Washington Football Team 53-man roster projection

Breaking down the tough decisions for Washington to make ahead of the big roster cut down

With preseason in the books, it’s time to look at roster cut downs. Each NFL team has until 4pm on Tuesday to cut down to 53 players on the roster. Teams will likely have one or two more cuts to make after that as they look to add players cut by other teams, but while teams won’t be officially set, we’ll have a pretty strong idea on the majority of the roster. 

For Washington, Head Coach Ron Rivera said there was perhaps four spots up for grabs going into the final preseason game, but after a poor performance from the team, there were maybe six spots they had to make tough decisions on. Here’s how I see the cut down to 53 shaping out.

Toughest decisions

I’ll go through each position later in the piece, but I figured I’d go over the main talking points first.

No Sammis Reyes

The Chilean tight end is a phenomenal story and I hope he can make it in the NFL, because his athleticism is outstanding and he’d be fun to watch. However, I just don’t believe he’s ready to contribute this season. As a blocker, he showed some willingness, but he has a long way to go. He had issues with his technique and also had mental errors with knowing what exactly his assignment was. As a pass catcher, he had 3 catches in preseason and he bobbled two of them. I didn’t see anything from Reyes that made me think the team could trust him on the field in the regular season if Logan Thomas and John Bates were unavailable. 

With regards to the argument of using a roster space to stash him for a year, while I understand the concept, I just don’t think what he showed in preseason is going to get anyone else to pick him. I’m sure other teams were impressed by his athleticism and would like to try and mold him themselves, but he clearly has a lot to learn and won’t contribute this season. In a league where every roster spot is important, can a team afford to use a spot on him without any intent to play him whatsoever? If Washington has information that says yes, a team will do that, then perhaps they make another move to keep him as the fourth tight end to try and develop him for the long term, but I don’t see it right now. 

Troy Apke and Jeremy Reaves make it, rookie Darrick Forrest cut 

There’s a bigger picture to look at with these defensive backs, and I think it includes Deshazor Everett. Out of those four guys, I think Washington can only really afford to keep three. Many people will see Reaves as the odd man out, while fans will want Troy Apke gone, but I see it slightly differently.

Apke has been described by coaches as an “ace” on special teams and was clearly on all the starting special teams units throughout preseason. I don’t believe I’d trust him on defense after his position switch to cornerback, but having the sixth corner be a special teams ace helps balance the roster, and that special teams factor is important.

Everett has had the opportunity to play on defense a little more often in recent years, but is still largely a special teams player. He’s been the special teams captain for a while now and is trusted in a variety of roles in that regard. Washington kept both Everett and Apke as back up safeties, but more for their special teams abilities last year. With Apke now a cornerback, that allows Washington to keep a safety like Everett more for his special teams ability than his play on defense. 

We know of Rivera’s admiration for Jeremy Reaves and the way he responded to getting cut at this point last year, only to earn a call up from the practice squad and end up as a contributing player on defense at free safety. He’d be behind the three main safeties, but if Bobby McCain were to miss time, Reaves would be the only other natural free safety on the roster. Curl could play there and Collins showed some promise as the single deep safety in preseason, but both are better closer to the line of scrimmage. Reaves would be able to play that deep role and free up Curl and Collins in the same way McCain can. The flexibility of those safeties I think could be a key part of Washington’s defense this year, so by keeping Reaves, Washington has a back up plan to keep that flexibility intact if someone gets hurt.

I thought drafting Forrest might have meant the end of Everett’s time in Washington, but whenever I’ve seen Forrest on special teams, it’s been with the second unit rather than the starters. On defense, he missed some tackles and didn’t particularly stand out. Given after the draft, the coaching staff all stressed he would start as a special teams guy rather than talk about his ability on defense, the pathway for Forrest to make the team was clear. But to make the team as a special teams player, Forrest needed to outplay one of Everett or Apke from my perspective. Given he’s been with the second unit, it doesn’t appear as though he’s managed to outplay either. 

