"Clinton Portis arrived in Washington as a confident 22-year-old at the top of his game, considered by most to be among the best running backs in the NFL.

"You can't have too much more heart than I can," he said shortly after arriving in town in 2004. "People's heart seems to wear out before anything else. You can have all the strength in the world, but if somebody keeps going at you, going at you, going at you, it's going to wear you down eventually."

Heart has never been the problem for Portis, now 29. Other body parts have been, though, and the Redskins were forced to place Portis, a franchise cornerstone for six-plus seasons, on injured reserve Wednesday, cutting short his ninth NFL season and casting doubt on his future in Washington.

Portis missed five games this season because of a groin injury before he returned to the starting lineup last Sunday at Tennessee. But he tore an abdominal muscle early in the game, an MRI exam revealed Tuesday, and Coach Mike Shanahan said Portis must undergo season-ending surgery.

It's the second straight year and the third time in his seven seasons with the Redskins that Portis will finish the season on injured reserve. He also managed four 1,000-yard seasons in that span, which illustrates the mixed feelings some fans might have about his tenure here. Portis helped the team to the playoffs twice and tallied 6,824 rushing yards as a member of the Redskins, second only to Hall of Famer John Riggins (7,472 yards) on the team's all-time list.

The Redskins will have to make a decision about Portis after the season. He'll pocket $7.7 million for this year - after playing in five games, with 227 rushing yards and two touchdowns - but this is the final guaranteed year of Portis's contract. If Shanahan brings him back, Portis would be 30 years old, having played in only 13 of the team's previous 32 games and due to earn $8.3 million in 2011 under his current contract terms.

Shanahan also was Portis's coach in Denver, where the young running back became just the third player in league history to rush for 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons. The Redskins coach doesn't believe Portis is finished in football. "