Santana Moss is expected to miss between five to seven weeks, said Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan in a Monday news conference, following surgery on his broken left hand. Moss, who leads Redskins wide receivers with 25 catches this season, suffered the injury Sunday in the Skins' 33-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Should Moss miss just five weeks, he'd sit out games against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 30, the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 6, the Miami Dolphins on Nov. 13., the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 20, and the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 27.
The Redskins are already a mediocre passing team, ranking No. 21 in touchdowns (seven) and No. 31 in interceptions (10) on the season. As Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk notes, Moss and Jabar Gaffney are the only Washington wide receivers with more than 60 yards receiving on the season; tight end Fred Davis leads the team with 28 catches for 423 yards.
Without their best wide receiver, Washington figures to have to rely even more on the run game for offense. However, lead running back Tim Hightower has a torn ACL which may rule him out for the season -- a story you can follow in this StoryStream on SB Nation D.C. -- which further complicates matters.
At 3-3, the Redskins are tied with the Dallas Cowboys for second place in the NFC East, trailing the division-leading New York Giants by one game.
For more on Moss' injury, visit this StoryStream. For more on all the Redskins' injuries, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Redskins, visit Hogs Haven.