Category: Latest Washington News

Odds Shift: Betting line now considers Washington 1-point underdog vs. Panthers

With the news that Dwayne Haskins will start for Washington, the betting line has shifted to favor Carolina to win on Sunday.

It appears that the oddsmakers don’t seem to like Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins very much. Ever since it became clear that he was the likely player to start under center against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the betting line for the game swung away from Washington’s favor, and now predicts that the Panthers are likely to win, with Carolina a one-point favorite, according to BetMGM.

Of course, this doesn’t have everything to do with Haskins — there are a number of other important injuries on the team, most notably WR Terry McLaurin missing his first contest of the 2020 season — but it doesn’t bode well for the young QB.

However, if he is able to step up and play a full game with the same mentality that he did in the 4th quarter last weekend against the Seattle Seahawks, Washington will have a fighting chance, and they could end up looking pretty good.

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

[listicle id=45419]

Report: 4 candidates emerge for Washington’s GM position, to be hired this offseason

Washington is expected to hire a General Manager this offseason, and a few names have risen to the top as far as candidates go.

With all of the different storylines swirling around in Washington, one of the more impactful things of note is who the team will end up hiring to fill the vacant General Manager position in the front office, working alongside head coach Ron Rivera.

For much of the past year, the fan-favorite has been Vice President of Player Personnel, Kyle Smith, who has had his thumbprint on the past handful of NFL Drafts with the team and has done a great job evaluating talent and helping to build a young and budding roster. However, over recent weeks there has been a feeling that Rivera would choose ‘a more experienced’ voice, which leads us to believe that Smith won’t get the title change, and could eventually head for greener grass.

So with Smith still a fringe candidate, there are reportedly a few other names that have come up as well, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport: former Texans GM Rick Smith, 49ers VP of player personnel Martin Mayhew, and former Panthers GM Marty Hurney.

Hurney is likely the leader in the clubhouse, considering his longstanding relationship with Rivera from their days together with the Carolina Panthers, but it’s smart to keep an eye on any of those names hoping forward.

[listicle id=45419]

Morgan Moses says Dwayne Haskins can ‘win the locker room back’ with win Sunday

Morgan Moses thinks that if Dwayne Haskins can help Washington find a win on Sunday, he can potentially ‘win the locker room back.’

A long and drama-filled week is now behind us in Washington, and it’s time to get down to business. We at long last know who is going to start for the Washington Football Team, and it will be second-year QB Dwayne Haskins who gets a big opportunity with starting QB Alex Smith likely to be inactive with a calf strain.

This gives Haskins yet another big opportunity, though we don’t quite know how much he will be able to do with this one. Veteran RT Morgan Moses, who is one of the biggest emotional leaders in the locker room, recently said that Haskins has a chance to win back the team after an indefensible mistake left the team at risk this past week with the QB breaking COVID-protocols to attend a birthday party.

It would be a great story for Haskins to come out on Sunday and lead Washington to a win, helping them clinch their first playoff appearance since 2015, but operating under the assumption that that scenario plays out, where do we go from there?

What if Haskins does get back in the good graces of his teammates, what then? There’s likely no scenario where Haskins is still on the team in 2021, as Washington will assuredly move on and go in a different direction, so is it all about pride?

At this point, probably so, but that is still a meaningful thing in the NFL, especially when Haskins will likely have to win over a new locker room in the coming years. We’ll see if he can win back his old locker room with a solid performance on Sunday in what could be Washington’s biggest game of the year.

[listicle id=45419]

Washington vs. Carolina: How to watch, listen and stream this week’s game

Washington will have a chance to seal their postseason destiny with a win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=fIxYLzpgBq-1083120-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on

Here is everything you need to know so you can watch, listen to or stream this week’s Washington Football game. This week Washington takes on the Carolina Panthers in what could end up being the biggest game of their season, with a chance to secure a spot in the playoffs if they win, plus a loss from the New York Giants earlier in the day. It won’t be an easy feat, however, with QB Alex Smith and RB Antonio Gibson questionable to play, while WR Terry McLaurin is listed as doubtful.

QB Dwayne Haskins will get the start if Smith is unable to play, and it will be a good chance for him to fend a few fences that he lit a fuse to earlier this week after attending a birthday party with his girlfriend following last Sunday’s game, where numerous COVID-19 protocols were broken. Here is everything you need to know about watching or streaming the game.

Game Information:

Washington Football Team (6-8) vs. Carolina Panthers (4-10)

Kickoff: Sunday, December 27th, 4:05 pm ET

Venue: FedEx Field, Landover, MD

Broadcast:

Television: CBS

Online: You can also tune in online with NFL Game Pass and FuboTV (try it for free).

You can also follow the game with us @Washington_Wire and of course here on Washington Wire with our live updates during the game, along with highlights of all the key moments from this week’s game. Join us straight after the final whistle for more in-depth coverage, injury updates, and analysis of all the action.

Report: Antonio Gibson to play vs. Panthers Sunday; Terry McLaurin out

Antonio Gibson is expected to make his return to the field on Sunday, but Terry McLaurin isn’t expected to play as he continues to battle an ankle injury.

 

There is some good news and bad news for the Washington Football Team for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Rookie RB Antonio Gibson will return to the field after battling a turf toe injury, but WR Terry McLaurin is expected to miss the game.

