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The Washington Football Team returned to the field for Phase 3 of their offseason program on Monday. On Tuesday, the media was invited to practice for Washington’s first day of on-field work at the voluntary portion of OTAs.
After practice, Washington head coach Ron Rivera spoke to the local media and discussed several topics, from new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to the releases of offensive tackles Morgan Moses and Geron Christian.
Moses, who had started every game for Washington since 2015, was released last week.
Rivera discussed the release of Moses and said it was not related to personal reasons or performance but more about the team wanting to go in a different, younger direction.
“Nothing other than we’re just going in a different direction. We have an opportunity to get some young guys on the field,” Rivera said.
Rivera was speaking about rookie offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi, who was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft. After Washington drafted Cosmi, it also signed veteran offensive tackle Charles Leno to play left tackle presumably.
Cosmi is expected to play right tackle, although that is far from a given. The release of Moses saves the Football Team around $8 million in 2021.
Rivera on moving on from Morgan Moses. Says they are going in a different direction and they feel comfortable with the players on the roster including younger guys.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) May 25, 2021
Washington had outstanding attendance for the voluntary OTAs, with 86 of 91 players participating. Two of the notable absences were star defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat.
Rivera isn’t worried about that.
Ron Rivera not worried about Montez Sweat & Chase Young not being at OTA…"They'll be here" #WashingtonFootball
— Chris Russell AKA The Rooster (@Russellmania621) May 25, 2021
Finally, Rivera got to see his starting quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, in practice for the first time. And the head coach was pleased.
More on Fitzpatrick's leadership: Rivera said he took command of the huddle, which show his knowledge of the offense. On the sideline, he was talking with Scott Turner and Ken Zampese offering some suggestions on schemes.
— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWFT) May 25, 2021
Ron Rivera on Ryan Fitzpatrick 'He picked up our system pretty quickly" & liked that he threw a nice back shoulder fade to Cam Sims.#WashingtonFootball
— Chris Russell AKA The Rooster (@Russellmania621) May 25, 2021
Overall, Rivera enjoyed getting his team back on the practice field for the first time since January and having the opportunity to see some of the WFT’s top offseason acquisitions in action.