The Washington Redskins are one of five NFL teams who could be forced to participate in HBO’s “Hard Knocks” documentary series this summer.
The league can mandate a team appear on the show as long as they don’t have a first-year head coach, haven’t made the playoffs in the past two years or haven’t been the focus of the series in the past 10 years.
Washington meets all three conditions — granted they don’t fire coach Jay Gruden in the coming days/weeks.
NFL teams can also volunteer to be on “Hard Knocks,” which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look as teams go through training camp and prepare for the regular season. The Cincinnati Bengals, for instance, have appeared on the program twice.
Besides the Redskins, the Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers are eligible to be picked.
In 2015, the Redskins made a cameo on “Hard Knocks” when they held joint practices with the Houston Texans in Richmond.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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