Tag: Dustin Hopkins

Washington Inactives: Thomas Davis to miss 4th straight game, Dustin Hopkins active

Dustin Hopkins will be good to go, while Thomas Davis scratched from fourth straight game on Sunday.

Washington got word that veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins would be good to go for this Week 10 game against the Detroit Lions, which saved the team from having to call up a practice squad player to take his place. Hopkins has been dealing with a groin injury this past week, but a report from ESPN’s John Keim said that Hopkins was able to kick multiple 50-yard field goals during walkthrough on Saturday.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, veteran LB Thomas Davis was once again listed as inactive, which makes it the fourth straight game that he has been scratched from the lineup. This free-agent pickup was expected to play a role on the defense at a position where Washington desperately needs some production, but that hasn’t been the case thus far.

Lions’ T.J. Hockenson, Washington’s Dustin Hopkins to play on Sunday

The Lions will have one of their top receiving options healthy on Sunday, while Washington gets a green light for their veteran kicker.

Two of the bigger injury questions heading into this game have been answered, with news coming down on Saturday night that both Detroit Lions TE T.J. Hockenson and Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins would be good to go for Sunday’s game.

For the Lions, having Hockenson is a big deal, especially after WR Kenny Golladay was ruled out on Friday. Hockenson is one of the teams leading receivers, and he plays a major role in their offense.

As for Hopkins, he has been dealing with a groin injury this week, and was listed as questionable to play, but according to a report from ESPN’s John Keim, he made a couple of long kicks in walk through on Saturday and appears to be good to go.

[listicle id=43815]

Washington Week 10 injury designations: LT Geron Christian ruled OUT

The Detroit Lions Week 10 opponent, the Washington Football Team, has released their injury designations ahead of Sunday’s game.

The Detroit Lions Week 10 opponent, the Washington Football Team, has released their injury designations ahead of Sunday’s game and they will be without their starting left tackle for the second week in a row.

Here’s a look at Washington’s full injury designations list.

Ruled OUT/Questionable

Player Position Injury Designation
Kyle Allen QB (starter) Ankle OUT
Geron Christian LT (starter) Knee OUT
Dontrelle Inman WR (starter) Hamstring OUT
Jeff Badet WR Hamstring Questionable
Jared Norris LB Hamstring OUT
Dustin Hopkins K Groin Questionable

Allen suffered a pretty significant ankle injury in Week 9 and while he escaped a season-ending designation (for now) there was no way he was going to play this week. Washington will turn to Alex Smith — who himself is coming off a devastating injury — over 2019 first-round pick Dwayne Haskins.

Christian will miss his second game in a row and Washington will lean on former Lion Cornelius Lucas at left tackle. He will be one of three former Lions to see the field on offense for Washington, with Logan Thomas starting at tight end and J.D. McKissic contributing at running back.

Inman hasn’t played in two weeks and has been replaced by Cam Sims in the starting lineup, but they did get some good news last week, returning starting slot receiver Steven Sims.

Hopkins looks like a game-time decision, so Washington took extra precautions this week, protecting practice squad kicker Kaare Vedvik. He could see a Saturday roster elevation as insurance for Hopkins. His one-year NFL resume consists of a missed field goal, a missed extra point, and three kickoffs, all touchbacks.

No Injury Designation 

Player Position Injury Designation
Antonio Gibson RB (starter) Shoulder No injury designation
Thoams Davis LB Non-injury No injury designation

Gibson missed Wednesday’s practice with a shoulder injury but has been a full participant ever since. The impressive rookie should lead the backfield in touches, but McKissic will be in the mix quite a bit as well.

Final Injury Report: Antonio Gibson good to go, Dustin Hopkins questionable

Washington will have their budding rookie RB against the Lions this week, while their kicking situation is in question.

Both Washington fans and fantasy football managers can breathe a little bit of a sigh of relief this Friday, as it’s become clear that rookie RB Antonio Gibson will be good to go against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. Gibson’s status was thrown into question earlier in the week when he missed Wednesday’s practice with a shoulder injury, but back-to-back days of full work have him ready to go for Week 10.

Elsewhere on the roster, the kicking game has been put into question, with K Dustin Hopkins now questionable to play with a groin injury. Hopkins was unable to play on Thursday, and limited on Friday, so Washington has a contingency plan at the position for Sunday.

[vertical-gallery id=43728]

Is it time for Washington to move away from K Dustin Hopkins?

Hopkins has had a tough start to the 2020 season, missing a quarter of his field-goal attempts and potentially swaying coaching decisions.

[jwplayer uiO8bQ7W-ThvAeFxT]

The job of a kicker in the NFL is extremely tough. Nobody really knows about you or cares that you’re there until it matters, and unless you’re practically perfect at your job, you get cast aside to the wolves. You can make all of the extra points and short field goals that you want, but as soon as you miss a 40+ yarder with the game on the line, everyone is calling for your head.

That’s likely what Washington’s kicker Dustin Hopkins is feeling right about now. Though he is 132-for-158 on field goals in his career with Washington, an 8-for-12 start with one missed extra point in the 2020 season has him currently on the hot seat. His biggest blunder game in Week 6 against the New York Giants, when he missed a field goal early in the game that, all being equal, would have won them the game in the end. Instead, they lost 20-19 and fell to the winless division rival.

