Redskins make roster moves in wake of Derrius Guice injury, waive Elijah Wellman

The Washington Redskins had to make roster moves in the wake of the injuries to Derrius Guice and Manasseh Garner. Here’s a look at what they did.

After Derrius Guice and Manasseh Garner suffered season-ending injuries in the first preseason game, the Redskins needed to make some roster moves. They had to replace their injured players and add some new talent to their roster.

Officially, the Redskins placed Guice and Garner on the Injured Reserve. However, there was a surprise move among the transactions as well, as the team waived fullback Elijah Wellman with an injury designation.

Per ESPN’s John Keim, here’s a look at the free agents the Redskins signed to fill in holes on their roster.

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While some were hoping that the Redskins would add a veteran running back or some depth at the position, they elected not to add any depth at the position. This demonstrates that they are comfortable with the position, as Jay Gruden indicated on Saturday, and that should be good news for Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine.

The decision to part with Wellman is a bit more of a mystery. He looked good during the first preseason game, but perhaps he suffered an injury that went unnoticed. With the injury to Guice, Wellman may have had a chance to make the roster if healthy. It’s unfortunate that he won’t get a chance to prove himself again this offseason.

Of the free agents that the Redskins signed, J.P. Holtz has the most NFL experience. Holtz spent last season on the Cleveland Browns practice squad and spent part of the 2016 season with the organization too after being undrafted out of Pittsburgh. Holtz had modest production at Pitt, and decent size. He should fill in well in place of the injured Garner as an organizational depth piece.

Meanwhile, linebacker Jeff Knox has played parts of three years in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he has been a solid player. He’s had two offseason stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he has yet to make the roster. Given that the Redskins are already set at linebacker, Knox seems like more of a camp body at this point.

As for Jalen Wilkerson, he played his college football at Florida State and went undrafted in the 2018 draft. He played tight end and defensive end for the Seminoles, but he only ever notched 0.5 sacks. He’s probably just added depth to help compensate for the absence of Matt Ioannidis, who will likely be out at least a week.

None of these moves are particularly inspiring. That said, they don’t need to be. The team is just adding organizational depth to compete during the preseason. They were never going to find a true replacement for Guice anyway, so it’s hard to blame the squad for deciding to load up on camp bodies at other positions.