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Five Redskins players fighting for roster spots in preseason Week 4 vs. Ravens

By Jacob Camenker

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Samaje Perine #32 of the Washington Redskins is tackled by Manti Te'o #51 of the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Samaje Perine #32 of the Washington Redskins is tackled by Manti Te'o #51 of the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 22: Quarterback Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Redskins hands off to running back Samaje Perine #32 in the second half of an NFL preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 22, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – AUGUST 22: Quarterback Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Redskins hands off to running back Samaje Perine #32 in the second half of an NFL preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 22, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

1. RB Samaje Perine

This is Perine’s chance to make a really good case to make the final roster. He struggled in the first two preseason games before looking much better in last week’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. Now, he has to follow that up by looking strong against mostly back-caliber players.

Perine needs to show a couple of things against the Ravens. First, he has to be decisive as a runner. Too often in the first two preseason games, Perine was not decisive and failed to make it out of the backfield. He needs to run more like he did last week when he identified where he wanted to go early and was able to generate positive yardage.

Speaking of identifying where Perine wants to go, he needs to showcase better vision in this game. That goes hand in hand with the decisiveness, but if he can find open lanes and create some long runs, that will lock down his spot as the fourth running back on the roster.

If Perine struggles at all to run the ball, he may see some other options on the roster challenge him for a spot. Craig Reynolds has been solid this preseason while Byron Marshall seems to be a Gruden-favorite and has some special teams value.

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Perine may still be in the lead at the moment, but his grip on a spot is tenuous. He really needs to prove that he can play at a high level against the Ravens’ backups. If he can’t, it may be time to move on from him.

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