The Washington Redskins have signed K Justin Medlock, according to the Redskins blog.

Medlock was drafted in the 5th round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.  That was also the last season Medlock kicked in the NFL.  Medlock kicked last year for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.  Medlock was 22/22 for extra point and 40/46 in field goals with a long of 52 yards with Toronto.

He joins K Graham Gano, who finished the season as the Redskins kicker, on the Redskins roster.

To track all Redskins transactions, visit our Redskins Transaction Tracker thread.

With many of their special teams units languishing near the bottom of league rankings, the Redskins hired an assistant coach to work the Special Teams Coach Danny Smith. Richard Hightower coached wide receivers for the University of Minnesota last year, but he will assist Smith on the Redskins staff in 2010.

"We knew we would need someone with a lot of energy to keep up with Danny Smith, and Richard is that coach," executive vice president/head coach Mike Shanahan said. "He has both youth and experience, and he will be a great asset to our special teams and our organization."

If you're wondering where the connection to Shanahan might be, look no further than the Houston Texans, where Redskins Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan coached the past few years. Hightower was a coaching administrator [whatever that is] in 2005 and 2006 and a special teams assistant coach in 2007-08 before moving on to his most recent job with the University of Minnesota.

Hightower was a walk-on player at the University of Texas, where he played as a defensive back, wide receiver, and, of course, on special teams.

Hightower has no connection to Danny Smith that I can find, meaning he's a Shanahan guy, not a Danny Smith guy. In other words, it might be a good idea for Smith to improve the efficiency of his special teams; a replacement for his job is already on the payroll.

The Washington Redskins have signed free agent LS Nick Sundberg.

Sundberg joins 16-year veteran Ethan Albright as long snappers on the Redskins’ roster.

Albright is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so his future in Washington is uncertain. He has served as the Redskins' long snapper since 2001.

Sundberg spent the final two weeks of the 2009 regular season and postseason as a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad.

Obviously only one of three ways to take it.  First, the Redskins are not certain they can resign Ethan Albright.  Two, the Redskins want Albright to have camp competition.  Three, the Redskins have made the decision to go younger and cheaper at long snapper position.  Albright is a 16 year veteran who signed with Washington in 2001 and has been with the franchise since then.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-

2009: Washington's offense got almost no help from the special teams in 2009, as the team finished dead last in the NFL in return average. KR Rock Cartwright had his worst season on special teams, averaging only 22.3 yards per return -- more than 3 yards less than the year before and the first time since taking over the job in 2005 that his average fell below 24 yards per return. Cartwright lost his job for a few weeks to Devin Thomas, but his 22 yards per return average was even worse. PR Antwaan Randle El was a disaster, with more fair catches [19] than returns [17] and a dismal 6.0 yards per return average. Even that was misleadingly bloated, though, because if you take out just one return of 43 yards, Randle El averaged 3.8 yards per return. Even worse, Randle El fumbled 3 times, a very high percentage considering his number of returns. Finally, when criticism of his performance mounted, Randle El took to blaming his blockers instead of shouldering the responsibility himself. The Redskins feinted at replacing Randle El with some combination of Santana Moss and DeAngelo Smith, but injuries and coaching incompetence led to nothing really happening.

Punter Hunter Smith ran and threw for touchdowns, but his 41.2 yards per punt average represented perhaps the worst season of his career. He also struggled with injuries during much of the season and wasn't really the solution the team hoped he would be. PK Shaun Suisham started out very well, but missed a key 39-yard field goal in Dallas that cost the team a win and then missed a 23-yarder against the Saints that cost the team another win. Fed up, the Redskins fired Suisham and replaced him with Graham Gano, a youngster with a big leg. Gano played in four games and hit all 4 field goal attempts, including a long of 46 yards, but had one extra point blocked. His kickoffs were long and 3 touchbacks in 16 total kicks.

The only area where the Redskins excelled on special teams was the coverage units, which were among the best in the NFL. Standouts were Rock Cartwright and Lorenzo Alexander, who delivered several eye-popping hits while covering kicks.

2010: The Redskins were not much helped by their special teams in 2009, but special teams coach Danny Smith was retained anyway but new head coach Mike Shanahan, so expect few changes schematically in the special teams for 2010. Cartwright is unhappy with his lot on the team and his salary balloons to $1.5 million in 2010 so he may not be around much longer. P Hunter Smith is a free agent and the Redskins may well try to replace him with a younger and cheaper model. Gano looks promising, but expect competition for his position in 2010 because he only played 4 games and Shanahan doesn't know the first thing about him. The team will definitely need a new punt returner, as Randle El has long since been past his sell by date.