Redskins nose tackle Phil Taylor out for season with quad injury

Redskins nose tackle Phil Taylor will reportedly miss the season due to his quad injury sustained on Sunday. His NFL comeback is now in jeopardy.

It was shaping up to be a promising year for Phil Taylor. After taking a brief medical hiatus from football, Taylor signed with the Redskins as a project player. Once a first-round pick, he began to flash that talent more and more. He appeared to have a bright future as the Redskins’ premier run stuffer, a true nose tackle. Something they haven’t had for years.

Instead, he’ll sit out the season. And the future will have to wait, if it even does come. ESPN’s John Keim broke the news on Twitter.

A comeback in 2018 can’t be ruled out for Taylor, but the going will only get tougher. He already faced an uphill battle and appeared to be winning that battle this offseason. But now he has to do it all again. Processes like these can eat away at a player’s drive and conviction. Time will tell if Taylor will ever return to be the same player he once was.

With Taylor now gone, the Redskins are back at square one. They have several options to put in Taylor’s place at the center of the line, but none will be adequate replacements. A.J. Francis showed limited promise in Sunday’s action, and Joey Mbu has had a roller coaster ride of an offseason, being proclaimed the starting nose tackle early before being relegated to a lesser role.

The next step will be an important one for the Redskins, who’ve lacked a solution at the middle for a long, long time. All eyes will be on the front office and coaching staff as they look to fill the massive void left by Taylor. One can’t rule out bringing in outside help, but there aren’t a lot of options to comb through at the moment.

Taylor’s injury is a terrible thing, not only for the Redskins, but for Taylor himself. He had already almost given up on football once. This could be the straw to break the camel’s back. The Redskins, although they may want to, don’t have time to mourn. In Week 4, they’ll be tasked with surveying their options at nose tackle. A week later, they’ll have their season debut, and the battle for the NFC East will begin.

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Stay tuned to Riggo’s Rag, as we’ll provide you with any further updates to the situation. Taylor’s injury is a tragedy in every sense of the word, undeserved and unwanted. But the Redskins have no time to mourn. They have a game to play.