2021 Training Camp Preview
July 27, 2021
by Steve Thomas
After a break in the action last year courtesy of the China Virus, the Washington Redskins Washington Football Team WFT The Team The Cleveland Guardians Washington is back for another training camp, complete with fan attendance and loaded with news and battles for fans to watch. It’s an important camp for this team, as they will try to build upon their small measure of success from last season and rise up into the ranks of the consistent contender. Story lines abound, and we’ll get into them all. Right now, though, here’s our annual training camp preview.
Schedule
The current training camp schedule is below – please note that the schedule can and sometimes does change, so pay attention to updates and verify the times before you leave for Richmond. The team has the right to change the days and times of practice, so check with the team’s training camp website for the most current information.
Richmond Practice Schedule
Wednesday, July 28 10:00 a.m. Practice / 8:00 p.m. Walkthrough
Thursday, July 29 10:00 a.m. Practice / 8:00 p.m. Walkthrough
Friday, July 30 10:00 a.m. Practice / 8:00 p.m. Walkthrough
Saturday, July 31 9:45 a.m. Practice
Special Events:
Tuesday, July 27: Community Combine Day (closed to the general public)
Tuesday, July 27: Training Camp Kickoff Rally, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Wood & Iron Gameday Restaurant and Bar, 1401 Rosenheath Rd, Richmond, VA
Wednesday, July 28: Frontline Heroes Day
Thursday, July 29: Military Appreciation Day
Friday, July 30: Kid’s Day
Saturday, July 31: Fan Appreciation Day
This is important: YOU MUST HAVE PASSES TO ATTEND PRACTICE. They are free. Don’t be “that guy” who travels all the way to Richmond without a pass.
If you want further information on what to do in Richmond during your visit, you can listen to our interview with Ms. Anedra Bourne, Tourism Coordinator from the City of Richmond (click here) from June, 2016. For more information about Richmond, check out these links: www.visitrichmond.com; www.visitrichmondva.com
Ashburn Practice Schedule
Monday, Aug. 2 through Friday, Aug. 5
Sunday, Aug. 8 through Tuesday, Aug. 10
Sunday, Aug. 15 through Wednesday, Aug. 18
Monday, Aug. 23 through Thursday, Aug. 26
It appears as though the practices at Ashburn will not be open to the public
Fed Ex Field Practice Schedule
Saturday, Aug. 6: The team is having a practice at Fed Ex Field on August 6 for up to 20,000 fans. Tickets are free and available here.
Preseason Schedule
Game 1: Thursday, Aug 12, 7:30 pm ET: Washington at Patriots
Game 2: Friday, Aug 20, 8:00 pm ET: Bengals at Washington
Game 3: Saturday, Aug 28, 6:00 pm ET: Ravens at Washington
Roster and Salary Cap
If you want to study the team roster, click here.
If you want salary cap information, click here.
Training Camp storylines
Obviously, many different storylines exist this year. These are the main ones that I’ll be watching:
How quickly can the offense gel?
Washington acquired a number of new players and has questions along the offensive line. A talent injection is worthless until they can learn to play together and develop to the point at which they can be an effective offense. To a certain extent, this is the case every year, and we normally see the defense behind the offense early on in camp, but this is particularly important this season. New quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will need time to get to know his receivers, and new receivers Curtis Samuel and Adam Humphries will need to learn and get used to the offensive system. The team currently has 12 receivers under contract competing for probably 5 regular season, active roster jobs, which is a big number. Considering how bad the offense was last season, ideally we’ll see significant progress before the start of the regular season.
The secondary starters
About the only things that are certain about Washington’s secondary is that William Jackson III will be the #1 corner, and Kendall Fuller will play somewhere, whether on the outside or in the slot. Beyond that, the secondary is basically a blank slate. Will Kamren Curl put Landon Collins on the bench, or vice versa? Who is the starting free safety? Who will be the third corner? The team currently has 19 players signed to compete for probably 9 regular season active roster slots, so there will be significant competition for fans to watch.
Jamin Davis’ development
Davis’ biggest strength is his elite-level athleticism, and the team drafted him in part because of a pretty serious talent deficiency in the linebacker group, so . . . Davis’ arrival is great thing. However, his primary weakness is that he isn’t particularly experienced – he only started one year in college and was basically an unknown in NFL scouting circles prior to last season and before he annihilated the athletic testing portion of his pro day. Therefore, a key training camp storyline is his development. Will he be ready to be an immediate force in the NFL or will he need some time? Will he be the team’s starting middle linebacker immediately or will they leave him on the outside for now?
Chase Young’s continued growth
The impact on the field of the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year was greater than the actual stats he posted. He was at times a monster on the field, even if Montez Sweat ended up with 1.5 more sacks and 2 more tackles for loss. What we need to see from Young in training camp and preseason this year is for him start to take the next step in his development and get to the quarterback at a great rate. Will Young because a Julius Peppers-level NFL star? All signs point to yes, but it’s up to him to actually to do the work. On the other hand, Young spent alot of time this offseason doing other things beyond football, and actually skipped the non-mandatory minicamps, which reflects negatively on him to a certain extent and makes me wonder where his priorities lie. Either way, Young will be a big story this preseason.