The players are in Washington, and the team is ready to get down to business. They may not end up taking the field for a little bit, but members of the Washington Football Team are surely getting in the weight room and around the facility now, as training camp gets ready to kick off.
To open up the day, coach Ron Rivera sat down with media members on a video call and discussed the upcoming season, talking about where some of the injured players stand in their recovery, and where a lot of the focus is at going forward. Here are our biggest takeaways from that video call.
RB is the position to watch
News broke on Tuesday morning that second-year RB Bryce Love passed his physical in Washington, meaning that he has the green light in the 2020 season. Love was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft after an impressive college career, but he missed the entire 2019 season due to a knee injury that he suffered at Stanford.
Now, with Love back in the picture, it becomes clear that the RB room is one of the focal points of training camp. Washington currently has Derrius Guice, Adrian Peterson, Antonio Gibson, Bryce Love, J.D. McKissic, and Peyton Barber all competing for not only snaps but a place on the 53-man roster. It’s hard to believe that Rivera will choose to keep more than four RBs on the active roster, so it’s likely that two of those aforementioned players will get cut. Without a preseason to prove themselves, we’ll see how this competition shakes out in camp.
A Future for Smith and Foster
It was announced on Monday that both Alex Smith and Reuben Foster were being placed on the PUP list to start out the 2020 season, so hearing that neither of them passed the football portion of their physical — meaning that they aren’t far enough along in their recovery to take the field — does not come as a surprise.
However, Rivera stated that he feels very comfortable and confident in their recoveries, which seems to allude to the thought that they could return at some point. Rivera went on to mention that once Smith gets cleared, he becomes a ‘part of the equation’ at the QB position, which would be extremely interesting to watch, with Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen currently holding down that spot.
Culture, culture, culture
If it wasn’t clear that a change in culture was needed when Rivera accepted the job in Washington, it is clear now. After a report from the Washington Post came out earlier this month that 17 total women came out and accused former members of the Washington front office of both sexual and verbal abuse, the need for change has become highly prevalent.
Rivera addressed that a bit on Tuesday, saying that he wants to create a culture in the facilities where nobody is afraid to come forward and share what is going on. He learned as a player the type of benefit this can have when playing for Mike Ditka, and he wants to bring that to Washington.
Rivera also mentioned that he has made a point to keep lines of communication open with team owner Dan Snyder, noting that the two talk on the phone for about a half-hour every day to make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
Defensive Line is Key
There is no hiding the fact that the defensive line is the dominant group in Washington. With a multitude of first-round picks and sufficient depth at the position, it’s fair to say that how the D-line goes, the team goes. What will be important for Rivera, and most importantly DC Jack Del Rio to figure out is how to get the front line to best impact the rest of the game, whether that be creating pressure and forcing QBs into errant throws, or holding the opposing team scoreless for long enough to let the offense build a lead.
There are several pieces that are needed to be successful, but in Washington, they all start with the defensive line.
Depth at WR is a problem
It was announced on Monday that WR Cody Latimer would be placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, meaning he will miss the upcoming season. It was announced earlier this month that WR Kelvin Harmon tore his ACL and would miss the upcoming season. Pass-catchers are dropping like flies in Washington, and at some point, they will need to do something to fill that void.
The coaching staff seems relatively comfortable with a trio of Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims, and Antonio Gandy-Golden going forward, but those three players have a total of two years of experience in the NFL combined. Getting a veteran into the lockerroom to help show these young players the way could be of great value to Washington, and Rivera says that possibility is there.
