Moss predicts Portis will be back next year

No player in the Redskins' locker room is closer to Pro Bowl running back Clinton Portis than wide receiver Santana Moss, a fellow Floridian and a teammate in college at the University of Miami. The two have side-by-side lockers at Redskins Park, and they frequently socialize off the field.

Moss, then, offered the strongest defense of Portis of any Redskin. The running back was placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list Tuesday, and he hasn't played since suffering a concussion Nov. 8 at Atlanta. But even before that happened, Portis's production was down, and analysts and fans alike questioned whether he had lost a step and, in fact, his career might be coming to an end.

"People always say stuff when you're not doing something," Moss said. "But you look at what we had this year. What do you expect? What do you expect from a running back to be going through what we [are] going through season-wise, and not getting the carries that he's normally getting to get himself going? You can't do nothing.

"I mean, people are always going to have their mixed views, and that's what you hate about this game, because it's never up to you to say what you really [are] going thorugh, or what you have going on. It's always someone else's opinion."

Moss's opinion: Portis will be back next year. "When it comes down to his situation, health is more important than anything," Moss said. "He'll get his time to rest, and I'm sure, if everything goes well, he'll be badder than ever next year."

Portis acknowledged on ESPN980 earlier this week that his career might be over. But Moss believes that the challenge presented by those who doubt him could serve as a motivator to Portis.

"Knowing the competitor in him, if Clinton [is] ready to go, he's going to be ready to go," Moss said. "He loves the challenge. I remember last year, when they start talking about different things last year with him about the year before, and you see what he did out there [in 2008, when he ran for 1,487 yards].

"If you look at it, Clinton never had the line that he had back in Denver. That's not saying nothing against our line; it's just it's a different kind of league over here. The lines over here [have] been pretty good, but when it comes to what he had in Denver, man, you would pay for that. He's been grinding it out. He had to gain weight to be able to take on the load. He had to do a lot of different things that he wasn't accustomed to doing, and is still one of the greatest backs of this time. I always get caught up in it. I'll stand up for him."

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(washingtonpost.com)