Category: Latest Washington News

Ron Rivera admits WR depth is a concern, team ‘keeping its eyes open’ for help

The depth at wide receiver is an issue for Washington, and it’s something they plan to address with roster moves going forward.

There’s been a constant theme for Washington both this offseason and during training camp where the team has been monitoring wide receiver talent across the league and looking for an answer to their depth problem.

Fans may wish that the coaching staff and front office decision-makers were a bit more proactive when it came to adding WR depth to the roster, even if that means trading away future assets for a player like Allen Robinson, or potentially adding a free agent like Mohamed Sanu to the roster. Nonetheless, Washington knows that they need help at that position, and head coach Ron River admitted as much when talking to the media on Wednesday.

Earlier in the week, Washington held a try out for a number of free-agent receivers, among the most notable being former Arizona Cardinals WR Hakeem Butler, who was released earlier this year. With few major names on the FA market, it’s possible that the team could try to trade for a big name, though it seems unlikely given what we’ve seen so far from this coaching staff. Regardless of who they get, though, it’s clear that they need to get someone to come into D.C. and help add some experience and depth to the receiving corps. That much we know.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Ron Rivera says if you can’t contain Arizona’s Kyler Murray, you’ll lose

The key to winning the game against Arizona will be Washington’s ability to bottle up QB Kyler Murray and stop him from extending plays.

Washington did what they were asked to do last week by blowing up a make-shift offensive line for the Eagles and be a constant thorn in QB Carson Wentz’s heel.

Heading into Week 2, though, its task is going to be much harder, as they are now being asked to contain QB Kyler Murray, which is something that few people have been able to do thus far. For Washington’s defense, all success starts with the defensive line, where they are talented enough to control the tempo of the game and keep opposing quarterback on their toes, at times forcing them into terrible decisions.

For average quarterbacks who tend to stay in the pocket, this is a massive problem. For Murray, this just allows him to do what he does best — escape pressure and make plays with his feet.

We saw Murray orchestrate an incredible upset victory over the San Francisco 49ers last week thanks in large part to exactly what Rivera is anxious about; his ability to extend the play. If Washington can help mitigate that elusiveness factor, and find a way to keep Kyler bottled up, there’s a good chance they can slow down Kliff Kingsbury’s air-raid offense and win yet another game with their defense.

[lawrence-related id=41345]

It’s a big ask, but so was winning the season-opener against Philly. If the outcome is once again in the hands of the defense, it’s going to take some guts to bet against this unit.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Injury Report: Kendall Fuller, Thomas Davis full-participants in practice

The first injury report of Week 2 shows that Kendall Fuller and Thomas Davis may be able to return to action this Sunday against Arizona.

After being forced to sit out the 2020 season opener last week against the Eagles, both CB Kendall Fuller and LB Thomas Davis were listed as full participants in practice on Wednesday, giving the team hopes that they will be able to suit up and play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

LB Cole Holcomb, who played last week but was limited due to a minor knee injury, was not a full go at practice on Wednesday, and his situation will be monitored over the next few days as Washington prepares to head to the desert.

[lawrence-related id=41358]

The possibility of getting both Fuller and Davis back will be massive for this Washington defense that at times struggled to contain Philly’s receivers in the secondary. The tight ends were able to run free through the middle of the defense, and receivers were often open deep, getting behind Washington’s cornerbacks at times. The addition of both Fuller and Davis will directly help fix this problem, and it comes at a great time with Arizona’s deadly passing game rearing to go.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Roster Envy: One player Washington would steal from Cardinals

It would obviously never happen, but there’s no player Washington should want to lift from AZ’s roster more than DeAndre Hopkins.

In the days leading up to your favorite team’s game on Sunday, do you ever look at the opposing team’s roster and feel a hint of jealousy? Is there a certain player that you know will be lining up against your team, and you’re afraid of the kind of destruction they could cause?

For fans of the Washington Football Team, that feeling may be abundant this week as they prepare to take on the Arizona Cardinals. While Arizona has yet to put all of the pieces together with this new roster and find real success just yet, this very well could be the year that they do so, with budding players in Kyler Murray and Kenyon Drake, and established stars in DeAndre Hopkins and Budda Baker.

[lawrence-related id=41332]

So in a fictional world where Washington could pick any player on Arizona’s roster to switch sides for a week, who would they choose?

Nuke, come on down!

After being traded from the Houston Texans to AZ this offseason, there were questions about whether or not Hopkins could continue his reign as one of the best WRs in the NFL while working with a young QB who he’s built little chemistry with. DeAndre put all of those worries to rest in Week 1, hauling in 14 passes from Murray and dominating throughout the game.

