December 31-- Skins clean out lockers, Archuletta talks with coaches

The Skins cleaned out their lockers after having one final team meeting today.. Those who spoke about the meeting said Joe Gibbs was very encouraging about the future, said some offseason items will change, likely the schedule but he will first study the rest of the league to see how they structure the off-season to best utilize this one for his team.. Gibbs also said he would like to keep his “core” in tact and continues to believe he has the right people to produce a winner come next year..

WR David Patten realizes his age and production make him likely expendable.. he admits the level of talent at WR here potentially will force him to move on but he is hoping that the Skins will allow him to return.. Patten is a likely cap casualty…

Clinton Portis believes there is no impending issue about he and Ladell Betts and how the team may attack their offensive game plan come next year with Betts emergence late this season.. As Portis put, “We’ve been co-existing for 3 years now. I always knew what Ladell could do.” Portis has always been very supportive of Betts even when carried the bulk of the load the first two seasons here.. Portis said he needs 5 more months of rehab before he can return to practice but intends to be 100% healthy for the start of camp next season.. He says he won’t return to the field until he is 100%..

TJ Duckett said he was hoping to get more opportunities this season but he intends to hit the free agent market.. Duckett doesn’t know whether he figures into the Redskins plans after the team resigned Ladell Betts.. The Skins likely will allow Duckett to leave via free agency..

Kicker John Hall said he is working with a bio-mechanical specialist out of Vancouver on a 12 week program to attempt to resurrect his kicking career.. Hall said due to kicking while injured, he has now lost the use of some of his abdominal muscles.. He is well aware of his status as a likely cap cut with Shaun Suisham kicking very well at the end of the season.. Hall thanked the team, he said he will continue to rehab at Redskins Park and hopes for an opportunity here or down the road somewhere else.. Suisham is under contract through next season..
Punter Derrick Frost is a restricted free agent but said he expects to be back with the Redskins next season..

CB Shawn Springs said he doesn’t think much about his cap number and the potential for him either to be a cap release or a restructure candidate.. Springs said he didn’t think it was even a question that he would return next year but he will wait to see if the team determines they need him to do something to help with their cap position.. Springs said he does not need surgery to repair a broken shoulder blade and will rest for 4-5 weeks…

LB Lemar Marshall played injured the entire season, but refused to elaborate on his condition saying “I don’t want to make any excuses. If I was out there I was healthy enough to play.” Marshall went through 2 off-season surgeries a year ago and in recent weeks, coaches have defended his play as partially a result of getting healthy first.. Marshall said he needs no surgery this coming off-season..

C Casey Rabach said he will only need to continue to rest his broken left hand.. he said the New Orleans game where he wore a cast was difficult to adjust to, but the last couple of games he didn’t feel as if it affected his play very much.. The 4 pins placed in the hand will remain and eventually be a permanent part of his hand.. Rabach said he has parked the Harley for good but will continue to ride his ATV, all be it hopefully more safely.. he said the organization was great about the off-season accident he suffered while doing yard work.. Rabach gave me the finger (semi-jokingly) when I brought it up.. he said he was very pleased at how everyone from top to bottom supported him in getting healthy and not concerning themselves with riding ATV’s and how some organizations react to those types of accidents..

T Jon Jansen said he needs 3-4 weeks of rest and his calf should then be healthy again, no surgery needed.. he said the week off helped him, but the final two games ended up getting the muscle into the similar condition before he missed the N.O. game.. Jansen said he is not concerned about wear and tear on his body after 3 years where he has dealt with a variety of injuries.. He called the thumbs and Achilles tear flukes.. He said he doesn’t feel like “I’m getting old or anything.”

S Adam Archuletta said he spoke with all of his coaches and feels as if “a lot of things that needed to be expressed were expressed.” He said he understands he has a big contract and that he may have to return to the Skins next season.. He wouldn’t commit to whether he would want to be back or not.. He also refused comment on how the salary cap may affect whether he is forced to return next season.. Archuletta said one major blessing of the season is that his body feels better then it has in years and that his silver lining is he is more healthy now then he ever was.. He said he never could have envisioned this happening when he signed with the team and has no regrets despite how things turned out this season, but he hopes the learning experience he went through helps him later in his career..
Should the Skins release Archuletta, they would owe 9 million against their cap that they could take next season or spread out over the course of two years, 1.5 in ’07 and 7.5 in ’08, or they could retain him..