Redskins must decide to commit to Hunter Smith or punt

Former head coach Jim Zorn often referred to veteran punter Hunter Smith as "Punter Smith." But even Zorn was clear about Smith's importance to the team. Smith, who spent his first 10 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, had an $845,000 base salary last season and now is an unrestricted free agent. Under new Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen, the Redskins are taking things slowly in free agency, and Smith is, too. "There are a lot of teams that would like to put together a roster that has a punter on it, and a veteran punter, and Washington is certainly one of those teams," Smith, 32, said Monday evening in a phone interview. "We're just feeling it out and trying to get to where, hopefully, it's good for everybody, whichever team it is."