The newest members of the Washington Redskins: By the numbers
By Jonathan Eig
The Redskins’ rookies recently received their numbers, and each number given has a bit of history to carry with it.
As our own Jacob Camenker reported a couple days ago, the Washington Redskins have assigned jersey numbers to the newest class of draft picks and free agents. It must be a thrill for a young player to get his first professional jersey, and in the spirit of that thrill, let’s see if those jersey numbers can give us a glimpse into the world of possibilities that await the newest players to don the burgundy and gold (SPOILER ALERT – they can’t).
The UDFAs
Steven Montez – 6
The Colorado QB has size and arm strength, but there is not a lot of Redskins history associated with the number 6. Though much maligned for his association with the failed tenure of the Old Ball Coach, Shane Matthews did start seven games for the Redskins back in 2002, and if his numbers were the definition of mediocre, Montez wouldn’t look too bad with the 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio Matthews managed that year.
Johnathan Johnson – 12
A wide receiver wearing number 12 for the Redskins? Again, little in the way of history. Andre Roberts was a disappointment during his time in Washington (he never did seem to get over the DeSean Jackson signing), but he has always been a dangerous return man. Johnson has size similar to Roberts. Let’s hope he shows the same speed as well.
Thaddeus Moss – 46
I’ve been hearing from a lot of Redskins fans who are excited about Randy Moss’ son. To the best of my knowledge, the Redskins have never had a tight end wear 46, so he can carve out his own history. A little bit of RB Ladell Betts combined with some WR Frank Grant wouldn’t look too bad.
Isaiah Wright – 83
Johnathan Johnson is closer in body type, but if Temple product Isaiah Wright can conjure up memories of Ricky Sanders, there will be some smiles on Redskins fans’ faces in the years ahead.