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Marcus Washington was one of several Redskins who were in a giving mood during training camp.

letters from camp

Date published: 8/2/2008

Well, this is it, my final letter from camp.

Hey, stop cheering and sighing in relief!

I want to take this space to offer some closing kudos. I want to give you an idea what some of the football players were doing over the past two weeks when they weren't playing football.

Let's start with Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley, who spent the night before one practice selecting goodies to give to young cancer patients who visited practice the next day.

Cooley presented the children with gift bags that included PlayStation portables and autographed footballs, and he spent time with the children after practice.

Their smiles were bright.

And then there was linebacker Marcus Washington, who might be placed on injured reserve because of carpal tunnel syndrome.

(Disclaimer: That was a joke. Please don't call/e-mail/stalk the Redskins about Marcus Washington's carpal or his tunnel or whatever.)

Anyway, long after the other players had retreated to the training facility each day, Washington spent nearly an hour signing autographs.

And then there was wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, who recently returned from a one-week trip to Liberia.

Kelly spent time with sick children aboard a hospital ship, and he helped train the country's Olympic hopefuls before donating thousands of dollars worth of equipment to them.

Kelly has said that for every catch he makes this season, he will donate a to-be-determined amount to help pay for medical expenses in the war-torn country.

And finally, I'd like to commend my arteries for putting up with two weeks of hamburgers, pizza, and chicken-like foods. I promise I will reward you with baby carrots and turkey sandwiches as soon as I finish this last piece of ice cream cake.

That's all from Redskins Park. I hope you've had as much fun reading these letters as I've had writing them.

Will write more next season,

Adam Himmelsbach reports from Redskins training camp in Ashburn.

Date published: 8/2/2008