Washington Redskins are coming into the 2015 NFL season as a team with something to prove. On both sides of the football.
On defense, the team has to set some sort of an identity. They’ve locked up linebacker Ryan Kerrigan for a few more years but he’s been one of the brighter spots of an often suspect defense. They have talent on the roster already in a guy like DeAngelo Hall, who was also injured during a joint practice with the Houston Texans, but they have some newer pieces joining Hall and Kerrigan. This offseason they pulled in a defensive haul by agreeing to terms with defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, defensive end Stephen Paea, safety Dashon Goldson and cornerback Chris Culliver. Can the Redskins be a top defensive unit in the NFL again or will teams exploit them for another season.
On the offensive side of the ball, can RG3 be what we’ve all expected out of him? He’s a former Heisman winner that the Redskins gave up some first round picks to draft but he hasn’t been the same since returning from his knee injury.
Can he get the offense back to an elite level alongside a runningback in Alfred Morris – who is also looking to have a resurgent season – a solid number one wide receiver in Pierre Garcon and the speedy receiver, DeSean Jackson?
Building a connection with Jackson might have to wait a couple more weeks as he’s been diagnosed with a separated shoulder.
Following from John Keim and Dianna Russini of ESPN.
Washington Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson suffered a Grade 2 separation of his right shoulder Thursday and is likely to be sidelined for a couple of weeks, according to sources.
Jackson suffered an injury to his right shoulder at the end of a one-on-one drill; he had caught a pass and hit the ground and then slid into a sled. He lay on the ground for a couple of minutes before walking off on his own power, grimacing. But he remained on the sidelines with his right shoulder wrapped.
Desean Jackson walking off #redskins pic.twitter.com/FgLA0zu0DF
— John Keim (@john_keim) August 6, 2015
The part missed by all this is the fact the Jackson injured himself by running into a blocking sled. Yes, a blocking sled.
DeSean Jackson hit a sled finishing a route earlier in camp… came out of tent in Tshirt with ice bag on shoulder. On sideline now
— Carol Maloney (@carolmaloney4) August 6, 2015
DeSean Jackson goes down on the first play of 1-on-1s. pic.twitter.com/BuQEfNlBfi
— michael phillips (@michaelpRTD) August 6, 2015
Yes, just a few days after saying no one can stop him, he gets stopped by a blocking sled.
“I don’t feel no one could stop me,” Jackson told the media Monday at the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center in Richmond, Va. “You could go get Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman, whoever you want to get.”
Hopefully the wideout will be back on the field for the Skins soon. In his first season with Washington, he led the team with 1,169 receiving yards on 56 receptions. His 20.9 yards per reception was the best in the entire league, and he became the first player in Redskins history to post 1,100 receiving yards on fewer than 60 receptions and the first NFL player to do so since Vincent Jackson did with the San Diego Chargers in 2011.
