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Josh Doctson’s latest injury should have the Redskins worried

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 18: Wide receiver Josh Doctson #18 of the Washington Redskins misses a catch against cornerback Morris Claiborne #24 of the Dallas Cowboys in the second half at FedExField on September 18, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 18: Wide receiver Josh Doctson #18 of the Washington Redskins misses a catch against cornerback Morris Claiborne #24 of the Dallas Cowboys in the second half at FedExField on September 18, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Josh Doctson was a first round pick by the Washington Redskins in the 2016 NFL Draft. Thus far, his brief career has been derailed by injury.

As a rookie in 2016, there were some modest expectations for Josh Doctson. After being a first round pick in the draft, the young Washington Redskin was expected to function at the team’s top backup receiver. The big bodied TCU product was supposed to be a red zone weapon as well as a potential deep threat, thanks to his top notch combination of size and speed.

However, Doctson’s 2016 campaign was completely derailed by an Achilles injury that he suffered during training camp. The injury wasn’t expected to keep Doctson out for the whole season, but he was very slow to return from the nagging issue. The team felt lucky, at the time, that he had avoided a tear, but they tried to rush him back from the injury.

After making two catches in two games, Doctson was a member of the inactives list before the team ultimately decided to end his season by placing him on the Injured Reserve. That was absolutely the right thing to do, but the move came too late. The team would have been better off leaving him on the PUP list, having him miss the first six games, and seeing if that would have given him a chance to make a comeback.

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But, I digress. What’s done is done, and the 2017 season is upon us. Coming into this year, Doctson was expected to make the leap and become the strong NFL receiver that the team envisioned when they selected him in the draft. The expectations were high. By all reports, Doctson had been looking good and was set to take on a starting role. However, another injury has reared its head.

At practice on Sunday, Doctson left with a hamstring injury. CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Rich Tandler was at the practice, and described the scene as such.

"Doctson left practice and went onto a table in the trainer’s tent just off of the practice field. He stayed there until practice ended and then he slowly walked to the locker room, declining requests for comment."

While this may not initially seem like a big deal, and it could just be a minor issue, the Redskins should be concern. Doctson is an important part of the Redskins future and they need him to be the No. 2 receiver for this team. If he cannot stay healthy, that will make it very hard for the Redskins offense to function as well as they did in 2016.

Also, even if the injury is minor, hamstring issues, and other soft tissue maladies, tend to linger longer than normal injuries. So the team and Doctson have to approach this situation with the utmost caution to avoid trying to rush him back again.

Next: Analyzing first Redskins depth chart of 2017

This is definitely a situation to monitor moving forward. Keep it right here at Riggo’s Rag for all the latest Redskins news, injury updates, and more.

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