Redskins could keep two injured players before designating them to temporary IR

The Redskins are nearing completion of their 53-man roster, but even after completion, that 53-man roster won’t be completely official.

The Washington Redskins roster situation is very fluid at the moment, and even after the formation of the final 53, it will still be very fluid. That said, we’re starting to get an idea of what the team will look like overall. Even after we get that picture, there will still be moves made.

Some specific moves require strategic timing, and with two players included on the final 53-man roster, that’s what we’ll see. Multiple pundits have reported that the Redskins are planning to keep both Jordan Brailford and Shaun Wilson on the active roster initially.

Both Wilson and Brailford are injured, but both could come back during the season and provide value of some sort. Wilson is a quick, speedy back who showed impressive dynamic ability in limited preseason action. Brailford, meanwhile, has good athleticism as an edge rusher, and he could be used as quality depth later on.

If the Redskins were to place Wilson and Brailford on injured reserve before the 4:00 PM roster finalization deadline today, then Wilson and Brailford would be stuck on injured reserve for the rest of the season. By keeping both on the roster initially, and waiting until after the 4:00 PM deadline, the Redskins will be able to designate both players to return later in the year, at a time of their choosing after eight weeks. Teams are allowed to bring two players back in a season, so both will be allowed to return when called upon.

If both players go to injured reserve after the 4:00 PM deadline, then two new spots would open up on the Redskins roster, bringing the total back down to 51. With those two spots, the Redskins would be able to either sign back players they cut, or try and claim players from other teams on the waiver wire.

Brailford is likely a lock to go to temporary injured reserve, but D.C. sports reporter Craig Hoffman did note that Shaun Wilson’s recovery time table might be such that the Redskins could keep him on the roster outright, in order to maintain his availability for earlier weeks. He suffered an ankle sprain early in preseason, but he managed to separate himself from the pack at running back in that short time. Now, the Redskins are pulling the strings, to make sure they can call him back into action.