ASHBURN, Va. -- Phillip Daniels walked into Redskins Park on crutches Monday afternoon, one day after suffering a knee injury that ended his season barely an hour into training camp.

Daniels tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the Washington Redskins' first training camp practice Sunday. The injury set in motion the chain of events ending in Sunday's trade that brought former Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor to the Redskins.

Daniels had been expected to be the starting left defensive end for the Redskins, a spot Taylor will now likely fill.

"It's tough, man. I went through this offseason and I trained hard. I trained as hard as I ever trained in my life," Daniels said. "And now all that training I did -- I think that hurts the most, because I trained so hard and that's gone."

Daniels said he was happy the team was able to get Taylor to fill his spot on the defensive line, but at age 35 he knows his playing days could be limited.

"I'm going to come back and train hard. Whether it's playing or coaching, we'll see," he said. "Hopefully I get a chance to come back and finish my career on a high note, not this way."

He added: "But if it does end this way, I've had a great career and I've done a lot of good things."

On Sunday, Daniels had an MRI almost immediately after the injury, which the team at first thought might be a hyperextended knee. He took the chance for a quick nap during the MRI, but once the test was finished he knew it wasn't going to be good news.

"I came out and the look on the doctor's face told me a lot," Daniels said. "When the doctor told Daniels of the severity of the injury, he said, "I broke down and cried a little bit, got that out of the way."

Injury free

Cornerback Fred Smoot was back in the middle of drills after spraining his ankle in Sunday afternoon's session.

"I told him, 'Give me some of that stuff you rubbed on your ankle. My ankle's killing me,'" Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. "He did a great job today, he was going 100 percent."

Samuels still recovering

Left tackle Chris Samuels is recovering from offseason elbow surgery, but he said so far it hasn't bothered him during training camp. However, he is being held out of drills pitting the offensive line against defensive players.

"They're holding me out from that right now," he said. "We're just playing it day-by-day."