Tag: Saahdiq Charles

Rookie Saahdiq Charles to undergo season-ending knee surgery

Rather than going on the IR and coming back alter in the year, Charles will undergo season-ending surgery with a hope to return by minicamp.

The rookie season for fourth-round pick Saahdiq Charles didn’t quite go as expected, but it left us with a lot of hope for the future. It was reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Monday that Charles will undergo season-ending surgery on his knee after suffering a dislocated kneecap on the second play of his first career game.

There was initially hope that Charles could go to the IR for a handful of weeks and eventually return to the field this year, but it appears that surgery will be the best option going forward. Pelissero reports that there is hope he will be good to go by minicamp.

The rookie had a lot of upside coming into the NFL, and was only drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft due to concerns about behavioral issues — a lot of people thought he was a first or second-round talent. Washington took a chance on him, but unfortunately, his first year in the league was plague by injuries, with a calf injury holding him out of much of training camp and the early part of the season, and then a knee injury knocking him out on his second career snap.

Nonetheless, Washington seems the feel like they have a franchise offensive lineman on their hands, whether that be at the left tackle or left guard position. We are excited to get him back on the field and healthy in the future.

[vertical-gallery id=43872]

Grading the rookies in Washington at the halfway point of the 2020 season

With half of their rookie season behind them, we handed out grades to the young players in Washington who are starting out their careers.

With seven weeks of the 2020 season in the rearview mirror, it feels like a good time to take stock of the season and reflect on what we’ve seen thus far. For the Washington Football Team, things started out with a bang after a thrilling comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, but it’s been a frustrating watch ever since, minus the blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.

Fortunately for Washington, the young players on the team have been performing pretty well for the most part, and it seems to be yet another successful draft class that was put together in 2020. Here are our grades for the rookies class so far this season.

The Bills released LG Quinton Spain, which should catch Washington’s attention

The Bills cut ties with veteran LG Quinton Spain, who might provide a great solution for Washington’s struggle to find a solid left guard.

The left guard position in Washington has been a bit rough to watch for the entirety of the 2020 season. It started with Wes Martin getting the start, but after a few games, it became clear that he isn’t the answer. Last week, we saw rookie Saahdiq Charles — who was drafted as a left tackle — fill in at LG, but he went down with a dislocated kneecap on the second play of the game. In his place stepped Wes Schweitzer, who was solid, yet not perfect.

Now with the news breaking that veteran LG Quinton Spain has been released by the Buffalo Bills, and is available on the open market, Washington should be doing what they can to try and bring him in for the season. With six years in the NFL, Spain has made himself known as a valuable starter, and though he has been dealing with some foot soreness this season, he could definitely help out Washington upfront.

Making a move to add Spain doesn’t mean that you’re going away from Charles, either. In the limited work that we saw from the rookie on Sunday, head coach Ron Rivera said that he was extremely impressed with what he showed, and has high hopes for his future. However, Charles has been unable to stay healthy all season, so it would make sense to have a legitimate backup plan. When he comes back healthy, it wouldn’t be crazy to stick the rookie at LT as well, replacing Geron Christian, who has been okay in that role this season.

In reality, all it would take for Washington to pick up Spain is putting in a waiver claim for him, where they are near the top of the priority list. It could end up being long-term, or it could be a one-year rental, but if you’re Washington, why not take the chance and see if you can nail down an answer for your questions at the position? What do you have to lose?

[vertical-gallery id=43004]

Saahdiq Charles suffered dislocated kneecap vs. Giants; hopeful to return Week 9

Saahdiq Charles went down with a dislocated kneecap in his second career snap on Sunday, but he is hopeful to return in Week 9 after the bye.

It was a tough injury that knocked out rookie OL Saahdiq Charles on his second career snap in the NFL, but it at least isn’t an injury that is likely to hold him out for the rest of the season.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Charles suffered a dislocated kneecap on the second play of the game on Sunday, though he was eventually able to walk to the sideline and into the locker room. The hope is that Charles will be able to return to the field in a few weeks, though he will miss the Week 7 game vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Washington has a bye week following that.

It was unclear on Sunday how bad the injury was, but the news that Charles isn’t lost for the season is definitely a positive. The rookie posted a picture to his Instagram page on Monday declaring that he would be fine.

[vertical-gallery id=42959]

Ron Rivera says rookie Saahdiq Charles proved he was ‘something else’ before injury

Saahdiq Charles only got to play two snaps in his NFL debut before getting injured, but Rivera noted that he turned heads in those two snaps.

One of the things that we were most excited to see on Sunday afternoon when the Washington Football Team took the field was how the revamped offensive line held up. With two new reinforcements at the guard position — Pro-Bowler Brandon Scherff and rookie Saahdiq Charles — it was expected to be a much more palatable performance, with the offensive line improved as a whole.

[lawrence-related id=42975]

Unfortunately, that excitement was taken away from us two plays into the game, when Charles went down with a knee injury after his leg buckled under him while blocking. He eventually walked off the field gingerly and made his way to the locker room. He later returned to the sideline with his helmet in hand but never made it back onto the field.

It may have been a disappointing debut for Charles, but head coach Ron Rivera is choosing to take some of the positives from it. He said when talking to the media on Monday morning that the rookie was very impressive in his two career snaps.

