ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins always wanted to practice against another team this summer. They just didn’t think one would be available. But when the New Orleans Saints dropped out of their agreement with the Houston Texans, the Redskins pounced.

The Saints, presumably, did not want to appear in any way on HBO's "Hard Knocks," which will feature Houston. The Redskins did not want to be a main attraction on the show, but they were fine being bit players. After practicing vs. the New England Patriots last summer, the Redskins saw the benefit of such workouts.

“It’s beneficial to all of us,” Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. “It’s game situations, it’s something we don’t know going to happen. It’s unscripted plays, it’s red zone, it’s move the ball, it’s third downs. All situations you get against an opponent. It’s competitive every day. It’s going to be a good time and I welcome it.

“I’m not worried about [HBO]. They’ll be focused on them. I’m sure they’ll sneak a shot on us. I’m not worried about 'Hard Knocks.' We’ll have some fun with it.”

Yes, they will. HBO won’t focus on the Redskins, but they will have a minor role. HBO would have liked to have had the Redskins on the show, but they did not want to appear. Some players, though, are looking forward to having a little fun.

“They’re going to hear me and [Darrel Young],” Redskins tight end Niles Paul said. “They’re always going to hear me and DY. They’re probably going to hear Chris Baker and [Jason Hatcher]. I just hope they censor it enough.

“This is our practice sanctuary. It’s not going to change the way I talk to certain players.”

The Redskins did not want to go elsewhere to practice and, per their agreement, they must practice a certain number of days in Richmond. Regardless, the players liked doing this last year against New England.

“When you bring in another team it cranks up the level of competition,” Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson said. “It’ll be fun, man. We get tired of hitting each other every day. We want to hit someone else.”

They also want to learn from someone else, too. The coaches like seeing their rookies face another team’s rookies, having to react to unplanned situations.

But it also provides the players and even the coaches a chance to learn from another team -- how they prepare and conduct themselves in practice. New England was more businesslike and its star players ultra-competitive, especially quarterback Tom Brady.

“Tom Brady is very challenging because what he does, most quarterbacks don’t do,” Robinson said. “Going against him, it opened my eyes to playing more mental. He sees things most people don’t see, so I had to learn to adjust to different quarterbacks. You can bait guys into thinking someone is open when they’re not. He might look this way and throw that way because he knows the whole time he’s going back door. For me, it’s being able to learn different things you don’t get to see unless you’re going against guys like him. Hopefully going against guys like [J.J. Watt and Arian Foster], we can learn different techniques.”