On the official last day of training camp (closed to the public), the Washington Redskins went through a light walkthrough before returning to a newly renovated Redskins Park in Ashburn. The day started with President Bruce Allen speaking to the media about camp in Richmond, new stadium talks, and what went into the signing of Junior Galette.
In a quick evaluation of what was accomplished in training camp, head coach Jay Gruden thinks a lot was accomplished and liked that the players came together as a team. Much of that coming together could have a lot to do with teammates sticking up for each other in their scrums with the Houston Texans. Despite tensions broiling over in Day 3 of the joint practices, Gruden reiterated that he will not hesitate to schedule them in the future as the pros greatly outweigh the cons that transpired this year.
The Redskins have struggled in the special teams phase of the game for years now. A lot of that has to do with the lack of an explosive return presence. Last year Andre Roberts was “consistent” as Gruden put it but far from electrifying or providing a spark for the offense. Today Gruden noted that before Jamison Crowder got hurt, he was about to outright win the return man job from Roberts, which is indeed an open competition. The Redskins will continue to experiment with the position while Crowder is sidelined with Chris Thompson, Trey Williams, and Rashad Ross in addition to the incumbent Roberts.
Additional Need to Knows:
- Gruden said his lone regret of training camp was the injuries throughout the secondary, which prevented the defensive backs like Baushad Breeland and David Amerson from developing chemistry with the new safeties DaShon Goldson and Jeron Johnson.
- TE D.J. Williams has played in similar offenses to the Redskins’ in the past so Jay Gruden believes the transition will be a little bit smoother, relatively to Ernst Brun who was also signed yesterday to fill the gaping depth issues.
- When asked about if Robert Griffin III will begin to ascend as a quarterback the way his draft classmates of Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson have, Gruden responded with “that is the goal”. The head coach also made it clear that the team has to keep him healthy and playing to begin with, which can be correlated to his recent struggles.
Injury Updates:
- Jamison Crowder (hamstring) “will probably be out” for Thursday’s preseason game vs. the Lions.
- DeSean Jackson (shoulder) is out as expected this week though Gruden provided the positive news that the deep threat has regained full range of motion.
- After hurting exiting yesterday’s practice early with a toe injury, DeAngelo Hall sat out of today’s walkthroughs though an x-ray on the area was negative. Gruden is listing him as day to day giving him a chance to go against the Lions. Hall commented the injury occurred when he jammed his toe but is hopeful that the swelling and pain go down so that he can play Thursday because he “needs the reps”.
Important Dates:
- Host the Detroit Lions for the second preseason game in 3 days on 8/20 at 7:30 PM.
- The final cuts to a 53 man roster will take place over the next 19 days by 9/4.
- Season and home opener against Miami Dolphins on Sunday, September 13 in 28 days.