Portis back on the field for minicamp

ASHBURN — They claim to be satisfied with who’s not in camp, even Albert Haynesworth. That’s debatable. But there’s no doubt they had to be happy with this: Clinton Portis participated.

That might not have been a surprise to them, but there had been mixed reports about his availability throughout the offseason. There isn’t now. After missing the final eight games with a concussion last season, Portis is able to practice, Redskins general manager Bruce Allen said.

Of course, they don’t have to worry about playing a real game for five months. But Portis’s ability to practice enables the Redskins, and the running back, to proceed without worry for the rest of the offseason.

Ironically, Allen spoke to a group of 170 area high school football coaches at Redskins Park Saturday morning as part of forum on concussion awareness and education.

“You have to be patient with a head injury,” Allen said. “That’s one of the common sense lessons you will learn is patience.”

Shanahan said he was impressed by several players during the three days of voluntary practice - though he wouldn't divulge who had caught his eye - and also acknowledged that a turnaround shouldn't be expected during the offseason, or a three-day minicamp.

Asked about running back Clinton Portis, Shanahan praised the veteran for his work over the offseason and this weekend and later touched on whether the Redskins would employ a running-back-by-committee system with the addition of veterans Larry Johnson and Willie Parker.

"I think the end result is you want a productive running game," he said. "The experiences I've had through the past is we've done it different ways. We've had a 2,000-yard back, we've had a 1,750-yard back, we've had a 1,500-yard back and we've had a 2,500-yard back with three guys doing it. So [it's] who gets it done, it really doesn't matter if you're doing three guys, one guy or two guys, you want to be productive in the running game, that's the bottom line. It's just not yards; it's yards per attempt."

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