Category: Latest Washington News

Injury update: Jonathan Allen helped to sideline with apparent left leg injury

Jonathan Allen went down with a left leg injury on Sunday, and he sat on the sideline without his helmet for the rest of practice.

A troubling moment in training camp came on Sunday morning, when veteran defensive lineman and team leader Jonathan Allen went down with an apparent injury in practice, leading him to be helped off the field.

Allen, who was holding his left leg while down on the turf, was helped to the sideline, where he sat without his helmet for a while as teammates came and checked on him. Allen remained sitting on a cooler, repeatedly flexing his leg, and not appearing to be in too much pain, but still remaining concerned. The training staff eventually came over and put a brace on his knee, but it appears that his day is done.

We will hear from coaches later to get an update, but it’s unclear how serious the injury is at the moment.

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WATCH: Chase Young stuffs Adrian Peterson at goal line to prevent touchdown

Chase Young provided another highlight play on Sunday by stuffing Adrian Peterson for no gain on the goal line, preventing a touchdown.

All reports were that practice was expected to ramp up the intensity in Washington on Sunday, and so far that seems to be extremely accurate.

With just two practices left before camp ends, many players are working to battle for their final spots either on the starting lineup or the roster in general. However, it was two sure-fire difference-makers who provided one of the bigger highlights of the day, with rookie Chase Young stuffing veteran Adrian Peterson at the goal line to stop a touchdown run.

The speed and power of Young to be able to get from the edge to the middle of the line and stop a player as strong as AP is remarkable. It’s plays like these that get you absolutely ecstatic for the coming season.

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Sunday’s practice in Washington expected to heat up with several roster spots up for grabs

There are only two training camp practices left in Washington, and a number of position battles and roster spots are up for grabs.

With Saturday’s training camp practice now in the books, the Washington Football Team only has two padded practices left before roster cuts are made — one on Sunday and a scrimmage at FedEx Field on Monday.

When talking to the media on Saturday, Rivera got into the cut process a bit, and while he didn’t delve into specific players who have caught his attention — though he said many have — he did talk about Sunday’s practice being of the utmost importance, with a number of jobs on the line, and a number of competitions for starting spots, and roster spots, coming to a boil.

How will the left side of the offensive line shake out? Who will be able to grab the final spot on the WR depth chart? What about the cornerbacks? Will Troy Apke be able to hold onto his spot at the starting FS position? These are all questions that need to be answered, and the team is coming down to decision-making time pretty soon. If practice has been intense this far, the next couple of days are even going to be more so, with a ton of young players looking to take their chance, and a number of veterans hoping to secure their spot on the roster going forward.

Bring on the competition and heat, we can’t wait.

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Alex Smith takes ‘very big step’ with 11v11 snaps in Washington practice

As Smith continues to progress in his recovery from that leg injury, he took a major step on Saturday with 11v11 snaps in the redzone.

Washington’s practice was closed to the media on Saturday due to inclement weather that forced them inside, but reports from the team are that quarterback Alex Smith took a handful of snaps in non-contact 11 vs. 11 red zone drills, which he has yet to do since returning from his leg injury.

Head coach Ron Rivera addressed the media after the practice and noted that this was a major step for Smith, who is progressing quickly on his recovery and will likely be able to take full-contact 11v11 snaps later this week. Once he can do that, the quarterback competition will get very intriguing.

None of this is to say that Smith is a likely candidate to overtake the QB1 spot from Dwayne Haskins, but having him even in the conversation is a major win for both Smith and the team.

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Big sports bettor wagers $55,000 on Chase Young to win Defensive Rookie of the Year

There are high expectations for Chase Young in his rookie season, and one bettor is putting their money where their mouth is with confidence.

With the NFL season just a couple of weeks away, many sports bettors are starting to place their wagers across the country with a number of futures bets in their sights.

One of the bigger bets that was placed recent came from New Jersey, where someone put down a whopping $55,000 on Washington’s Chase Young to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award at +220 odds. If you plug that into a betting calculator, a win on that bet would pay out $176,000 before taxes.

While the dollar amount may be a bit shocking, it’s not a surprise to see the confidence in Young’s ability to have a stellar rookie season start to grow. After a legendary college career, Young has been a stand-out already in practice, and he seems to be transitioning well to the NFL.

We don’t know who this big-bettor is, but I think I can speak for everyone in Washington when I wish them the best of luck in their wagering on this one.

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LOOK: Terry McLaurin sports new Washington jerseys for first time

McLaurin was shown sporting the new Washington team jerseys in a photoshoot on Dwayne Haskins’ Instagram story on Thursday.

Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins gave the fans a chance to see the new threads in Washington for the first official time on Thursday morning, sharing a picture of wide receiver Terry McLaurin flexing for the camera on his Instagram story during a photoshoot at the team facility.

