Clinton Portis says he can still be a top-flight back

Injured Redskins running back Clinton Portis said Wednesday that not only would he like to return to the team for the 2011 season - which would be his 10th in the NFL and eighth in Washington - but that he still has the skills to be a top-flight back in the league, and he didn't sound terribly anxious to take a pay cut if it helped him remained in Washington.

"I know I got good football left in me," Portis said. "I think being fresh, having been really in the last two years not having a lot of contact, I think the two injuries -- going out with a concussion, and then the torn groin -- was really fluke injuries. I don't think that's a wear and tear, like, 'Oh his body broke down.' I think that was just fluke injuries."

Portis has played in only 13 games the past two seasons, succumbing to a concussion in 2009 and a groin injury this season. During that time, he has carried the ball 178 times for 721 yards, a 4.1-yard average per carry. He reiterated that while he believes he can overcome the injuries, the time away from football has given him some perspective.

"I think there's a time you take stuff for granted, and there's a time you come to the realization that every game is precious," Portis said. "You don't have forever, and the last few years show you that."

He said the decision about whether he remains a Redskin is up to Coach Mike Shanahan, General Manager Bruce Allen and owner Daniel Snyder - not Portis himself. Portis is due to make $8.3 million under his current contract in 2011.

"I think that's out of my control," Portis said. "That's up to the front office. If they want to keep me, of course they got first option. If they want to let me go, then I'm okay with it. I understand the business side of this, and you know, if it's it, I think it'll be a bittersweet moment. But I think life got to go on."

Portis was asked if he would restructure his contract to remain a Redskin.

"If they asked me what would I want to do, let's see," he said. "I played for pennies in Denver, and I guess would be considered awesome [during his tenure there]. And I gave everything I had in Washington, D.C., and was supposedly overpaid. And the last two years when I've been injured and went on IR, it's like, 'He overpaid and he don't deserve it.' There's plenty of people around the NFL whose stats and whose numbers don't come close who's making the same kind of money as I'm making. So that's up to them. I can't sit here and say, 'Ooh, I want to take a pay cut.' I really want a pay raise, to be honest," and he chuckled.

Portis, who played under Shanahan during his first two seasons in the NFL with Denver, said he believes the coach has the franchise pointed in the right direction despite the team's 6-9 record heading into Sunday's season finale against the New York Giants. He also said he was committed to the program Shanahan has put in place.

"I would love to be" back, he said. "I think going out on a limb, I did everything they asked. I think I showed all the requirements. I think I showed that I continued to play. I showed that I was actually dedicated to this program and turning this team around. I kind of flew under the radar and moved from the forefront and let everybody else do their thing, and I did my work quiet. It was tough early on just not getting the ball and being healthy, and then all of a sudden, once we established a running game, I was done. So who knows, man? That's up to them."

In Portis's place, second-year back Ryan Torain leads the Redskins with 681 yards on 146 carries, a 4.7-yard average, with four touchdowns. Rookie Keiland Williams has added 257 yards on 64 attempts (a 4.0 average) with three scores. Williams also has 35 receptions for 262 yards and a pair of scores.

Portis was asked, given the fact that he'll be 30 next year, if he sees himself as a role player next year.

"I don't think I'd be just a contributor on any team," Portis said. "No matter where I'm playing at, I think the defensive coordinator going to game plan [for me]. I don't think he going to look and say, 'Well , that's Portis. Don't worry about him.' If he do, I would love that. I really would.

"But I think when you build and put so much time into an organization -- I helped with the rise and the fall, so to speak, because when it was good, it was like, 'Portis is awesome.' When it got bad, it was like, 'Portis is horrible.' Just being a part of this organization, and knowing this organization [is] going to turn around, and it's going to change and things will get better, you would love to see the good side of it."

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(washingtonpost.com)
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