The Washington Redskins report to Richmond for training camp next week, with the first practice taking place just 10 days from now on July 28.
There will be 22 on-field practice sessions, spread over 13 days — all of which fans can attend for free. The Redskins will wrap up camp on Sunday, Aug. 14 and fan appreciation day will be on Saturday, Aug. 13.
From now until the first practice, we’ll take a look at each position and what is to be expected in training camp.
Quarterback
Roster locks: Kirk Cousins, Colt McCoy
Likely: Nate Sudfeld
SEE ALSO: Kirk Cousins found out what the Redskins thought of his value: Not much
What to expect: Perhaps this is the most straightforward. Now that the deadline for Cousins and the Redskins to agree on a long-term extension has past — he’ll play the season on the $19.95 million franchise tag designation — Cousins can focus on football.
During organized team activities and various points throughout the offseason, Cousins did a good job staying out of the situation when asked about it and steered the conversation toward improving himself as a quarterback and a teammate. Presumably he’s relieved he won’t be asked about it much longer after the initial days of training camp.
Entering his first full offseason as the starting quarterback, Cousins looked more comfortable and confident in OTAs and that’s expected to continue throughout camp. The fifth-year quarterback commanded the field with high energy in OTAs and it resonated amongst his teammates — particularly in the last session which featured good battles between the offense and defense over the final two days.
It will be interesting to see how Cousins progresses and the offense flows once he has his full array of targets available. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson chose not to attend the first two weeks of the voluntary workouts, rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson was held out most of OTAs and mandatory minicamp because of a left Achilles injury he sustained in rookie minicamp and tight end Jordan Reed missed the two final mandatory practices with an ankle sprain.
After returning on a three-year extension, McCoy is entrenched as the backup and brings valuable veteran experience to this group. I expect Sudfeld to make the 53-man roster, but listed him as likely only for the remote chance he ends up on the practice squad. That said, I don’t believe the Redskins will risk the chance of another team signing away their sixth-round pick. The team is excited about Sudfeld’s size — he’s 6-foot-6 and weighs 235 pounds — but he still has a long way to go in terms of learning the offense and developing as a rookie quarterback.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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