With just four days remaining until the Washington Football Team opens the 2021 NFL season against the Los Angeles Chargers, wide receiver Curtis Samuel left the practice field on Wednesday after apparently reaggravating his groin injury.
On Monday, Samuel returned to the practice field after missing virtually all of training camp due to a groin injury he suffered in minicamp. Samuel also spent time on the reserve/COVID-19 list this summer.
After Monday’s practice, head coach Ron Rivera was optimistic about what he saw from Samuel but remained cautious. Samuel said he felt good.
In a video from Scott Abraham of ABC 7 in Washington, D.C., Samuel ran a route, grabbed his groin and shook his head to a couple of teammates. The trainer immediately came to see Samuel, and the two went to a side field.
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Here is the video of Curtis Samuel from practice today.
Timeline of events below.
Limping, head shaking, trying to stretch it out, called trainer over, trainer came over, went off to side field.
It appears he's not right with that groin injury. https://t.co/hEVmMCF80e pic.twitter.com/28kvuFNoj0
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) September 8, 2021
This is obviously tough news for Samuel. In March, he signed a three-year deal with Washington and was expected to serve as the team’s No. 2 receiver behind Terry McLaurin in 2021.
Samuel’s injury on Wednesday would almost eliminate him from playing Week 1. Rivera has previously stated he was fine taking it easy and not rushing Samuel back onto the field. It helps that Washington has depth at wide receiver in 2021
We’ll have more on this situation when Rivera speaks after practice.