Fox chased, two others cut

Vernon Fox became another victim of a strong Washington Redskins youth movement at the safety position.

Fox and former Oakland Raider Stu Schweigert were supposed to add veteran depth to a young and inexperienced Redskins safety corps. Instead, Schweigert was shown the door after the first preseason game and Fox was let go today.

Two defensive linemen also got the ax as end Dorian Smith and tackle Babatunde Oshinowo were released.

Fox has spent two of his seven NFL season with the Redskins. He made his living as a special teams ace who was an adequate fill in.

Although the Redskins drafted two safeties late, taking Kareem Moore in the sixth round and Chris Horton in the seventh, it still appeared that Fox was safe as one of the rookies was likely to end up on the practice squad.

However, Horton and Moore have impressed from the get-go. Horton posted two sacks in the first preseason game and Moore has started the last two games in place of the ailing LaRon Landry. Meanwhile, Fox missed one game due to a personal matter and he put on an awful display of tackling late in the Jets game.

It appears now that four safeties are locks to make the team—Horton, Moore, Landry, and Reed Doughty. Should the Redskins decide to keep five safeties, Justin Hamilton could sneak into the picture. The team may decide to save a roster spot here as cornerback Shawn Springs can fill in at safety if necessary.

The Redskins must release two more players to meet the NFL limit of 75 by Tuesday.