The biggest question to ask about Hopkins’ struggles this season is how much they play an effect on the rest of the team and the coaching staff in particular. In the Week 6 loss to the Giants, Ron Rivera decided to go for 2 at the end of the game instead of kicking an extra point to tie it and go to overtime. Did Hopkins’ miss earlier in the game play into that decision to keep the ball out of his hands (or off of his foot?) What if a similar scenario arises in the future when Washington is faced with a decision to play it safe and kick the field goal or extra point, but they feel unable to rely on their kicker? What will Rivera do then?

It’s tough to get a feel for how the coaching staff feels about Hopkins, and they’ve been unwilling to comment on the matter as of late, with Rivera only saying a week ago that they weren’t planning on making a change. With the bye week now upon us, though, I can’t say that anyone would be too shocked to see Washington bring in a free agent kicker and at least try to light a fire under Hopkins, showing him that his release isn’t as far away as he may think.

[listicle id=43351]

Washington signs K Brett Maher to practice squad

Washington signed K Brett Maher to the practice squad, giving them a backup plan in case Dustin Hopkins is unavailable to play.

The Washington Football Team has officially rounded out their 17-man practice squad with the signing of K Brett Maher, who used to play with the Dallas Cowboys.

We got word earlier in the week that Maher was coming to Washington to work out, and a signing to the PS seemed inevitable. This has nothing to do with the job security for K Dustin Hopkins, who has been great for Washington but rather acts as a safety net in a COVID-ridden year where you have to be prepared for anything.

Though the NFL has done an incredible job irradiating the virus within their locker rooms thus far, having a plan going forward in case one of you players gets infected is key.

[vertical-gallery id=40959]

Washington works out K Brett Maher as COVID safety-valve

Washington has its kicker in Dustin Hopkins, but they recently brought FA Brett Maher to work out in case they need a backup plan.

It was reported on Tuesday night that the Washington Football Team had brought in free-agent placekicker Brett Maher, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, to work out this week ahead of the first game of the 2020 season. Before you read too far into things, questioning whether or not longtime Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins’ job is at risk, remember what year it is, and that we’re in the midst of a global pandemic that could pull any single player out action for a couple of weeks at a moment’s notice.

With that being said, Washington brought in a kicker to work out simply so that they could be prepared for the worst.

There is no word yet on whether the team will sign Maher, or simply keep a close relationship with him, but it’s good to know that Washington has a backup plan, should they need one.

[vertical-gallery id=40876]

Watch: Redskins K Dustin Hopkins nails wife with kicking misfire

Hopkins is trying to say busy during quarantine, but his wife might be the worse for it with his recent kicking misfire.

Last week we showed you how Washington Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins was getting some of his strange offseason workouts in during quarantine. This week we’re showing you a bit more of how he’s getting practice in during the social distancing era.

Unfortunately for Hopkins’ wife, he might need a bit more practice.

A new video on Twitter shows Hopkins and his wife kicking around a ball of sorts in their living room when Dustin gets ahold of it and nails her right in the face, ending the short volley. Luckily, it looked to be a soft nerf ball of some kind, and the laughter after the fact portends to the situation being playful and unserious in nature.

Let’s hope that these types of misses don’t pop up for Hopkins once he’s back on the football field, with a real ball in front of him.

[vertical-gallery id=33840]

Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins shows off his insanely strange workouts during quarantine

We’ve all probably taken to some interesting workout habits during quarantine, but Dustin Hopkins might take the cake for the weirdest.

With gyms being closed across the country, leaving us to find new and clever ways to work out, nobody can shame you for trying to adapt to your surroundings and stay in shape. It may be that you take to jogging around your neighborhood or lifting household objects to stay toned. Whatever it is, though, there’s no reason to let others put you down for trying to work on your body and stave off boredom.

That is, of course, unless you are Washington Redskins kicker Dustin Hopkins. His wife, Gabrielle, posted a video to Instagram of him…working out? If you want to call it that.

Kickers are often some of the more misunderstood players in the NFL, as their work tends to run separately from the rest of the team. So maybe there is an explanation for this…workout?

Whatever it is that he’s trying to accomplish here, more power to him. It definitely doesn’t look like something I’d be willing to try, and as long as it results in him knocking in more field goals, then we can’t complain.

[vertical-gallery id=32976]

Dustin Hopkins gets a team of the week nod

Dustin Hopkins caught the attention of onlookers.

The Washington Redskins had a few standout performers in Week 15 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Most of the attention went to Terry McLaurin, who caught five passes for 130 yards and a score.

But don’t forget kicker Dustin Hopkins.

Pro Football Focus sure didn’t, naming Hopkins as the only Redskins player on the team of the week.

Interesting, though not unexpected for Hopkins, who hit on all two of his attempts on the day, the longest coming from 53 yards away.

There are plenty of problems in Washington but Hopkins hasn’t been one of those, hitting on 22 of his 27 attempts this year, missing on just one extra point and converting two of three attempts from 50-plus yards.

[vertical-gallery id=27090]