The new jerseys are seemingly identical to the old ones, aside from the fact that ‘Washington’ is branded under the collar, rather than the former team name. The helmets are also the biggest difference as well, with the player’s number on the side rather than the former team logo, and stripe that went down the middle.

The big release will be when Washington decides on a new mascot, and we get to see those jerseys, but for now it’s nice to see that the new isn’t too much different than the old, keeping up with the seamless name transition.

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Dan Snyder calls allegations a ‘hit job’ and contradicts statement from Washington

Both Dan Snyder and the team’s statements on sexual harassment allegations are in stark contrast of eachother.

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After more disturbing allegations came out on Wednesday morning alleging that Washington team owner Dan Snyder was at the center of many sexual harassment incidents in the team’s building, the team’s PR staff released a statement condemning this, and saying that they take the matter very seriously and will do everything they can to make sure that the situation is dealt with the right way going forward.

Unfortunately, this directly contradicts the statement that Snyder released himself earlier in the day, calling the report from The Washington Post “a hit job” that are not based in facts and outdated by 10 to 20 years.

Whether you believe Snyder or not, the biggest problem is that the two separate entities, which are supposed to be working together on a matter of this magnitude of importance, had such a stark difference in messaging. While Washington said that they encouraged all employees with any information to come forward and report this, so that they can get to the bottom of the incidents, Snyder disregarded the allegation entirely and expressed frustration with a former cheerleader who didn’t bring the complaints to management.

There are undoubtedly going to be several more wrinkles in this story as the weeks and months go on, but it’s a terrible look for Washington and Snyder right off the bat.

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Ron Rivera says football can wait, now is time for reflection and dialogue

Ron Rivera released a statement on Wednesday night saying that football can wait, but now is the time for reflection in Washington.

News broke on Wednesday night that the Washington Football Team would be postponing their scrimmage set to take place at FedEx Field on Thursday in order to join the protest against the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Head coach Ron Rivera released a statement on Wednesday night saying that he and president Jason Wright had been working together earlier that day in order to develop a response that had a balance between football and a need to fight the social injustice we’ve recently seen.

“Friday we can return to football,” Rivera wrote. “But tomorrow will be about reflection instead. In place of our practice at FedEx Field, the players, coaches, and football staff will meet as a football family and we will continue our open dialogue on the issues of racism and social injustice in our country.”

Ever since taking the job in Washington, Rivera has been strong on the message of of a strong culture, and he has had a voice with his players during the Black Lives Matter movement that has grown over the summer months. This next step is a major one, not only in Washington but in the NFL at large.

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Breaking: Washington to postpone Thursday’s scrimmage to protest shooting of Jacob Blake

Washington is joining a number of sporting teams in boycotting over the shooting of Jacob Blake.

It was reported by NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay on Wednesday night that the Washington Football Team would postpone their practice on Thursday — which was set to be a scrimmage taking place at FedEx Field — until further notice.

The postponement comes in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin, which led a number of sports leagues to halt operations in order to reflect and find how to use their platforms to incite change.

The first domino fell on Wednesday afternoon when the Milwaukee Bucks players boycotted their Game 5 NBA Playoff game against the Orlando Magic, refusing to play. Since then, a number of other teams and sporting leagues have joined in the boycott, demanding change.

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Ron Rivera to stand during National Anthem, kneel in protest during coin toss this season

Rivera said that he would not be kneeling during the National Anthem, but his protest against police brutality would come during coin toss.

In a summer where social justice and a desire for players to use their platforms for good has come to the forefront, many people across the sporting world are working to figure out ways to play their part in spreading the message that they do not support the police brutality that has been prevalent in our nation for decades.

Washington Football head coach Ron Rivera is among the many looking to use his voice, and he has recently come to a decision on how he is going to best protest in his own way. While he says that kneeling for the National Anthem is something that he will not do, as he has a strong military background, he supports anyone’s decision to protest in such a manner. He will do so in his own way.

“I’m going to put the initials JL for John Lewis [on my hat],” Rivera told WRC on Monday. “That way, when people ask me why, I can say because he was an advocate for voter rights.”

Aside from the letters on his hat, Rivera said that he would be kneeling for the coin toss before games, but standing for the anthem.

“I don’t want the message to be contorted when it comes to, ‘Oh, well, you kneeled during the anthem,’ ” Rivera said. “I’m going to make sure that my message that I have will be during the coin toss. For anybody that disagrees with me, well, I’m sorry, but it’s my right.”

There are assuredly going to be dozens of NFL players kneeling during the anthem once the season gets underway, and many are going to be standing alongside them. Through it all, it’s important to remember that these players and people are protesting for their right to safety and peace of mind, not against any flag or anthem.

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