Gibson has missed the past two games since being injured against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his presence will be a big help to Washington’s running game. On the other hand, Washington will desperately miss McLaurin, who is undoubtedly their best receiver, but has been hampered by an ankle injury for weeks.

On top of those two injuries, it is unclear if QB Alex Smith will be able to play with a calf injury, or if it will be Dwayne Haskins who gets the second straight start.

Optimism is low for Alex Smith to play vs. Panthers after experiencing ‘soreness’ in calf

Alex Smith is yet to be ruled out for Sunday, but optimism is reportedly running low after the QB experienced some soreness in his calf on Saturday.

The most important day for any NFL player who is recovering from an injury always comes the day after they really put some exertion on their ailment. For Washington quarterback Alex Smith, that day was on Saturday, after the veteran was a full participant in practice on Friday and took the majority of first-team reps while working back from a calf strain.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Smith was pretty sore from the work on Saturday, and while he still has a chance to play on Sunday, optimism is waning, which would leave QB Dwayne Haskins as the man to watch.

Haskins spent much of the week taking first-team reps in practice in preparation to play on Sunday, but there were some questions as to if Smith could give it a go or not. While we still don’t know for sure, it seems that the arrow is pointing towards No. 7, rather than No. 11 for the start vs. the Panthers.

[listicle id=45419]

 

 

Washington activates Antonio Gandy-Golden off IR, releases WR Dontrelle Inman

Washington has activated rookie WR Antonio Gandy-Golden off of the IR, making him eligible for Sunday’s game, while releasing WR Dontrelle Inman.

The Washington Football Team made some roster moves on Saturday, activating rookie WR Antonio Gandy-Golden off of the injured reserve and releasing veteran WR Dontrelle Inman as well.

There was a feeling that AGG could be activated at some point before Sunday’s game, with him returning to practice recently and looking good coming off of a hamstring injury that landed him on the IR earlier this season. Before his injury, he was struggling to find much production in the offense, but there is a hope that the rookie can step into a bigger role, especially with the health of WR Terry McLaurin in question.

Washington released WR Dontrelle Inman off of the roster in order to make room for AGG, which comes as somewhat of a surprise, but is not too shocking, considering his production so far this season. Inman has 18 catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns in Washington but has only 1 target since Week 6 against the Giants.

[listicle id=45419]

Ron Rivera says he thinks Washington can make some noise in the 2020 playoffs

If Washington ends up making the 2020 playoffs, Ron Rivera believes that can make some noise and surprise a lot of people.

Ron Rivera and the Washington Football Team is one win (and a New York Giants’ loss) away from making it to the franchise’s first NFL postseason since 2015, and there is some palpable energy in the air throughout the Washington fanbase. Despite all of the drama and distracting storylines that have come out this past week, the team’s ultimate goal remains for the taking.

If that goal is achieved, Rivera says that he thinks his team can have some real success when it comes to the postseason, and in a veiled statement to whoever their first-round opponent would be on Wild Card Weekend, the coach dares them to overlook the burgundy and gold.

According to the ever-changing NFL playoff picture, if Washington is able to clinch the 4-seed this weekend, they will likely have an extremely tough matchup in round 1 of the playoffs, facing the top Wild Card Team. At the moment, they would face the Los Angeles Rams, but it could potentially be the Seattle Seahawks or Tampa Bay Buccaneers that end up traveling to FedEx Field as well — we won’t know for sure until at least Week 17, as the Rams and Seahawks play each other this weekend.

Regardless of the matchup, Rivera has some real confidence in his roster, and he believes that his team can line up with the best of them. Based on some of the performances we’ve seen from the defense, that may be true, and if you can get the offense back to fair health, we may be surprised by what this team can do.

They may just make some real noise.

[listicle id=45419]

Report: Alex Smith took first-team reps in practice; ’50/50′ to play Sunday

Reports show that QB Alex Smith was a full participant in practice on Friday and took the majority of first-team reps, which is a big step in the right direction for Sunday.

It was a glass-half-full type of day for the Washington Football Team on Friday, as it was reported that QB Alex Smith was a full participant in practice and took a majority of first-team reps.

This was the first time that Smith has been a full-participant in over a week, and though he is listed as questionable to play in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers, this is a big step in the right direction. We will see how Smith is feeling on Sunday morning, and likely know his eligibility just before the game.

If Smith is unable to play, it will be Dwayne Haskins that gets the starting reps for Washington in a game where a win could potentially give them the NFC East division title.

[listicle id=45419]

Injury Report: Alex Smith, Antonio Gibson questionable; Terry McLaurin doubtful for Sunday

Both Alex Smith and Antonio Gibson are listed as questionable for Sunday, but WR Terry McLaurin is doubtful to play vs. Panthers.

Some good and bad news came out of Washington’s practice on Friday morning, with QB Alex Smith being a full participant in practice and being listed as questionable for Sunday.

On a worse note, WR Terry McLaurin is listed as doubtful to play after missing all practices this week while he continues to deal with an ankle injury that has plagued him through much of the season.

Elsewhere on the injury report, RB Antonio Gibson is listed as questionable, but he went through limited work this week while recovering from a turf toe injury. The offense in Washington could absolutely use his production, especially if McLaurin is unable to play.

[listicle id=45419]