In a year when a lot of success has come to the Washington Football Team, one of the bigger disappointments has been second-year wide receiver Steven Sims Jr., who flashed as an undrafted rookie last season but has yet to grow into an expected role in his second year.
While Sims may not get many looks on the offense, one place where Washington has continually relied on him is on special teams, where he serves as punt returner. That, too, has been disappointing — Sims leads the NFL with three muffed punts so far this season and has the third-lowest return grade in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
These struggles have led to many fans and media members calling for him to be replaced at that position, but Ron Rivera was asked about it on Thursday, and he gave a very tepid response as to why Sims is still the returner.
Ron Rivera on Steven Sims as punt returner – “He’s the best guy we got.”
Rivera adds Sims is putting extra work in, but if there was a better alternative, they’d make a switch— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 7, 2021
“The best guy we’ve got” sure isn’t a ringing endorsement, but it explains why Sims is still back there week in and week out. There is some hope that he can continue to get better and learn to secure the ball, but his recent showings don’t give anyone much confidence that things will be different down the road.
