Category: Latest Washington News

WATCH: Alex Smith’s family douses QB in champagne after roster activation news

Alex Smith was removed from the PUP list on Sunday, signifying a massive step in his already incredible comeback from injury.

If you want to see what pure joy and celebration looks like, watch the above video of Washington quarterback Alex Smith being doused in champagne by his family after the news that he was being activated from the PUP list and cleared for football activities.

After 21 months, 17 surgeries, and endless thoughts of both a career and life threatened by a gruesome leg injury suffered in 2018, Smith took the biggest step yet in his historic comeback, getting cleared by Washington’s doctors and allowed to work out with the team in practice. This doesn’t yet mean that he will threaten QB Dwayne Haskins for the starting spot, but he will have the chance to push the young player going forward.

There’s no other way to look at this story other than positive. A former No. 1 overall pick in the draft who got usurped with the San Francisco 49ers, usurped with the Kansas City Chiefs, and set back with the Washington Football Team. Now against incredible odds, Smith is back once again to try and prove himself. Here’s to you, Alex.

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Report: Alex Smith to be cleared for football activity in Washington

After a long recovery process, Alex Smith is reportedly going to be removed from the PUP list and cleared for football activity.

Several months ago, it was easy to believe that Washington quarterback Alex Smith would never put on pads and step onto a football field again.

On Sunday, Smith is reportedly going to be removed from the PUP list and be placed on the active roster in Washington, according to ESPN’s John Keim.

After a gruesome leg injury held him out of over a year of play, and threatened not only his football career, but his life at points, Smith will now have a chance to play meaningful snaps in Washington’s practices, as he competes with the likes of Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen to earn minutes on the team. Seeing him overthrow Haskins as the seeming sure-shot to earn the QB1 role in Washington sounds like a huge task, but considering the obstacles that he’s already overcome to get to this point, nothing is out of the question.

Smith is expected to be activated off the PUP list Sunday, the source said, putting him in line to be on the field when Washington begins full-pad work at training camp Tuesday. His wife, Elizabeth, posted a video on Instagram earlier Saturday night of Smith’s family spraying him with champagne. She wrote, “Hard work pays off! Lots to celebrate in the Smith house tonight.”

At this point, just getting onto the active roster in Washington is more than you could have ever asked for from Smith, so anything he accomplishes from here on out is an absolute cherry on top of the Sunday. Here is a heartfelt congratulations to Alex, who keeps on pushing the boundaries of what is possible with some hard work and dedication.

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Terry McLaurin want’s to be the ‘go-to-guy’ in Washington’s offense

McLaurin knows that there are increased expectations for him in 2020, but he is ready to be the go-to guy in Washington’s offense.

No matter what you thought about Washington’s Terry McLaurin coming out in his rookie season, there’s no doubt that he surpassed all expectations, quickly becoming one of the most electric WRs in the NFL, and easily claiming the top spot on the Washington offense.

Now, with all eyes on him, as he goes into his second year, McLaurin says that he is ready to take on that extra attention, and he relishes the chance to be a true No. 1 wide receiver in Washington.

“My job, I feel like, is to be a guy that can be that go-to guy, be the receiver when we need a play, we’re going to Terry there’s no doubt about it,” McLaurin said, via NBC Sports Washington. “I want to be that guy. I expect to be that person.”

Expectations will be high, and the lack of a sure-shot No. 2 receiver in Washington will allow opposing defenses to key-in on McLaurin’s every move, at least early on in the season, making his job that much tougher. No matter, though. The young WR knows that he has the skill-set to continue his great ascension in the league, and there isn’t much that’s going to get in his way.

“It’s just a matter of making sure I form that trust in the offensive staff, in the quarterbacks, and in all my teammates as well, is to be that guy each and every down,” he said.

If McLaurin can continue to grow on the same trajectory that we saw last year, and QB Dwayne Haskins can grow along with him, we could be watching the early years of a truly special connection.

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Washington’s ‘Under 25’ talent ranked as 11th best in NFL

When you look at the roster talent under the age of 25, Washington stands in the upper half of the league for 2020.

