For players in the NFL who are getting set to work under a new coaching staff, a lot of the preparation that they can do is based on what the coach has done with players like them in the past. For Washington Redskins wide receiver Steven Sims Jr., this may be a bit tough to do.
When sitting down for an interview with The Washington Post, Sims detailed that he found out early on in Ron Rivera’s tenure that he hasn’t utilized many small receivers in the past. Standing at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, this raised a red flag to Sims, as he knew that he’d have to be special going forward if he wanted to stick around in Rivera’s scheme. Here is the excerpt from the interview:
I’m ready for whatever. We have a new staff, so that makes it even more in my head, like, “These guys didn’t watch you practice for a whole year last year.” They don’t know. … What I’ve done up to now means nothing. I have to prove myself again.
The only small receiver Ron Rivera ever had was Steve Smith. When my agent called and told me that, that was more motivation than I ever needed.
Wait, talk me through that.
It wasn’t a bad talk. It was right after we signed [Cody] Latimer, right after the draft. It was like, [Rivera] brought in bigger bodies [at wide receiver]. I was like, “Okay, that’s what he likes.”
I’m not saying I’m on the cut block. I’m just saying: “Be different. Be another Steve Smith.” He started off the same guy. They only thought he was going to be a returner, and he’s a Hall of Famer. … He was a small guy who played big. He wasn’t going to limit himself to being 5-9.
It may be a sky-high goal to reach, becoming the next Steve Smith on a Ron Rivera-coached team, but if Sims is able to grow and produce like he did down the stretch in 2019, I don’t see why he can’t become a player of similar caliber to the Hall of Famer. With Terry McLaurin and Sims on the same team going forward, we may look back on this time in the future as the start of one of the dynamic receiving duos that have ruled the NFL for decades to come.
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