Keeping Forrest would mean Washington either has to cut Reaves and go with two back up safeties that are both more special teams players rather than reliable defenders, or cut Apke and go with six safeties and just five corners. I think in terms of overall balance of the roster, cutting Forrest makes the most sense. It allows Washington to have the positional balance with numbers, keep both Apke and Everett for special teams duties and hold onto Reaves as probably the best actual defensive player of the four. It’s tough to cut a draft pick, but I think Forrest would likely make it to the practice squad.

Seven wide receivers

For a long time I thought Washington had a deep group of receivers with four or five guys fighting for potentially one spot as the sixth receiver. But after Kelvin Harmon and Steven Sims Jr. were both cut earlier in training camp, that competition came down to three receivers.

I think Antonio Gandy-Golden showed enough in the second and third preseason games to merit another look. He was Washington’s fourth-round pick in 2020 but had a bad rookie season. I don’t think he entered training camp as a particularly likely option to make the team, but he appears to have come on strong as training camp and preseason has progressed. His size and athletic ability offers Washington something different and his contested catch ability could give Washington an option in the red zone. For me, he leaped the rest of the pack to make it as the sixth receiver.

However, there’s also the issue of punt returner. DeAndre Carter was signed in the offseason as an option to return punts and has been doing so with the starting unit throughout training camp and preseason. Seventh-round rookie Dax Milne has also been given some opportunities to return punts, but only with the second and third team units. Carter is probably the better returner at this point, but Milne being a draft pick with some upside as a receiver in the long term could cause Washington to sacrifice a little in the return game to keep a better receiver. 

There have been lots of positive reports with Milne in the last few weeks of camp and he’s seen some time with the first and second team units in training camp. He’s a solid route runner with good hands and I’ve been impressed with his willingness and effectiveness as a blocker in the run game too. I think he could develop into a good slot receiver and perhaps replace Adam Humphries in a year or two. For me, that’s the more valuable call here, even if it means potentially losing a little in the return game.

Position breakdown

With those three main talking points covered, let's go over each position individually.

Quarterback (3) - Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen

I think we’ve known how the quarterback position would play out for a while. Fitzpatrick was signed to be the starter while Heinicke and Allen were to compete to be his back up. Allen battled injuries throughout the offseason, leading to Heinicke securing the back up job. Heinicke’s play in preseason flashed some of the magic he showed against Tampa Bay in the playoffs, but we also saw some bad decisions and poor throws that meant he never really challenged Fitzpatrick for the starting job.

Running Back (4)- Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic, Peyton Barber, Jaret Patterson

Gibson and McKissic have always been locks to make the team. Gibson displayed terrific potential as he transitioned to running back last year and could see his role expanded this season. McKissic was a tremendous asset as a pass-catching back with some solid runs sprinkled in here and there. He’ll likely remain Washington’s third down back.

Peyton Barber was a very reliable short yardage back last season and the coaching staff were quick to give him positive reviews whenever talking about the running back group. He wasn’t great in preseason, but I still suspect Washington will keep him for the short yardage role. 

Jaret Patterson was the star of Washington’s first two preseason games where it seemed like he hardly put a foot wrong. He ran the ball well, displayed great vision and anticipation as a runner to set up blocks and create lanes for himself, while he also made some solid catches out of the backfield. He did have a couple of drops in the final preseason game, which could cause Washington to reconsider, but one bad game shouldn’t necessarily override the work he’s put in this preseason. If he’s on the bubble because of that performance against the Ravens, then I’d have to imagine Barber is too. In the end though, I think they keep all four.

Wide Receiver (7) - Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Adam Humphries, Cam Sims, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Dax Milne

McLaurin, Samuel and Brown were always locks to make the team. McLaurin could establish himself as one of the best receivers in the league this year, Samuel was the prize addition in free agency while Brown was a third-round pick. Washington also added Humphries in free agency as a pure slot receiver. With Samuel hardly participating in training camp and preseason, I think Humphries becomes more valuable. 

