Marco Coleman.
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