Away from limelight, some Skins get by by knowing their roles, working hard
Fred Baxter has a Super Bowl ring, received a Super Bowl check but has no Super Bowl playing experience.
Did it bother him to reach the game that many consider the pinnacle of a player's career, only to be placed on the New England Patriots' inactive list?
"That wasn't tough at all," said Baxter, a tight end attempting to make the Washington Redskins' roster. "Christian Fauria, our starting tight end, was dinged up, and I prepared the two weeks before the Super Bowl. I played all the offense, all the scout teams and all the special teams.
"Being inactive was a game-time decision. I wasn't on the field, but I felt like I played a very big role in the game. Whatever it took for my team to win the Super Bowl, that's what I was going to do."
Baxter is beginning his 12th NFL season. He has played in 134 of a possible 192 games. He has 50 starts and 100 receptions. He is not on anyone's fantasy football team, but somehow he has managed to become a member of three actual NFL teams and hopes to make it four.
Surviving in the NFL is not always a matter of being a star. Sometimes, it's a matter of playing a role and never complaining about your lot in life.
Ethan Albright never has started an NFL game, but he's starting his 10th NFL season. Albright, a long snapper for the Redskins, gets paid a lot of money because he has a specific skill and can perform with a 300-pound defensive lineman breathing on his facemask.
"You've got to find your niche," Albright said.
Once you find it, you need to do everything you can to keep it.
"You're on time for meetings," Albright said. "If there is a weight-room session, you're in there. You get the reputation for being a guy who a coach says, 'I can count on him being where he needs to be. I can count on him for doing his job when it comes time to perform.'"
That's the catch. You have to be able to perform at an NFL level.
Baxter is an effective blocking tight end. Albright has been unerring in his long snaps. Brian Kozlowski, a tight end/H-back, is a good blocker with sure hands.
Kozlowski is beginning his 11th pro season with his third team.
"He has a great sense of humor and is very, very bright," said Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. "I think he gets every single thing he can get out of every single play. I think he makes the most of his ability and because of that, you like him. He's not going to make mistakes. He's real productive. He's also a guy who adds something to the team He's got a good funny bone."
Nothing is funny about what is at stake for these players. A veteran who has played between seven and nine years in the league earns a minimum of $650,000 per season. After 10 seasons, the minimum jumps to $750,000. In an effort to make sure teams don't cut veterans in favor of cheaper, younger players, teams only have to charge $450,000 of that to the salary cap.
"The money is a blessing," Baxter said. "But I don't take it for granted. I treat this like a job. You have to be accountable. I want to be the best player I can be. But if they want me to play special teams, I'll do that. If they want me on the scout team, I'll do that
"The more you can do, the better chance you'll get to do it."
AND FURTHERMORE: Yesterday's afternoon practice was shortened when a thunderstorm rolled through the area. Gibbs kept the team out in the rain, but when lightning began, everyone had to come in. . . . Return man/running back Chad Morton sat out yesterday's practice sessions with a sore ankle.
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