If he plays well against the Ravens, if he "flashes," Pinkston might reduce the long odds of him making the team. If he doesn't, he could be released as soon as Tuesday, when NFL teams must trim their rosters to 75 players.
"I'm approaching this like I'm a rookie again," Pinkston, 30, said earlier this week. "I'm just trying to hone in and get comfortable with the offense and display my talents. Hopefully, I'll convince them that I can help them."
Pinkston doesn't have much time to do that. He signed with the Redskins just a week-and-a-half ago and is struggling to familiarize himself with a complicated offense that has a playbook thicker than the Old Testament version of the Bible. He didn't have enough of a grasp of it to play in last week's game against the Giants, which means he needs to show the coaching staff something tomorrow against the Ravens.
"I was hoping to get signed by somebody earlier, so that I'd have an opportunity to come in and learn the offense," Pinkston said. "But teams were reluctant to take a chance signing somebody with my type of injury.
"The Redskins were the only team that was willing to give me a chance to get back in [to the league]. I'm just trying to show them I'm 100 percent and go out and make the best of this opportunity."
Pinkston was a four-year starter for the Eagles, catching 184 passes in 78 games. He averaged an NFC-high 18.8 yards per catch in 2004 when opposing defenses had to roll their coverages toward Terrell Owens.
But the rake-thin, 180-pound wideout seemed to lose his nerve that season. On three different occasions - against the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants - he pulled up on routes or took his eye off the ball when a defender closed in on him.
