DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708280705

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE:    - JIM DUCIBELLA

                                            LENGTH:   69 lines

REDSKIN REPORT

Kitts gets called

back to Redskins in

practice squad role

ASHBURN, Va. - Jim Kitts found a job while on vacation last weekend - and he wasn't even looking.

Kitts, the former Great Bridge High School star who has spent the last two summers trying to hook on with the Washington Redskins, was vacationing with quarterback Mark Hartsell on Cape Cod after the two were released by the Redskins last week. Then came a call from home - the Redskins wanted Kitts back and were offering to sign him to their practice squad.

``I'm making progress,'' Kitts said Wednesday, preparing for his first practice as an official NFL player. ``I've gone from the Arena League to being invited to training camp (in 1996), to being cut from camp to being invited back to making the practice squad. I've got one more step to go.''

Injuries played a factor in Kitts getting a better look this camp. First, Marc Logan didn't report to camp until late, and then missed time with a broken nose. Then, Larry Bowie sprained his ankle.

``I got more opportunities this year than I did last summer,'' agreed Kitts, who was a linebacker in 1996, then converted to fullback, a position he'd played in the Arena League. ``And I thought I did well.''

Gilbert moves out

As if the rhetoric between agent Gus Sunseri and the Redskins over holdout Sean Gilbert weren't hostile enough, on Tuesday Gilbert moved his possessions out of the Northern Virginia townhouse he occupied last season. When coach Norv Turner reportedly phoned Gilbert in Pittsburgh on Monday, the veteran defensive tackle told him that he had just purchased a new satellite system and would tune in to all the Redskins' games this season.

Sunseri said Wednesday that his client would settle for $4.5 million. That's his compromise figure between the $3.6 million the Redskins have offered and the $5 million Sunseri sought.

Redskins general manager Charley Casserly has stated that the Redskins might be willing to go to $4 million, but that Gilbert either takes that price or doesn't play this season.

Meanwhile, defensive end Rich Owens said Wednesday that he figures he and the Redskins have seen the last of Gilbert.

``Tell you the truth, I never thought he was coming back,'' Owens said. ``I wish Sean were here because he's a great football player, but we've got a game to play Sunday. I can't boo-hoo the fact that he isn't here.''

Quick hits

Figure this one. Offensive tackle Andre Johnson, Washington's former No. 1 pick who was cut Sunday after allowing two sacks against Miami in the team's preseason finale, was claimed off waivers Tuesday - by Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson. He is unhappy with his line play and apparently had the 314-pound Johnson rated highly coming out of Penn State two years ago. Because Johnson was claimed, NFL rules state that the Redskins' salary cap will be assessed the full remaining amount of his signing bonus - $750,000 - instead of the $250,000 that would have been assessed had Johnson gone unclaimed. . . . The Redskins signed Rene Ingoglia to their practice squad. He's a 5-foot-10, 205-pound running back from the University of Massachusetts who spent training camp with the Buffalo Bills. At UMass, he set a school and Yankee Conference rushing record with 905 carries, 4,624 yards and 55 touchdowns. In addition to Kitts and Ingoglia, the other practice-squad members are DE R-Kal Trueluck, OT Ozell Powell and C Larry Moore. . . . The Redskins will start three rookies Sunday against Carolina - guard Brad Badger, defensive end Kenard Lang and linebacker Derek Smith.

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