Game Preview, Preseason #4: Ravens at Redskins
August 29, 2019
by Steve Thomas
Preseason game #4 is typically the contest when all of the starters and a good chunk of the second stringers don’t play and in many cases don’t even dress. From a viewer’s standpoint, it’s the least interesting contest of the year. Game 4 is shaping up to be no exception, as Jay Gruden has probably played even fewer starters than normal in this preseason. Not only that, but the Ravens backup quarterback, somebody named Robert Griffin III, is hurt and will have to miss his return to Fed Ex Field. Who it is important to, though, are the players who are on the bubble. It’s always enjoyable to watch those players who step up in this game every year and earn a roster spot. It’ll happen today, too. It’s the final dress rehearsal before the regular season finally, so get excited!
Game time & location: Thursday, August 29, 7:30 p.m. ET, Fed Ex Field, Landover, MD; Gates open 5:30 p.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 2:30 p.m.; all other parking lots 3:30 p.m.
Television: NBC4/NBC Sports Washington
Television announcers: Kenny Albert/Joe Theismann/Clinton Portis
Television replay: NFL Network, Saturday, 1 pm ET
DC-area radio: ESPN 980 / WMAL 105.9 / 630 AM
Redskins radio network: Click here
Ravens radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: XM: 227 (Redskins broad.) Sirius: 135 (Redskins broad.); internet: 831 (Redskins broad.)
Redskins roster: Click here
Redskins depth chart: Click here
Ravens roster: Click here
Ravens depth chart: Click here
What to Watch For
Receiver depth chart battle
The receiver group is probably the most unsettled position group on the team. By anyone’s estimation, Paul Richardson Jr.. Trey Quinn, and Terry McLaurin are roster locks, but everyone else is probably still fighting for a spot to one degree or the other. Unless the Redskins decide to keep an enormous number of receivers on the active roster, this is the first year in a while that the team will have to cut multiple players who belong on the active roster. All of these players at one point or another have shown skills this offseason. This is a fascinating battle, so pay close attention to who starts the game and who seems to be getting the best results.
Offensive line depth chart battle
There’s one last chance for this group to show Jay Gruden who belongs. It appears as though Jay Gruden is settled on the starters on the left side, Donald Penn and Ereck Flowers, but the backup guards are far from settled outside of Wes Martin. Watching this group, particularly in the second half of this game, should give you something interesting to do last in what is sure to otherwise be a fairly dull affair.
Running backs behind Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice
Peterson, Guice, and Thompson are obviously set, but will Samaje Perine make the roster again? Probably. Has Craig Reynolds done enough to grasp the fourth back spot? The Redskins could conceivably even keep five on the active roster depending on how special teams and injuries (hello, Shaun Wilson) shake out.
Which of the tight ends behind the top 3 will prove himself
Jordan Reed’s concussion as a result of Keanu Neal’s dirty hit last week all of a sudden puts this group in doubt. Clearly Vernon Davis and Jeremy Sprinkle are set, but Washington will almost certainly keep at least one of Matt Flanagan, J.P. Holtz, or my sleeper pick, Donald Parham, on the practice squad. However, if Reed needs to go to IR (almost assuredly designated with intent to return, if that happens), then it opens up a slot on the active roster. Keep an eye out on which one of Flanagan, Holtz, and Parham make the biggest plays against the Ravens.