Final roster predictions, 2020 edition
September 4, 2020
by Steve Thomas
I published my initial guess at the final composition of the roster for the Redskins Washington Football Team WFT The Team Washington back in May (click here to read), so now, on the eve of the regular season, it seemed like the right time to make my final predictions and allow all of you to agree, disagree, and generally debate what should be a fun topic. Normally, The Hog Sty has been at camp watching, and we’ve seen four preseason games by now, so the fact that none of that has happened makes this effort much more difficult, but we can dive in anyway.
The roster cut deadline is Saturday, September 5, at 4:00 pm E.T., so we won’t have long to wait. Let’s get started.
Quarterbacks (2):
QB1: Dwayne Haskins
QB2: Kyle Allen
IR: Alex Smith
Practice Squad: Steven Montez
Cut: None
Ron Rivera named Dwayne Haskins as the team’s 2020 starter, so there’s no mystery in that slot. The real question will be whether Alex Smith makes the active roster after his amazing and nearly unprecedented return to active play last month. I could be wrong here, but I’ve gotten the feeling over the last couple of days that Smith just isn’t quite ready yet, so I’m therefore going to predict that he ends up on IR with a return designation. We’ve heard almost nothing about Steven Montez, so I doubt he makes the active roster, but the team would be wise to keep him around on the practice squad.
Running Backs (4):
RB1: Adrian Peterson
RB2: Bryce Love
RB3: Antonio Gibson
RB4: J.D. McKissic
Practice Squad: Peyton Barber
Old Man River, Adrian Peterson, just keeps on thumbing his nose at Father Time. He’s beaten the odds to return to the starter role for another year. Bryce Love is 21 months removed from his ACL surgery, which is a long time for an ACL rehab, so I expect him to be a real contributor this season. I’m aware that he’s looked a bit rusty, but I still think he’s the best back on the roster beyond Peterson. Gibson is a third round pick, so he’s guaranteed a spot, and I’m a big believer in his talent – he’s going to show quite a bit in year one. He may also play some receiver, but he’s obviously viewed by the team as a running back, at least right now. McKissic is the third down back, so he’s in. As far as Barber goes, I get it – he’d be a valuable backup and has been praised by the coaches, and I’m loath to predict that he’ll be cut. But is the team really going to keep 5 running backs on the active roster? What’s the point of having that many? That’d highly unusual, particularly with 6 wide receivers. It’s possible that the team stashes Love again in order to keep Barber.
Wide Receivers (6):
WR1: Terry McLaurin (X)
WR2: Dontrelle Inman (Z)
WR3: Steven Sims, Jr. (slot)
WR4: Cam Sims
WR5: Antonio Gandy-Golden
WR6: Trey Quinn
Cut: Jonathon Johnson, Jordan Veasy, Jester Weah
Practice Squad: Troy Brown, Jonathon Johnson, Isaiah Wright
NFI: Kelvin Harmon
McClaurin, Inman, and Steven Sims are obvious roster locks. Beyond that, Cam Sims seems like a fairly safe choice as well given the huge amount of inexperience in this group. Reports out of camp give me the feeling that Gandy-Golden may not be ready for prime time just yet, so he’ll make the roster but not as a starter. There’s no doubt that Isaiah Wright has made his presence known, but Rivera has also mentioned that he prefers to keep veterans this year as a result of the lack of preseason action, so I’m going to reluctantly give Quinn the last spot.
Tight Ends (3):
TE1: Logan Thomas
TE2: Jeremy Sprinkle
TE3: Marcus Baugh
Practice Squad: Hale Hentges
Cut: Richard Rodgers
IR: Thaddeus Moss
Logan Thomas is in the lead for the starting job simply because he has the largest contract, by far. The team clearly views him as the potential #1 and will let someone prove them wrong. Hentges developed a bit of fan following last season, but Sprinkle is the guy who has veteran experience and who performed reasonably well last season – 26 receptions for 241 and a 65% catch rate – at least well enough to stay on the roster. Baugh has gotten praise from head coach Ron Rivera in his daily pressers and can play the fullback role, so without knowing much about him, I’m going to give him the final active spot.
