In response to those successes of their NFC East rivals and their own such woes, the Redskins signed journeyman kicker Dave Rayner and CFL standout kick returner Domonique Dorsey on Feb. 4 after inking unproven punter Zac Atterberry in January. Plackemeier was waived Feb. 12.

Suisham, who had a terrific 2007 season, his first full year in the NFL, will likely be re-signed as a restricted free agent. Plackemeier, signed last October after being cut by Seattle, is under contract for 2009. Randle El is halfway through a six-year, $30 million deal that could well be restructured before the free agent signing period opens on Feb. 27.

Although long snapper Ethan Albright continues to excel, he's 38 and unsigned for 2009 -- although he almost certainly will return -- so Washington added former Chicago and Tennessee long snapper Jeremy Cain in January. 4

Atterberry, who starred at Lindenwood (Mo.), an NAIA school, was in camp with the Bears last summer.

Rayner, 26, has kicked for Indianapolis, Green Bay (where he nailed a franchise-record 54-yard field goal), Kansas City, San Diego and Cincinnati after leaving , Michigan State as the Spartans' all-time leading scorer. Trouble is that Rayner's career 71.2 percent (42 of 59) field goal accuracy is even worse than Suisham's 72.1 percentage in 2008.

Dorsey, 25, is just 5-foot-7 like Redskins ace kickoff returner Rock Cartwright. Dorsey, a running back at UNLV, led the CFL with 2,892 all-purpose yards in 2008 despite missing five games with injuries. He returned a missed field goal a CFL-record 129 yards in his pro debut for the Toronto Argonauts in 2007.

Cain, 27, a linebacker at Division I-AA Massachusetts, played in eight games for the Bears in 2004 and 2005. He was cut by the Eagles in 2006 after learning how to snap, a skill he took to the Titans for nine games in 2007 while nominally playing fullback.