[lawrence-related id=41345]

Nuke is an extremely nice piece for Arizona, and he is exactly what Washington is missing on offense at the moment. With the roster as it is currently constructed, there is little confidence in any receiver outside of Terry McLaurin, which leads to defenses ability to key on him constantly throughout the game, smothering the second-year WR with double teams and forcing Dwayne Haskins to look elsewhere. If you were to bring Hopkins to D.C., it would immediately open up the offense and give Haskins one of the best receiving threats in the entire league.

Much like Hopkins has been able to learn from an established vet and future Hall-of-Famer like Larry Fitzgerald, McLaurin could step into a mentee role under Nuke as well. As an average-sized receiver with quick feet, crisp routes, and incredible hands, who better to learn from for Terry?

Of course, this is a made-up world where we get what we want upon simply asking for it, which is something that would never happen. When we tune in on Sunday, though, it’s going to be hard to find a player in Arizona that would better fit the Washington offense than Hopkins.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Chase Young’s NFL debut causes major shift in Defensive POY, Rookie of Year betting odds

A stellar debut has caused Chase Young’s betting odds to drop in Vegas for both Defensive Rookie of Year and Defensive Player of Year.

He may not have even been the best player on his own defensive line during Washington’s Week 1 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, but Chase Young did enough in his first career NFL game to impress the public, and more importantly, impress the oddsmakers in Las Vegas.

If you were to take a look at the updated betting odds for not only Defensive Rookie of the Year, but Defensive PLAYER of the Year as well after the first week of NFL action, you’ll see that Young’s odds to win significantly decreased. That can only mean one thing: Sportsbooks are worried about losing money on Chase Young.

Here is how the lines changed at BetMGM for bettors who are looking to wager on Washington’s young start to win a major award this season:

Chase Young Defensive Player of Year

Before Week 1: +5000
After Week 1: +2000

Chase Young Defensive Rookie of Year

Before Week 1: +220
After Week 1: +130

Against the Eagles, Young only had four tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 QB hits, and one forced fumble. To the average fan, that’s a great day on the field. In Washington, it wasn’t even the top performance on the defensive line — that belongs to Ryan Kerrigan.

This seems to be only the beginning for Young, who has a high ceiling and an impressive motor. If you like to take part in a sports wager every now and then, you might want to consider cashing in while you can, because this is the highest that either of these lines will likely be this season.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Kliff Kingsbury says watching Washington’s defensive line gives him anxiety

Arizona’s Kliff Kinsbury said that watching tape of Washington sack Carson Wentz 8 times last week gave him anxiety over the matchup.

If there was one major takeaway from Washington’s season-opening win over the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s that their defensive line is nothing to mess with. After putting QB Carson Wentz into the ground a total of 8 times on the day, the front line proved that they can make their presence felt in the backfield, and any quarterback looking to stand in the pocket is likely going to need to have a backup plan in case the walls come closing in.

[lawrence-related id=41332]

Luckily for Arizona, they have Kyler Murray, a young and dynamic player who is growing his reputation as one of the most elusive players in the entire NFL. As an example of just how good Murray is at avoiding sacks, in his three career games against San Francisco’s DE Nick Bosa, Murray is yet to be sacked by the former No. 2 overall pick out of Ohio State.

Will things be different this week around when Chase Young and his merry band of forme first-round picks come calling? One can only hope, but it’s good to know that the Cardinals coach is at least losing a little bit of sleep over the matchup.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Ryan Kerrigan named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for first time in career

Kerrigan’s two sacks and fumble recovery in 20 snaps against Philly helped him secure his first ever NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Was there any other choice but to name Washington’s Ryan Kerrigan the NFC Defensive Player of the Week after the performance that he put on in a 27-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles?

[lawrence-related id=41242]

Kerrigan played only 20 snaps on the day, but came up with two sacks and one fumble recovery. He also broke Washington’s franchise record for most sacks all-time, passing Dexter Manley with 92 in his career. Kerrigan led the team in sacks on the day, holding two of the eight total tallied up by the defensive line, and was a major part of why Eagles QB Carson Wentz was rendered ineffective down the stretch.

This is the first time that Kerrigan has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week in his career.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Fantasy Waiver Wire: Don’t sleep on Washington TE Logan Thomas

Washington tight end Logan Thomas could become a valuable fantasy football option going forward, with a nice rapport with Dwayne Haskins.