There was a potential path this offseason where Brown earned reps to play outside and Samuel shifted inside to the slot to allow Washington to get Brown on the field. But with Samuel struggling with injury and Humphries’ existing connection with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Humphries makes the team as the starting slot receiver. I wouldn’t be surprised though if Washington has a speed package at receiver with McLaurin at the X, Brown playing Z and Samuel in the slot, and that could well become the base three receiver package towards the end of the season.

Cam Sims came on nicely late last year and certainly earned a spot on the roster for this season. He’s fallen down the pecking order a bit with the new additions, but he can offer a much bigger frame than the others already mentioned. He’s a nice option to have to fall back on if Washington has some injuries or needs some extra size in the line up. 

I’ve already touched on how Gandy-Golden has likely played his way onto the roster and rookie Dax Milne makes it as a punt returner with some potential to develop into Humphries’ replacement in the slot.

Tight End (3) - Logan Thomas, John Bates, Ricky Seals-Jones

Thomas has developed far beyond what I expected him to when Washington signed him last offseason. Even this summer he seems to have developed further and cemented himself as Washington’s top tight end, meriting the contract extension he received. Rookie John Bates joins him as the primary back up. I think Bates’ blocking, which was the primary reason he was drafted, still needs some work, but the potential is there. 

Those two were always locks and the questions at tight end were who is the third tight end and does Reyes make it as the fourth? I answered the Reyes question above, so I won’t dwell on that one. Ricky Seals-Jones showed the most out of any other tight end on the roster, though that isn’t really saying much. I don’t think he’s likely to contribute much, but at least Washington knows he’s a veteran that will understand his assignment and how to perform it if they need him to. 

Offensive Line (9) - Charles Leno, Ereck Flowers, Chase Roullier, Brandon Scherff, Sam Cosmi, Cornelius Lucas, Wes Schweitzer, Tyler Larsen, Saahdiq Charles

This is one of Washington’s deepest groups. It might not have the top end talent that it has in the past, but there’s nowhere near as significant of a drop off from a starter to a back up, which is hugely important on the offensive line. The starters from left to right appear to be Leno, Flowers, Roullier, Scherff and Cosmi. There were questions about the left guard and right tackle spot, but Cosmi appears to have claimed right tackle, while Flowers seems to have overtaken Schweitzer at left guard.

That leaves Lucas as a capable back up swing tackle and Schweitzer as a capable back up swing guard. Larsen seems to have overtaken 2020 draft pick Keith Ismael as the back up center, having played center with the second unit throughout preseason. Charles has spent time at both tackle and guard spots, so provides some more position flexibility as a back up option.

Defensive Line (8) - Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Matt Ioannidis, Tim Settle, Chase Young, Montez Sweat, James Smith-Williams, William Bradley-King

We’ve known the defensive tackle group for quite a while now. Allen leads the group with his fellow Alabama alum Payne. Ioannidis is back healthy and should rotate in with those two fairly regularly. Tim Settle is a fan favorite and should see some playing time, but is a little way off the top three. Still, he’s a quality back up option. 

The top two defensive ends are obvious too. Chase Young and Montez Sweat both looked sharp in preseason and are set to cause opposing offenses a lot of problems this season. 2020 seventh-rounder James Smith-Williams developed nicely last year and looks set to replace Ryan Kerrigan as the primary back up end. 

The only real question is who is the fourth defensive end. Washington drafted both William Bradley-King and Shaka Toney in the seventh round this year. Toney is perhaps the more explosive player, given his first-step quickness that enables him to challenge tackles with speed off the edge. However, his size is somewhat of a concern for a 4-3 team, given his frame suits more of a 3-4 outside linebacker role. Bradley-King is quite similar to Smith-Williams in play style. That might be a negative as Washington looks to cover more bases, but I’m guessing they probably feel more comfortable with Bradley-King as a defensive end than Toney, particularly on run downs. 

Personally, I think I’d give the edge to Toney, but Bradley-King has been the one that got more opportunities to play with and against better competition in preseason, which leads me to believe Washington prefers him.

