Alex Smith had been working toward this moment. After progressing throughout training camp as he recovered from his life-threatening leg injury, the 36-year-old quarterback made Washington’s roster Saturday when the team had to narrow down to 53 players.
It’s the latest step in a remarkable journey for Smith, who broke his leg nearly two years ago against the Houston Texans. The three-time Pro Bowler won’t start — that job belongs to Dwayne Haskins — but making the active roster is a significant achievement for the man whose injury required 17 surgeries.
Coach Ron Rivera said Smith practiced in full 11-on-11 drills midway through the week and made a passionate plea with coaches that convinced him to put him on the roster.
“That really stood out to me,” Rivera said. “That showed to me that mentally, I think he’s past the hurdle. I talked to the doctors. … Everybody was very positive about where he was physically. To me, the mental aspect was answered the other day when he was very passionate about it, about believing in himself. … I loved his response. I loved the way he went at us about wanting to do specific things.”
As a whole, Washington’s roster is now set. Here’s a breakdown of the 53-man group.
Quarterback (3): Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith
No surprises here. Rivera has not said who will be the primary backup on game days to Haskins, but Rivera said Smith could handle being thrown into action if need be. Washington waived Steven Montez, an undrafted quarterback out of Colorado, and could place him on the practice squad.
Running back (4): Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic, Bryce Love, Peyton Barber
This position became solidified a day earlier when Washington cut Adrian Peterson. With Peterson gone, all four fit into offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s vision for the offense as he values versatility. Gibson, in particular, has emerged as someone who can split out wide, line up the slot and run inside and out. The 22-year-old rookie has come on strong in the last few weeks.
“We’re about to find out what our young players can do more so than anything else,” Rivera said.
Wide receiver (5): Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims, Dontrelle Inman, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Isaiah Wright
In the end, Wright earned the final spot at wideout. The undrafted 23-year-old out of Temple beat out Cam Sims and Trey Quinn, in part, because of his ability to pop on special teams. Steven Sims has been Washington’s primary returner, but Wright has that capability. On Monday, Rivera said Wright had a nice camp and has potential.
“He’s not quite ready for primetime—at least not yet—but he’s shown that he has some skillsets and you see the flashes,” Rivera said.
In addition to Sims and Quinn, Washington released Jonathan Johnson, Tony Brown, Jester Weah and Jordan Veasy.
Tight end (3): Logan Thomas, Marcus Baugh, Jeremy Sprinkle
Another position that wasn’t hard to predict. Richard Rodgers just never made a splash despite being signed to a one-year deal this offseason. Still, this unit remains largely unproven and it’s easy to imagine Washington will try to upgrade it in the future. The question becomes whether Washington will look to address it by claiming anyone else off waivers.
Offensive linemen (10): Geron Christian, Wes Martin, Chase Roullier, Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, Keith Ismael, Saahdiq Charles, Wes Schweitzer, David Sharpe, Cornelius Lucas
Keeping 10 offensive linemen may seem like a lot, but Rivera appeared to tip his hand Thursday when he said the line wasn’t a position Washington could afford to have a “catastrophe” at when it comes to losing players to the coronavirus pandemic. “This is one of those things where you’re going to keep a good number of offensive linemen just for the safety sake,” he said. The team had already bolstered its depth in recent days, trading a 2021 sixth-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for tackle David Sharpe.
Of the notable cuts at this position, Washington moved on from 2019 fifth-rounder Ross Pierschbacher, who could be an option for the practice squad if he doesn’t get picked up. The team also cut Joshua Garnett, Timon Parris, David Steinmetz and Paul Adams. It placed guard Mike Liedtke on injured reserve.
Defensive line (9): Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis, Ryan Kerrigan, Tim Settle, Ryan Anderson and James Smith-Williams.
The defensive line was Washington’s most crowded position and some talented players were let go. Washington, for instance, cut Jordan Brailford, a 2019 seventh-rounder who had flashes in training camp, and Nate Orchard, a defensive end that was a huge factor in Washington’s win last year at Carolina.
Smith-Williams, meanwhile, is a nice success story. A seventh-round pick out of North Carolina State in this year’s draft, Smith-Williams took advantage of his reps and showed he could make contributions on special teams, as well. He beat out other younger players like Brailford, Orchard and Ryan Bee.
Linebacker (6): Jon Bostic, Thomas Davis, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Khaleke Hudson and Cole Holcomb.
The big omission here is Reuben Foster, who was placed on injured reserve after struggling to regain his form more than a year after suffering a horrific knee injury. Foster had been working with the third team mostly throughout camp and lacked the explosion that made him a promising player with the San Francisco 49ers.
By placing Foster on IR, it means his season is over. Foster will ultimately have appeared in zero games for Washington, which claimed him off in waivers in 2018 off the heels of a domestic violence arrest. Washington declined the linebacker’s fifth-year option, so Foster will be a free agent after the season.
“He was ascending very quickly and things were coming back,” Rivera said of Foster. “He kind of plateaued. That was the thing we were concerned with. It was one of those things where you have to continue to work out and get stronger and stronger. He just hadn’t reached that point.”
Defensive back (10): Kendall Fuller, Ronald Darby, Jimmy Moreland, Fabian Moreau, Greg Stroman, Danny Johnson, Landon Collins, Troy Apke, Deshazor Everett, Kamren Curl
When Washington signed Sean Davis back in March to a one-year, $4 million deal, Rivera viewed the safety as a potential starter, someone “on the cusp” of taking the next step. But that never materialized as Apke thoroughly outplayed Davis this offseason, locking in the starting job across from Collins.
Instead, Davis, coming off a shoulder injury, had a subpar camp and as a result, Washington chose to take the $2 million dead hit to release the 26-year-old now. Seventh-round safety Kamren Curl also likely played a role indirectly in Davis’ release as the rookie was very active in practices.
On the cornerback side, Johnson’s inclusion came as a surprise. In his third year with Washington, Johnson had missed some of camp with an injury, but he beat out veterans like Aaron Colvin and Simeon Thomas for the job. Washington elected to keep six corners in total.
Specialists (3): Dustin Hopkins, Tress Way, Nick Sundberg
No analysis required here. This gets us to 53.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.