Category: Latest Washington News

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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McLaurin says Antonio Gandy-Golden is faster than he looks, can ‘jump out of the gym’

Washington will be forced to rely heavily on Antonio Gandy-Golden in his rookies season, but he’s been able to impress so far in camp.

It’s not normal for an NFL team to rely heavily on a rookie player to have a big impact during their first year in the league, but that’s exactly what the Washington Football Team will be hoping for from rookie WR Antonio Gandy-Golden.

With the unfortunate loss of Kelvin Harmon earlier this offseason, the expectations for AGG got significantly higher, and the team will likely need to ask a lot more of him than they originally would have had the receiving corps been at full strength.

Luckily for Washington, there have been some good signs coming out of training camp about the rookie’s progress, topped off by the comments made by second-year WR Terry McLaurin on Thursday morning.

AGG’s ability to go up and get the ball was highly noted during the scouting process ahead of the draft, but his 4.6 40-yard-dash time at the combine left a bit to be desired. However, McLaurin notes that he seems much faster than the watch says, and he should provide a solid deep threat for the Washington offense.

It may be a bit much to ask AGG to produce something along the lines of what we saw from McLaurin during the 2019 season, but any production that Washington can get from their new rookie receiver will be much-needed. Gandy-Golden won’t be forced to sit on the bench and acclimate to the league during his rookie season; he’ll have a chance to go out and prove what he can do right from the jump.

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Montez Sweat has bulked up 15 pounds and is ready to dominate on defense

As he readies for a switch to the 4-3 defense, Montez Sweat says he’s added 15-pounds to prepare for a classic DE role in Washington.

When it comes to young players on the Washington defensive line, almost all of the attention has gone to Chase Young, who was drafted with the No. 2 overall pick this past year. However, Washington has another young star in the making who was drafted in the first round just a year ago — Montez Sweat.

Sweat had a solid rookie season, working his way onto the stat sheet late in the season where he ended his rookie campaign with 50 total tackles and seven sacks. Going into his second year in the league, there is a great chance that he can continue to dominate, especially now that Young will be detracting a lot of attention on the other side of the line from him. Sweat will also benefit greatly from a switch to the 4-3 defense under Jack Del Rio, where he is preparing to play more of a classic DE role.

If both Sweat and Young can prove to be the dominant players that Washington drafted them to be, the defensive line will be something to marvel at for years to come in D.C.

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Players in Washington finally wear new helmets, and it’s a beautiful sight

Thursday’s practice marked the day that players could wear helmets for the first time this year, giving us a chance to see the new looks.

The time has finally come for players in Washington to put on their new logo-less helmets and get to work in practice. Though training camp has been going on for a bit now, Thursday morning was the first time that Washington Football Team players were allowed to buckle up their chin-straps and get down to business.

The new helmets in Washington aren’t much different than ones in the past, with all of the color-ways staying the same. The only difference is the removal of the former team logo on the side, and a missing stripe down the crown of the helmet as well. The former logo has been replaced by players’ numbers, which will assuredly make alums from the University of Alabama feel right at home.

In an odd year where even the NFL has been upheaved a bit by the coronavirus, seeing players get back into their helmets and visors is such a welcomed sight.

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