Washington Redskins Visit the New York Jets: Some Difficulties Are a Good Thing

Once again, opening the door for another player to show himself. Second-year player Matt Sinclair and recently-signed Alfred Fincher seem to be on their way to joining Blades and veteran special-teams standout Khary Campbell in the mix to round out the linebacking corps.

Rookie Curtis Gatewood, that’s right, yet another undrafted free agent, has also played well, perhaps earning a spot on the practice squad.

The wide-receiving corps has been hampered by various minor injuries, making decisions concerning the possibility of a sixth wideout difficult for Zorn and Cerrato.

The Redskins need to decide how many wideouts to keep on the opening-day roster (many NFL teams carry five WRs, while some carry six) and second-year player Anthony Mix’s injuries could well have spelled doom for his chances of convincing the staff to make him the sixth receiver.

Mix had entered camp as the odds-on favorite to make the team ,behind backups James Thrash and fellow second-round draft picks Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly. Fourth-year player Billy McMullen has made the most of Mix’s injuries though, using his increased playing and practice time to separate himself from the rest of the group. 

One of the other big questions for the Redskins entering training camp was depth along the offensive line. With an aging group (all starters are over 30-years old) the Redskins are facing the need to prepare for the future. Third-round draft pick Chad Rinehart has performed well during camp and has shown even better in each preseason game thus far.

A few surprises have also come along the offensive line. Once again, the Redskins seem to have found quality linemen outside the draft. Undrafted free agents Andrew Crummey and Devin Clark stand solid chances of at least landing a spot on the practice squad, if not on the opening-day active roster.

Second-year player Tavares Washington has also been a pleasant surprise, making the most of his opportunities, showing power and determination in run blocking, and improving his pass blocking throughout camp.

The offensive line now appears to be on track for solid depth once again, as returning backups Jason Fabini and Stephon Heyer (undrafted free agent last season) have continued to play well this preseason (though Heyer’s injury has held him out of practice for the past two weeks).

Backup right tackle Todd Wade’s injured ankle may well have cost him his job, as the emergence of Rinehart may make Wade one of the odd-men out.

And so we move on to the next round of roster battles. The Jets will bring to the field newly acquired and future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. The Jets also have many camp battles shaping up as they revamp their roster in the hope of making a run this season.

Which is yet another good thing for the Redskins, as increased intensity from Jets' players stand to provide even-better-than-normal testing for each of the Redskins' players. Favre takes the field for the first time as a Jet, and the media attention will likely be astonishing.

This is also a good thing for the Redskins. With so many important roster battles taking place, the increased national attention puts that much more pressure on each of the young players involved.

Hopefully, keeping the competition going, the Redskins can feel good about such difficulties. Some problems are actually good to have, and for the Redskins, positional competition is bringing forth not just the roster depth they need now, but perhaps future starters as well.

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