Washington Football Team LBs have potential with Reuben Foster healthy
By Ian Cummings
You can use the word “potential” at will in any given offseason. Writers can use the word to buoy Super Bowl aspirations, or sidestep the dire outlook of a given season for an underwhelming team.
For the Washington Football Team, the use of the word “potential” has often been used in the latter sense this offseason. The team is on the heels of a recent regime change, and with so many moving pieces, no one expects Washington to compete for a playoff spot in 2020.
The Washington Football Team has potential, in the sense that many of their players have the athletic ability necessary to contribute, and that they have a coaching staff that could catalyze growth in certain spots. But it still may take another year or two for the puzzle to coalesce as one.
With that being said, there are some areas on the Washington Football Team’s roster where “potential” is a little more than a comforting concoction. With the news of Reuben Foster‘s reinstatement from the PUP list, the linebacker core suddenly has building strength, that could see it become a solid unit.
Before this news, there was a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the linebacker position. That doesn’t mean that uncertainty doesn’t yet linger, but much of that uncertainty revolved around Foster’s status. There are other questions to address, but availability is no longer one of them, and players can now seek to address those questions on the field.
As of now, Thomas Davis, Cole Holcomb, and Reuben Foster would appear to be three of the front runners to start at linebacker, and all three have the potential to be particularly productive behind Washington’s defensive line. Holcomb is a supremely athletic player who notched over 100 tackles in his rookie season, and Foster, a former first-round pick, has the talent and urgency to be a starter if he’s healthy. Davis, meanwhile, is the seasoned veteran and leader who can help bring up younger players behind him.
dark. Next. Is there reason for optimism in Washington D.C.?
The structure of the linebacker room bodes well for development, and with former linebackers Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio leading the way, that effect may be compounded further. Now that Foster is healthy, we can say that he’ll unequivocally get a chance to prove himself once again in the 2020 season. And in a prove-it year, that’s exactly what one needs to reach their potential.