Washington football team to sign wide receiver Dontrelle Inman

The Washington football team might be considering an addition to their wide receiver room ahead of the 2020 season.

The Washington football team has a great deal of uncertainty mounting at the wide receiver position. Terry McLaurin and Steven Sims figure to be essential pieces in 2020, but beyond them, nothing is set in stone. There’s an underlying belief that Antonio Gandy-Golden will compete for a starting role, and Antonio Gibson may factor in as a position-less weapon. But regardless, there’s still room for the team to make an addition.

Based on recent reports, it seems as though Ron Rivera and company are indeed scouring the free agent pool, to see if they can make any depth additions at this point in the offseason. According to Field Yates of ESPN, the team hosted veteran wide receiver Dontrelle Inman on a visit over the weekend. Yates noted that, due to virus concerns, visits are only being permitted if a signing is likely.

And Inman is, indeed, expected to sign with Washington. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport broke the news on Twitter.

Inman, 31, has forged a solid career at the NFL level, since coming into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2011. Inman initially signed with the Chicago Bears after completing his collegiate career with the Virginia Cavaliers, but the Bears would not keep him past the 2011 offseason. Inman then took his talents to the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, where he did enough in two seasons to earn another NFL audition with the Chargers in 2014.

Inman’s signing with the Chargers would catalyze his emergence onto the NFL stage. His production steadily increased from year to year, until in 2016, Inman logged career highs in every category, registering 58 catches for 810 yards and four touchdowns on 97 targets.

After his production peaked, however, Inman underwent an equally steady decline. He was traded midseason to the Chicago Bears in 2017, and ended up spending time with the Chargers, Patriots, and Colts over the next two campaigns. In 2019, Inman played in seven total games between the Chargers and Colts, amassing 12 catches for 181 yards.

Inman is a solid athlete; he stands at 6-foot-3, 205, and logged a 4.47 40-yard dash and a 34-inch vertical at his pro day back in 2011. Injuries over the course of his career may have dulled his athleticism somewhat, but Inman, as of last year, could still produce in a depth role, and that is likely the role he’d be added to fulfill in Washington’s receiving core.

We’ll soon see how Inman fits in with Washington. But his signing gives the team a much-needed veteran presence in the receiving corps.