With almost as limited as a workload as you can have, take that for what it’s worth. The good news is that LG Wes Schweitzer looked solid in replacement of Charles, so the front line should at least be able to tread water while the rookie makes his way back to the field. We don’t yet have an update on his injury timeline, but it’s clear that when he does return, this coaching staff is all in on getting him onto the field and becoming one of their best offensive linemen.

[vertical-gallery id=42959]

Former LSU OT Saahdiq Charles injured in first NFL game

Former LSU offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles made his first NFL start on Sunday for the Washington Football Team.

Former LSU offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles made his first NFL start on Sunday for the Washington Football Team.

Just two plays in, Charles went down with an injury and was lost for the game.

Charles started at left tackle for LSU in 2019, during the team’s run to the national championship. After the season, he bypassed his final year of eligibility and entered the 2020 NFL draft, where the Washington Football Team took him in the fourth round.

[lawrence-related id=11806]

Washington, which had a hole at left tackle after trading Trent Williams, had expectations Charles would compete for that job in training camp.

Unfortunately, Charles has battled injuries throughout his brief time in Washington. After starting left guard, Wes Martin struggled in the team’s first five games; a healthy Charles practiced at guard last week in anticipation of his first NFL start.

Charles played in 32 games, making 28 starts during his three years in Baton Rouge.

[vertical-gallery id=11716]

Saahdiq Charles injures knee on second snap of NFL career, questionable to return

On the second snap of his NFL career, rookie Saahdiq Charles went down with a knee injury and was forced to limp off of the field.

There were some high hopes for Washington’s rookie Saahdiq Charles, who got his NFL debut on Sunday at left guard against the New York Giants.

Unfortunately, before things could really even get started, Charles was left limping off the field after his left leg buckled under him on the second play of the game. He eventually limped off of the field and was examined by the medical staff, and then made his way to the locker room.

We do not yet know if he will return to this game, but LG Wes Schweitzer has stepped in to the guard spot in his place.

[vertical-gallery id=42739]

Report: Rookie Saahdiq Charles to start at LG on Sunday

Washington is expected to give Saahdiq Charles his first NFL action on Sunday, starting him at the left guard position over Wes Martin.

Anyone who followed reports out of practice in Washington this week might have seen this coming, but now it’s officially being reported that rookie Saahdiq Charles will get his first career start in the NFL, this time at left guard, rather than left tackle, where he was drafted to play.

Charles was drafted out of LSU in the fourth round in 2020, and many people think that he has an incredibly high ceiling as an NFL player, though most people expected him to carry out his career at the LT position. However, Washington has struggled greatly to get production from the LG spot this year, with second-year player Wes Martin taking the snaps there thus far.

It appears now, ironically, that Martin may be the second player in Washington to quickly go from No. 1 on the depth chart to No. 3 at his respective position in the blink of an eye. With the expected return of RG Brandon Scherff, it would not be a shock to see LG Wes Schweitzer slot in as the backup behind Charles now, after his impressive time filling in for Scherff on the right side.

No matter what happens, it will be intriguing to watch Charles make his NFL debut, and hopefully provide a big boost to the offensive line.

[vertical-gallery id=42739]

Rookie Saahdiq Charles’ shift to LG could provide major spark for Washington O-line

Rookie Saahdiq Charles has been working as the starting LG this week, which could go a long way in helping the offensive line.

It’s been the same old story with Washington as far as the offensive line play goes this season, with the unit struggling as a whole to get much push in the run game, and allowing the quarterback to be under constant duress. Fortunately, they appear to be taking some measures to fix it this time around, mixing and matching some players in the front five to try and find a combination that works.

We posited earlier this week that the return of RG Brandon Scherff could allow Washington to shift Wes Schweitzer over to LG, placing Wes Martin on the bench. However, there is another young player that might be getting tapped for the start at LG with week, giving Washington a fresh look upfront that might actually instill some confidence from the fanbase.

Rookie Saahdiq Charles, drafted as an LT out of LSU in the fourth-round this year, is currently getting run with the starters at the guard position. There were high hopes that Charles could take over as the starting LT in his rookie season, but a calf injury held him out of training camp and much of the start of the season, and Geron Christian Sr. got the nod instead. Shifting one spot to the inside might not be a bad call for Charles for the time being. He will still be playing on the left side, with just a few of the techniques and responsibilities shifting a bit. We saw Ereck Flowers go from LT to LG last fall, and he had a breakout season.

Expecting a rookie who is yet to have any real experience in the NFL to be the answer for a struggling unit as a whole is a bit risky, but at this point, Washington needs to be willing to try anything to patch things up on the front line.

[vertical-gallery id=42739]

Injury Report: Saahdiq Charles returns, but defensive front ravaged by injuries

A number of injuries on the defensive front were listed in Wednesday’s injury report, but the return of Saahdiq Charles was nice to see.

There is another long list of players on Washington’s injury report to start Week 4, with a number of key defensive pieces missing practice on Wednesday. The biggest one is rookie Chase Young, who has been ruled ‘week-to-week’ with a minor groin strain that he suffered on Sunday against the Browns. He is not expected to play on Sunday.

Elsewhere, we saw LB Cole Holcomb at least return to the sideline, where he rode an exercise bike during practice, alongside, Ryan Anderson, Dontrelle Inman, Morgan Moses, and Steven Sims. Those are familiar names for the injury report this season, and they’ll hopefully be able to get back onto the field in time for this week’s game against the Ravens.

Another key absence on Wednesday was DE Ryan Kerrigan, who reportedly missed practice due to non-injury related reasons.

[vertical-gallery id=41973]