Offensive Line (10)
LT1: Geron Christian
LG1: Wes Martin
C1: Chase Roullier
RG1: Brandon Scherff
RT1: Morgan Moses
Swing tackles: David Sharpe, Cornelius Lucas, Saadhiq Charles
Swing guard: Wes Schweitzer
Swing guard/center: Ross Pierschbacher
Practice squad: Paul Adams, Keith Ismael, Timon Parris
Cut: Mike Liedtke, Jeremy Vujnovich, David Steinmetz
This is where the extra spot from Alex Smith’s IR designation will go – 10 offensive lineman is higher than the norm, but considering the kind of shape this group is in and the fact that Washington just traded for David Sharpe tells me that he isn’t getting cut; hence, 10. Plus, Rivera insinuated this week that the team might keep more than normal. There wasn’t a great option at starting left tackle during my initial roster guess back in May and there still isn’t one now. Charles has missed way too much camp time due to injury for me to believe that Rivera and Scott Turner will be willing to toss the rookie out on the field to protect Dwayne Haskins’ blind side. It’s possible that they send Charles to IR in order to keep someone else on the active roster, but I’ll say he’s in for now. My best guess is that Christian grabs the starting left tackle job (say a prayer, everyone). 2019 rookie Wes Martin is probably in the lead for the left guard position, as he acquitted himself fairly well last year filling in for Brandon Scherff. Roullier and Scherff are engrained at center and left guard. Moses has had well-known problems over the past two years, but there isn’t an obvious replacement on hand, at least not until Charles is ready to start at left tackle and Lucus can perhaps take the right tackle job. Rivera praised Timon Parris at one point this offseason, but I think he gets squeezed out because of the numbers game. Parris and Ismael get to the practice squad, again because of numbers.
Defensive Line (9):
LDE: Ryan Kerrigan
DT: Daron Payne
RDE: Montez Sweat
Backup DEs: Chase Young, Ryan Anderson, Jordan Brailford
Backup DTs: Jonathan Allen, Tim Settle
Practice Squad: Ryan Bee, David Bada, Nate Orchard, James Smith-Williams
COVID-19 opt-out: Caleb Brantley
Cut: Cameron Malveaux
I think Kerrigan will begin the season as the starter over Young, simply because the Redskins have the good problem of too many starting defensive lineman both at end and tackle. Kerrigan is the vet, so he’ll get the nod to start with, but at some point soon, whether during this season or in 2021, he will get pushed out in favor of the highly-touted rookie. The team has a similar problem at tackle, and my guess is that Allen will draw the short straw because of Payne’s greater strength and ability to wreak havoc. Tim Settle is probably starter-worthy as well, but on a team as stacked with high draft picks as the Redskins, he’ll have to fight for rotational minutes. I’ve wondered about Ryan Anderson’s position on this new defense, but all indications are that he’s a defensive end, so I’ve included him here. We’ve heard absolutely nothing about David Bada, but the fact that’s he’s in the international pipeline might mean that he makes the practice squad as well. Smith-Williams has been praised during camp, but this team just has too many roster locks for him to make the active roster this year.
Linebackers (6):
SAM: Kevin Pierre- Louis
MLB: Jonathan Bostic
WILL: Thomas Davis
Backup SAM: Cole Holcomb
Backup MLB: Shaun Dion Hamilton
Backup WILL: Khaleke Hudson
COVID-19 opt-out: Josh Harvey-Clemons
Cut: Reuben Foster, Jared Norris, Donald Payne
There isn’t a wonderful solution to this position group, as new acquisition Thomas Davis is 37 years old and Jonathan Bostic is fairly mediocre. Cole Holcomb was a pleasant surprise as a rookie last season; however, call me crazy, but I don’t think he’s starter-worthy yet on a league-average linebacker corps, and I don’t think he’s a legit SAM, either. He’s not strong enough to start at SAM and his coverage skills lack too much to start at the WILL. The most recent chatter from camp is that Reuben Foster hasn’t looked good, so my not so bold prediction here is that the team gets rid of him in favor of Pierre-Louis. Foster is in the final year of his contract so there’s no point in stashing him on IR, in my view. Hudson is a poor man’s Isaiah Simmons, of sorts, in terms of his athletic profile and skillset, and should end up being a core special teamer early in his career with potential to make a difference on defense as well. He fits in more as a hybrid safety-linebacker type than anything else. This group has the potential to be severely lacking.
Defensive Backs (10):
CB1: Fabian Moreau
CB2: Ronald Darby
Slot: Kendall Fuller
Safety #1: Landon Collins
Safety #2: Troy Apke
Backup CBs: Aaron Colvin, Jimmy Moreland, Greg Stroman
Backup Safeties: Deshazor Everett, Sean Davis
Practice Squad: Kamren Curl, Danny Johnson, Jeremy Reaves
Cut: Ryan Lewis
Suspended: Thomas Simeon
To put it mildly, this group is a mess. Fabian Moreau gets the lead corner position by default, not because he’s earned it, and I suspect that Ronald Darby is in the lead for the other outside starter position. I’d like to think that despite his massive contract the coaching staff will recognize where Fuller can be most productive and put him in the slot. Troy Apke has apparently had a big camp, so he’s vaulted himself into the starting free safety spot. Everett is a special teamer extraordinaire and experienced vet and is thus on the roster. Sean Davis makes it not because he’s earned it but because there’s literally nobody else who can play free safety.
Specialists (3):
Kicker: Dustin Hopkins
Long Snapper: Nick Sundberg
Punter: Tress Way
There’s no drama with this position group, at least not until the end of the season when the contracts of both Hopkins and Sundberg expire. Punter Tress Way just signed a 4 year extension last year through 2024, so he’s most likely here for the long term.