ASHBURN, Va. -- Meet
Lorenzo Alexander, the NFL's newest two-way player.
"It's like going back to high school," Alexander said. "Gridiron football."
The first-year player is wearing the white jersey of the offense in practice this week, instead of his usual defense burgundy. A remarkable series of injuries has left the
Washington Redskins in desperate need of offensive linemen for Sunday's game against Arizona, so they've moved the 300-pound defensive tackle across the line of scrimmage and have made him a guard.
"I've got to know the defensive stuff, too," said Alexander, who is attending the offensive line meetings while catching up on the defense's schemes in his spare time. "It'll be a full-packed weekend, as far as watching film and getting the game plan and stuff."
Alexander lined up at the first-team left guard in practices on Wednesday and Thursday, participating in the Redskins' version of "What's My Line?"
Todd Wade,
Casey Rabach and
Stephon Heyer were all hurt in last week's loss to Green Bay, compounding the serious injuries earlier this season to
Jon Jansen and
Randy Thomas.
"Every day we're redoing the offensive line," assistant coach Joe Bugel said.
ESPN - Redskins play 'What's My Line?', make Alexander 2-way player - NFL