Washington Redskins Cut Hunter Smith, Give Graham Gano His Billionth Reprieve

What better way to reward failure than to give it a second, third, fourth chance and beyond?

Hunter Smith, while not the best punter in the NFL, has at least been competent in his duties with the Redskins.

Graham Gano has missed 10 field goals this season, including a pair in Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Smith was cut after mishandling what would have been the game-tying extra point in the final seconds of the loss.

Smith was averaging just 40.5 yards per punt, but continued to excel at keeping returners out of the end zone.

For his career, only five of his punts have been returned for touchdowns.

That being said, he was on pace to have the most return yards on his punts for his entire career.

Still, Hunter "The Punter" is out because of a late-game mistake, while Gano's job is hardly in question.

The coaches have decided to bring in some kickers this week, but clarify that it is not a means of replacing Gano.

The Redskins are protecting Gano because he isn't 100 percent, as he is dealing with sore ribs. Any way you slice it, Gano is likely to be Washington's kicker for the foreseeable future, or so Mike Shanahan would have fans believe.

With Smith's release, the Redskins signed Sam Paulescu to assume punting and holding duties.

Paulescu, 26, has spent time with the Cowboys, Broncos and Buccaneers, and even had three punts for the Redskins last season.

It is uncertain if his signing is a more permanent measure, or if he is merely the latest in a long line of punters that have come through Washington.

He did average 50 yards per punt in his three punts for the Redskins, and had just 12 return yards for a net average of 46 yards.

It doesn't change the fact that Gano has failed to solidify the kicker position, and the Redskins have no answers for it.

He had one kick blocked and missed another against Houston, a three-point overtime loss. He missed a field goal against Indianapolis, a three-point loss. Then the most recent two-miss game against Tampa Bay, a one-point loss.

While there are certainly more factors involved in those losses, the missed field goals are inexcusable.

This is just another drop in the overflowing bucket of problems the Redskins have had to deal with throughout this season.

Then again, can the Redskins risk cutting Gano at season's end and have him end up like David Akers? Akers, who was with the team in 1998 for all of two field goal attempts and as many misses.