WASHINGTON — Their patience exhausted with struggling rookie punter Durant Brooks, the Washington Redskins will conduct tryouts tomorrow in preparation of releasing Brooks and signing another player at the position.

"The punting situation is probably the biggest question mark," Coach Jim Zorn said today at Redskins Park. "It's the biggest question mark for me."

The Redskins decided to make a change after Brooks had another shaky outing in Sunday's 19-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams at FedEx Field. On his first punt, Brooks hit a 50-yarder that settled at the St. Louis 3-yard line, but he also had a 26-yarder late in the third quarter that drew boos from the crowd.

"Being a punter, there's so much to do with your psyche," defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander said. "It's all about getting into that groove, and him being a first-year player and having all this pressure, it's hard.

"Then when you have a bad kick, and people start to boo you, that's really hard as a young player. It's just a tough position to be in as a rookie, but he has to go out there and perform on Sundays like everybody else does."

During his radio show today, Vinny Cerrato, Washington's executive vice president of football operations, said the team would have a new punter Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at FedEx Field. Brooks has a minor right hip injury but his physical condition was not among the factors in Washington's change in direction. An MRI exam Monday was negative, a Redskins spokesman said.

"His position's in jeopardy because of performance," Zorn said. "That's very fair to say."

Although he left the door slightly ajar for Brooks to retain his job if the team is not impressed with its other options, Zorn again acknowledged Brooks has not provided what Washington needs. Brooks ranks last in the NFL in net average (32.1 yards) and gross average (39.6).

"You can't just say, `Yeah, we're going to replace him, see ya later,' when we need to look at who we would replace him with as well," Zorn said. "He may be the best guy out there."

The Redskins have invited several punters to the complex, but they are competing with many teams in a shallow market. With former Redskins punter Derrick Frost having faltered in Green Bay, the Packers have joined the Redskins, Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs in a race to sign someone. In recent weeks, the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans also have had tryouts.

Ryan Plackemeier and Josh Miller had workouts scheduled with the Packers Monday, and plan to audition today for the Redskins, according to league sources.

Zorn knows Plackemeier from their time together in Seattle's organization. A former seventh-round pick of Seattle, Plackemeier punted for the Seahawks for two seasons in which Zorn served as the team's quarterbacks coach. Plackemeier, who sat out training camp because of an injury, was released after one game this season.

Miller, 38, has significant experience, having punted for the Pittsburgh Steelers for eight seasons and the Patriots for three. He was with Tennessee briefly in the 2007 season, spent time with the Titans earlier this season and has been involved in numerous tryouts around the league.

If Miller fares well in his tryout, his experience could be an added bonus for the Redskins, who dealt with Brooks' growing pains in his first six games in the NFL. The Redskins have lacked stability at punter since veteran Tom Tupa suffered a freak back injury in training camp before the 2005 season.

Hoping to solidify the position long term, the Redskins drafted Brooks from Georgia Tech in the sixth round with the 168th overall pick. Teams rarely expend draft picks on punters because other positions are considered more important, and NFL punters typically take time to develop.

Before picking Brooks, the Redskins last drafted a punter in 1993, selecting Ed Bunn of Texas-El Paso with the second of their two third-round picks. Bunn did not make the team. With 10 draft picks this past spring, the Redskins took a chance on Brooks.

Washington declared Brooks the winner in his competition with Frost in training camp and then cut Frost, but Brooks has not performed well under pressure during the season. In a Week 2 victory over the New Orleans Saints, Brooks averaged 33 yards on his only two punts, and Reggie Bush returned his ineffective second punt 55 yards for a touchdown.

"There's some sort of opportunity given to each and every one of us on this team," special teams standout Khary Campbell said. "Everyone has to perform."

Special teams coach Danny Smith has worked extensively with Brooks, who won the Ray Guy Award as college football's top punter in the 2007 season, but he has not progressed as hoped.

"It's a production league. If you produce, you stay. If you don't produce, you don't stay," kick return specialist Rock Cartwright said. "That's the way it goes. That's the nature of the beast. Right now, we have a lack of production at punter."