Linebacker (5) - Jamin Davis, Jon Bostic, Cole Holcomb, Khaleke Hudson, David Mayo

This group still looks like the weakest group on the roster. The top three guys offer plenty of ability. Davis was Washington’s first-round pick and Cole Holcomb has developed nicely into a contributor. Jon Bostic, while disliked by fans, is a solid, reliable starter that can run the defense and play all three spots. But it’s light behind them. Khaleke Hudson has shown some potential during preseason as a potential contributor at the Will spot, but Mayo is mainly a special teams contributor at this point. 

I’m sure Washington would like to add another player to this position to provide some more depth and experience, because if one of the three starters misses any time, the team could have issues.

Cornerback (6) - Kendall Fuller, William Jackson, Benjamin St-Juste, Jimmy Moreland, Torry McTyer, Troy Apke

Fuller and Jackson were always set in stone to be the starting two corners in base packages. The question came in nickel packages. Could rookie St-Juste be trusted outside enough to allow Fuller to kick inside to the slot, or would Moreland retain his spot as the starting nickel cornerback? 

I don’t think Moreland has had a bad preseason, but St-Juste has continued to flash ability and upside. I think he’s done enough for Washington to start the season with St-Juste playing outside in nickel and allowing Fuller to slide into the slot. That leaves Moreland as a nice back up option, along with Torry McTyer, who’s impressed while playing both outside and in the slot in preseason.

Troy Apke’s transition to cornerback hasn’t necessarily been the smoothest, though he’s reportedly had some solid reps in practice recently. But as I touched on earlier, he’s a key special teams player, and his transition to corner allows Washington to keep him on the roster without the intent to actually play him on defense.

Safety (5) - Landon Collins, Kam Curl, Bobby McCain, Deshazor Everett, Jeremy Reaves

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the offseason is Landon Collins. Not only has he returned ahead of schedule from his Achilles injury, he looks to be in terrific shape and excelling in roles he hasn’t before. Collins has consistently been one of the two starting safeties in a rotation with Curl and McCain, but he’s not been purely a box player that he was in the past. Washington has asked Collins to rotate back and play as the single deep safety, and he didn’t look out of place doing so. If Collins can bounce back and play to the level of his contract, then he could be a real threat in this defense.

McCain offers Washington a true center field safety. If Washington wants to play more man coverage this season, then McCain can be trusted to sit in the deep middle of the field and the single deep safety and be relied upon to read the quarterback, anticipate throws and stay on top of deep shots.

Kam Curl offers so much versatility to really knit the secondary together nicely. He can play strong safety like he did in Collins’ absence last season, but he can also fit in at free safety alongside Collins or even play the Buffalo nickel role. That versatility can allow Washington to be creative in using all three safeties at the same time or rotating between them depending on the situation.

As I mentioned earlier, Reaves provides Washington with a nice back up to McCain. While Curl and Collins have shown they are capable of playing deep this preseason, it’s not necessarily something Washington will want them doing regularly. If McCain gets hurt, Reaves can fill that role and allow Washington to maintain his flexibility in the secondary.

With Collins and Curl both able to play the strong safety role, Everett isn’t desperately needed on defense, but he’s another key performer on special teams and should make the team over rookie Darrick Forrest in that regard.

Possible additions

At this time of year, there’s always one or two surprise cuts from each team, leading to good players becoming available. Washington, just like every other team, will be watching out for certain players on the bubble that could help them if they get cut. 

I think the three main spots to look out for are tight end, linebacker and maybe a veteran defensive end. There’s an outside chance they could look to add a veteran cornerback too, especially if Torry McTyer’s health is in question, but I think that’s not necessarily a primary need. 

If Washington does look to add some players after roster cut downs, the team would need to cut some of its own players to make room for the new players. I would think Ricky Seals-Jones would be cut if Washington could find another tight end and perhaps William Bradley-King would be in a similar position if the team looks to add a veteran defensive end. 

At linebacker though, I’m not sure Washington would want to carry only five players. I think ideally, the team has six, giving two players of depth at each linebacker spot. To make that addition, Washington would need to trim the roster elsewhere. That’s where perhaps Milne or Gandy-Golden could miss out after initially making the team. Washington could alternatively make a tough call with Patterson or Barber at running back to create that extra space.