Were you able to come away with a victory in your first fantasy football matchup of the new year? Whether you did or didn’t, it sure was fun to sit around and watch football for seven-plus hours again on Sunday, wasn’t it?

With Week 2 fast approaching, the waiver wire deadline is coming quickly, and free agents will be dispersed to those who want them in a matter of hours. So while you may have a few holes on your roster to fill, be it because of injuries or subverted expectations, now is a good time to look at some players to potentially add to your roster.

Did you get screwed by the injury to TE George Kittle? Or are you looking for a tight end to add in deeper leagues? We suggest you take a long, hard look at Washington TE Logan Thomas for your roster.

As arguably one of the only viable fantasy pass-catchers in Washington, Thomas is likely to continue forward with his big share of the workload, playing alongside Terry McLaurin and acting as one of the few options that QB Dwayne Haskins has to go to in the passing game.

We saw Thomas come up with a nice touchdown in Washington’s upset victory over the Eagles on Sunday, and there could definitely be more where that came from in the future.

So if you haven’t put in your waiver claims just yet, or you still have time before the deadline upon reading this, take a look at Thomas. He could end up winning a few games for you down the road.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Chase Young has opportunity to do what Nick Bosa couldn’t: Sack QB Kyler Murray

With two young players holding incredibly high ceilings, Kyler Murray vs. Chase Young could be exciting duel on Sunday.

There were nothing but high expectations for Washington’s rookie DE Chase Young coming into the first season of his NFL career. As a prolific college talent, Young became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft, and was being compared to the likes of Von Miller and Julius Peppers before he played a single down.

While those comparisons are lofty, and more long-term, another player that many have linked Young to is 49ers DE Nick Bosa, an Ohio State graduate who was added to an already dominant defensive line in San Francisco a year ago, helping to carry them over the top and become Super Bowl contenders.

With the two players fitting in so many of the same bubbles, it’s obvious to use Bosa’s rookie season and young career as a measuring stick for Chase. However, in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals, Young has the chance to do something that Bosa has yet to accomplish in his NFL career.

Sack QB Kyler Murray.

Murray is young as well, but he’s already garnered a reputation as one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the NFL. His ability to scramble out of the pocket and avoid sacks is prolific, and the rate at which he avoids getting hit is remarkable.

Young, on the other hand, had a nice debut game in Washington’s 27-17 win over Philadelphia, coming up with four tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 QB hits, and one forced fumble. Washington’s defensive line at large was able to put Eagles QB Carson Wentz into the ground a total of 8 times, keeping him under constant duress.

So what will happen when they’re matched up against the Cardinals offensive front next week? What can we expect to see when Young comes bulldozing around the edge, and Kyler is forced to make a decision?

We’re not going to try and predict the outcome of that matchup, but it’s the first time in Chase Young’s NFL career where he may be able to take a step ahead of his former OSU running mate and start carving a path of his own.

Sunday afternoon. 4:05 ET. We’ve got a fun matchup on our hands.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]

Washington needs to try and trade for Bears WR Allen Robinson

There are rumors that Bears WR Allen Robinson is unhappy with his situation in Chicago, and Washington could benefit greatly from a trade.

After the Washington Football Team brought in a total of five wide receivers to try out for the team on Monday, it’s apparent that they are looking to add some depth to the WR corps at the very least.

If you follow along with NFL rumors as well, it appears that the Chicago Bears star wide receiver Allen Robinson is also going through a little unrest up north, where he has deleted all of the team content from his social media pages after yet another frustrating game trying to catch passes from Mitchell Trubisky. Does he want a trade? Who knows…

However, if a trade is available, what’s stopping Washington from trying to bring in the star WR? Absolutely nothing.

NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay said it best on Tuesday morning. If you’re running Washington, there’s absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t be poking around Robinson and seeing what it would take to bring him in. Washington has some draft capital, thanks to the Trent Williams trade earlier this year, and a major need for another WR to go alongside Terry McLaurin. A major hesitation earlier this offseason was that Washington might not be good enough to compete this season, so it could be smarter to be patient and not leverage your future for some quick fixes. However, after watching this team against the Eagles on Sunday, it’s clear that they’re better than a lot of people may have thought.

Giving QB Dwayne Haskins another weapon to work with could be major, as it would help distract the defense from McLaurin, and spur the growth of the young QB by giving him more playmakers to develop with.

The asking price may be too high for Washington, but they at the very least need to see what they can get Robinson for, and they need to do it now.

[vertical-gallery id=41179]