SATURDAY, 5:35pm: Washington activated the ninth-year veteran and seventh-year Redskins starter in advance of their Week 14 game, Mike Jones of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter). He’s expected to serve as the backup behind Sullivan against the Eagles. To make room for Lichtensteiger’s return, the team cut defensive lineman A.J. Francis, per Jones.
WEDNESDAY, 12:20pm: The Redskins announced that Kory Lichtensteiger will return from injured reserve. In related news, cornerback Dashaun Phillips has been signed to the practice squad.
Lichtensteiger was placed on IR in September after suffering a calf injury. That was a tough blow for a Redskins team that was already thin at the center position. When he went down, Washington turned to Spencer Long and added veteran John Sullivan as a backup. So far, Long has done a decent job, ranking as Pro Football Focus’ No. 21 center out of 37 qualified players. Sullivan, with just 43 total snaps, is not among those qualifying players, but he has a similar grade in his smaller sample size. Ditto for Lichtensteiger, who has 159 snaps on the year.
Phillips started the year as the Redskins’ primary nickel cornerback. Earlier this week, he was released, but he’s now on call in case a spot opens up again in D.C.