Redskins WR Maurice Harris ruled out for Week 1 with concussion

The Redskins will be somewhat short-handed at wide receiver this week.

The initial injury report for the Washington Redskins was a welcoming sight, with only three players listed and only one listed as a non-participant in the latest practice. That one non-participant was wide receiver Maurice Harris, and he has been ruled out for the Redskins Week 1 contest versus the Cardinals, per the team’s official website.

Harris, according to the article linked in the Twitter post above, sustained a concussion against the Jets, and for the last three weeks, he’s been recovering. However, he still isn’t ready for game action, and so he’ll be on the bench Sunday.

Luckily, Harris is the only player ruled out for the season debut. Colt McCoy and Zach Brown were also listed on the original injury report (McCoy with a thumb issue, and Brown with an oblique ailment). Neither has been ruled out yet, and this close to the game, it looks they should be able to compete. In McCoy’s case, he shouldn’t have to see the field. But having a reliable backup available is important.

Speaking of reliable backups, with Harris out, the Redskins will now turn to two rookies to fill the void at receiver: Seventh-round pick Trey Quinn and undrafted free agent sensation Cam Sims. Gruden spoke highly of both, trusting in their ability to fill in for Harris.

Sims, in particular, had an eventful offseason, but both players impressed with their consistency, and although their skill sets are very different from one another, they should be able to compensate for the temporary loss of Harris quite nicely. Quinn is a workmanlike receiver who can do damage with his route running and solid hands, while Sims has a flair for the high-flying, spectacular catches that all quarterbacks like to see their receivers make.

I wouldn’t put either rookie on your fantasy team, but it looks like Quinn and Sims will both be active on Sunday, and they both should get reps with Harris gone. In the meantime, Harris will continue to recover from his concussion, and the hope is that he will soon enter the fold again.