Washington wide receiver Curtis Samuel missed all of training camp with a groin injury and time spent on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Samuel briefly returned to practice on Aug. 15. and participated in individual drills but hasn’t practiced since.
After Washington’s practice on Thursday, head coach Ron Rivera met with the media and gave an update on Samuel, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.
“Curtis has had some really good days,” Rivera said. “He’s been doing a lot of work, a lot of conditioning work on the side as well. With him, it’s really going to be getting everything down and ready to roll, so we’re feeling very confident because he’s had some really good days out there on the side. Every morning he comes in, he’s feeling better and better. So we expect to have him out there ready to go with his teammates on Monday.”
Well, that’s encouraging news.
With just over a week until Washington opens the season at home against the Los Angeles Chargers, Rivera wouldn’t confirm if he believed Samuel would be ready for Week 1.
“It’ll be all or nothing,” Rivera said. “He’ll either be ready, which would be great. If he’s not ready, we have guys we feel comfortable with that can do some of the things he does.”
If Samuel is out for any length of time, that means Washington fans would see more of rookie Dyami Brown. Brown had an impressive preseason. The Football Team lacked this type of depth last season.
Rivera’s comments lead you to believe Samuel will need a strong week of practice to play in the first game. If he is limited in any way, he won’t be on the field against the Chargers. That’s smart. Washington has maintained patience with Samuel thus far and should continue to do so until he is 100%.