Redskins sign three players, waive two, place Josh Woodrum on IR

The Washington Redskins have made a few roster moves in the wake of the team’s first preseason contest. One involves putting Josh Woodrum on IR.

NFL teams normally make a few moves to try out new depth players and practice squad options during the preseason. And the Washington Redskins doing just that on Sunday afternoon.

The Redskins are shuffling their roster ahead of the second game of the 2019 preseason. The team signed three players, QB Jalan McClendon, DB DeJuan Neal, and LB Darrell Williams. The corresponding moves to those acquisitions were as follows, per the team’s official website:

• QB Josh Woodrum was placed on IR
• LB Garrett Sickels was waived with an injury designation
• WR T.J. Rahming was placed on waivers

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None of these departures are too surprising, especially not Woodrum’s. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the team’s preseason opener and was just considered to be a practice squad option at the very best. Meanwhile, Rahming was well behind in a crowded receiver room while Sickels was signed just prior to the last preseason game. And if he got nicked up, and chances of him making the roster would have evaporated. Thus, the team released him with the injury designation.

In terms of the additions, Jalan McClendon is the most notable, as he is a 6-foot-5 athlete who may get some mop-up work at quarterback. He won’t make the team as a quarterback because of the three options already on the team, but his athletic traits and size could convince the team to make him a versatile practice squad option if he performs well in the coming weeks. For more on McClendon, click here.

Neal went to Shepherd University, a Division II school located in West Virginia that is somewhat local to D.C. Neal has a tough roster battle and was likely just signed as depth. For more on Neal, click here.

As for Williams, he is an undrafted linebacker from Auburn who is coming off a 74 tackle and 1.0 sack season. He isn’t particularly athletic (he ran only a 4.91-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day) so he may be limited to two-down work in any role. The Redskins are thin at linebacker though, so perhaps the 6-foot-2, 240-pound Williams will have a chance to fight for a practice squad spot.

None of these players seem likely to make the team, and McClendon appears to be the best of the bunch. It will be interesting to see these players in action on Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals. All it takes is one standout performance to fight for a practice squad or back-end roster spot job.