The Washington Football Team may not be good enough to compete for a playoff spot this season, or even the next, but the future is still bright in D.C., with a young roster full of highly-talented players who can carve out a path in the NFL.

Recently ESPN took a look at all of the 32 teams’ players under the age of 25, and determined who was in the best position going into the future. Washington came out at No. 11 in the league, with a number of ‘blue-chip’ players like Chase Young, Terry McLaurin, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat, and Dwayne Haskins leading the way.

It might not be prudent to plan around the Washington Football Team’s playoff chances in 2020, but it’s hard not to see their climb from 30th in the under-25 rankings in 2018 to 13th last year and now 11th this year and have hope for their eventual success. The team has been disciplined in its approach to accumulating young talent, forgoing the headline grab of skill players to select unsexy values such as defensive tackle Daron Payne and edge rusher Montez Sweat in the first round in recent seasons.

The breakdown from ESPN goes on to note that Washington’s defense is unlikely to hold them back in the near future, but questions about the offense remain. Haskins is unproven, and there is a vacuum on the skill position depth chart outside of Terry McLaurin. However, with a number of young players who will have a chance to step up into a starting role this season, it’s highly possible that Washington continues to move up in this ranking next season.

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Now Pitching for the Washington Nationals, Dr. Anthony Fauci, First Pitch Bobblehead!

You can now show your support of your favorite doctor and Nats’ fan with this Dr. Anthony Fauci First Pitch Bobblehead!

I think everyone knows who Dr. Fauci is at this point in time, but they might not know how big of Nats’ fan he is. The Nationals honored Dr. Fauci and had him throw out the first pitch of the first game of the MLB season.

He’s now been honored again on his first sports bobblehead throwing out the first pitch, which was a wild one. Show your support of your favorite doctor and Nats’ fan with this Dr. Anthony Fauci First Pitch Bobblehead!

This bobblehead measures approximately 8 inches and portrays Dr. Fauci on the pitching mound wearing a Nationals cap, jersey, and face cover while throwing his first pitch.

This item is PRE-ORDER only and will ship no later than November 18th.

This is a must-have to add to your collection not only if your a baseball fan but to commemorate what a wild year 2020 has been.

This item is PRE-ORDER only and will ship no later than November 18th.

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Reuben Foster says knee injury was ‘really scary’ and humbled him a lot

Foster’s knee injury in 2019 threatened his football career going forward, but he’s happy to be getting back to what he was born to do.

In his first couple of years in the NFL, Reuben Foster quickly became one of the better young linebackers in the game, making a name for himself in San Francisco after being drafted in the first round.

Then legal troubles came, and suspensions came, and a significant knee injury game. Now, with a rehabilitation process behind him, and a fresh start ahead of him in Washington, Foster has had the time to reflect on both his personal and football life, and he’s ready to get back to what he feels he was born to do — play football. On Friday, Foster sat down with media members in Washington for the first time and discussed what that recovery has been like, and what it taught him along the way.

Though it was unclear to many just how serious Foster’s knee injury suffered in 2019 was, news that came out earlier this year saying he was finally regaining feeling in his lower leg shows that his football career was seriously in jeopardy at one point. Now that Foster is closer to getting back on the field, we can feel confident that his second act, this time in Washington, will be just as fun to watch as the first, and he can get back to business.

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Thomas Davis calls Reuben Foster a ‘physical specimen’ born to play linebacker

The return of Reuben Foster in Washington is highly anticipated, and expectations for his production are high.

Expectations for the defense in Washington are high this coming season, but there are a number of players in the middle that many people are cautiously optimistic about.

While most people think that veteran linebacker Thomas Davis Sr. will be a perfect leader in the middle of the defense, there are also players like Reuben Foster and Kevin Pierre-Louis who are expected to play some type of role in the defense, though it’s hard to say just what at this moment. Foster was a former first-rounder in San Francisco who was signed by Washington in 2018, though he hasn’t played since then due to injury, and Pierre-Louis came over to the team this year in free agency. Both are relatively unknown in Washington, with many wondering what type of production we can expect from them this season.

According to Davis, who talked with media members on Friday, expectations should be high.

