Noble Expected to Play Saturday
By Gary Fitzgerald
Redskins.com
August 13, 2004
Defensive tackle Brandon Noble is expected to see his first game action in a year in Saturday night's preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
"I'll be pretty anxious," he said. "Once I get out there, I'll feel relieved. It'll be a relief to just go out in full gear and play."
Signed as a free agent before the start of the 2004 season to anchor Washington's defensive line, Noble has yet to appear in a regular-season game for the Redskins. The five-year veteran suffered a severe knee injury in a preseason game against New England last August.
Noble will be playing with a protective cast on his right hand. He broke this third metacarpal during a practice last week. He sat out last Monday's preseason game against Denver and missed several practices, but he participated in several team workouts in preparation for the Carolina game.
Meantime, punter Tom Tupa could miss the game due to a back injury, head coach Joe Gibbs said.
Tupa, 38, suffered the injury on Thursday.
"I don't know if he'll get in the game--we'll see before the game how he feels," Gibbs said.
Players expected to miss the game due to injury include Mike Barrow (tendonitis in left knee), Rashad Bauman (hamstring injury), Phillip Daniels (abdominal injury) and Ben Nowland (sprained knee).
Offensive lineman Brandon Winey, who has missed most of training camp with a sprained ankle, has been deemed healthy, but he will sit out Saturday's game since he hasn't been able to practice this week.
http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=2891