Redskins: Initial reaction to the finalized 53-man roster

The Redskins 53-man roster has been finalized, putting an end to the seemingly endless anticipation that mounted over the summer.

It’s a grueling process every year. How does an organization take in 90 talented football players, and pick 37 to send out the door? Tough decisions always have to made, and although the practice squad gives certain young players a second chance, teams can never keep them all. That’s just not the way of the game.

The Redskins needed to release 37 players by 4:00 today. Cuts filtered in throughout the day, and we kept you updated with our live tracker, but the Washington Redskins didn’t disclose the final choices until recently. The official 53-man roster can be found here, on Redskins.com, and although it is highly subject to change, there are some things we can take away from the first draft.

Three undrafted free agents, in total, found their way onto the roster. On offense, Cam Sims was a somewhat expected inclusion; his play in preseason was eye-popping, and in the end, the Redskins opted to cut Brian Quick for the exciting rookie. And on the offensive line, the Redskins kept former Auburn starter Casey Dunn in the wings. Dunn is a known technician, and his quietly solid play led him to a spot on the roster. Time will tell if the Redskins keep him in conjunction with a waiver wire addition, but for now, he’s still in burgundy and gold.

On defense, both Danny Johnson and Greg Stroman made the roster at cornerback. Johnson, in particular, beat the odds, making a name for himself with solid preseason play. His feisty play was enough to grant him a spot, and although other cornerbacks such as Ranthony Texada and Prince Charles Iworah showed promise, Johnson was most consistent throughout the summer.

The youth movement is real in Redskins Park. The Redskins kept all eight draft picks, in addition to the three undrafted free agents, for a total of eleven rookies on the roster. They also kept a number of key bubble players from last year’s draft, including Samaje Perine and Josh Harvey-Clemons. Byron Marshall also stayed on board at running back, despite his injury.

The case of Marshall is a questionable one. Marshall reportedly has ligament damage and will need time to recover. However, the Redskins need to wait until Monday to put him on injured reserve, or else they’ll lose him for the season. By placing him on reserve after Monday, the Redskins can designate him for return. They only kept him for this reason, and when a spot is ultimately freed up, they could bring back Kapri Bibbs, who they cut, or another player at a position of need.

Notable cuts for the Redskins include the aforementioned Brian Quick and Kapri Bibbs, Kevin Hogan, J.P. Holtz, and Martrell Spaight. Here are the totals at each position: Two quarterbacks, five running backs, six receivers, three tight ends, nine offensive linemen, six defensive linemen, four outside linebackers, five inside linebackers, six cornerbacks, four safeties, and three special teams players.

Until further notice, this is your team for 2018. Stick with us, as we’ll have more in-depth analysis in the coming days.