A “physical specimen” who was born to play linebacker, and an explosive player who will be making a ton of plays on defense. Hard to find any better ways to describe a couple of new players who will likely be slotted in somewhere on Washington’s defensive rotation.

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Ron Rivera reportedly gave an incredibly inspiring speech at practice on Thursday

In his first opportunity to address the entire team in person, Rivera reportedly gave an inspiring speech about controlling what they can.

In a wild offseason where there are about 20 different things that you could say about the Washington Football Team, the word that has meant the most for the team and the new coaching staff to focus on ‘culture.’

It’s been preached over and over by Ron Rivera, and the players have come out and said first hand that the culture that’s being built in the franchise now is one that matters and something that can last for years and decades into the future. Another instance of culture-building came on Thursday in Washington, when Rivera addressed the team in person for the first time with everyone together. According to Washington WR Terry McLaurin, it was extremely powerful.

“He hit us with a pretty big message this morning,” McLaurin told reporters Thursday. “Not to get all the way into it, but just the way that we come out onto the field every day is something that we can control. Our attitude, our preparation and our effort are some things we can control on a day-to-day basis, and we’re going to be a physical football team that attacks people on both sides of the ball, and it starts out front with our offensive and defensive line.”

With the number of distractions that have taken place off of the field so far this offseason, it would be understandable for much of that to seep into the locker room and affect the players, and the product on the field, but McLaurin knows that Rivera is not the type of coach to let that happen.

“That’s what you want to hear out of a coach,” McLaurin said. “That’s kind of what I’ve been accustomed to with my background with football, just that attack style of play. I think it’s going to suit us well as long as everyone continues to do what we’ve been doing so far, allowing ourselves to be coached and continue working to be better. I feel like we can make the strides necessary to be ready for Week 1.”

Rivera can talk his talk and walk his walk all he wants in Washington, but it won’t mean anything unless the players buy-in from the jump. They got the chance to start that strong on Thursday, and hopefully it will continue into the regular season.

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Report: Dan Snyder being pressured by minority owners to sell the team

It continues to be anything but smooth sailing in Washington, as minority owners continue to pressure Snyder into a sale of the team.

More news came out on Thursday that shows minority owners in Washington are pressuring team owner Dan Snyder to sell the football team, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. 

Though several people are encouraging a sale, the report shows that Snyder has no intention of doing so.

“The stakes have attracted interest from a variety of potential buyers, but Mr. Snyder has been reluctant to give any of them the option to eventually buy control despite the attempt to oust him,” the Journal said. “That has prompted some would-be buyers to walk away.”

The development in the story may be new, but it is nothing we haven’t heard before when it comes to minority owners being fed up with Snyder, and that relationship fraying. Earlier this offseason, minority owners were said to be looking to sell their own shares before the team announced that they would be changing their long-controversial name and logo. And then, just weeks later, a Washington Post story alleged widespread sexual harassment and verbal abuse against women inside the organization.

Whether Snyder will eventually be forced into a sale or not is yet to be seen, but things are anything but smooth in Washington as the 2020 season fast approaches.

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Terry McLaurin says Odell Beckham Jr. asked him for tips this summer

McLaurin said on Thursday that OBJ and he shared some tips that they picked up when working out together this offseason.

We’ve seen a ton of videos this offseason that feature Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins working with some high profile wide receivers in the NFL, where he was likely looking for some tips and tricks to make him progress better in the league and become a top-rated QB in Washington.

It seems now that some of those talented receivers might have been looking to one of Haskins’ teammates to try and get some tips and tricks as well. When talking to media members on Thursday, Washington’s second-year receiver Terry McLaurin said that when he worked out with Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this offseason, the veteran asked him for a few tips that the rookie picked up in 2019, hoping to expand his own skillset.

Before we make a huge deal out of this, it’s common for players of similar stature to get together and share what they’ve picked up over the past season to hone their craft and be better prepared to take advantage of opposing defenders. What’s cool about it happening between McLaurin and OBJ is the realization that the two are on similar playing fields, though Beckham is considered one of the best receivers in the game. As McLaurin continues down this path, name recognition will grow, and his star will continue to rise.

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