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Washington Football Team Roster Projection: Updates for Derrius Guice, Reuben Foster

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 17: Derrius Guice #29 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball against James Burgess #58 of the New York Jets in the first half at FedExField on November 17, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 17: Derrius Guice #29 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball against James Burgess #58 of the New York Jets in the first half at FedExField on November 17, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – AUGUST 30: Reuben Foster #56 of the San Francisco 49ers makes a tackle during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi Stadium on August 30, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. The Chargers defeated the 49ers 23-21. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – AUGUST 30: Reuben Foster #56 of the San Francisco 49ers makes a tackle during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Levi Stadium on August 30, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. The Chargers defeated the 49ers 23-21. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

Linebacker (8)

Reuben Foster, Thomas Davis, Cole Holcomb, Jon Bostic, Ryan Anderson, Kevin Pierre-Louis, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Khaleke Hudson

In the wake of Reuben Foster’s removal from the PUP list, Washington has a lot of options at the linebacker position. But there is a world in which they could keep a good chunk of them.

Simply put, Washington doesn’t have many proven three-down linebackers. Foster is one in theory. Holcomb could become one. And Davis is one, but he is also 37 years old. Because of this, the team will have to use a rotation at linebacker to allow their players to succeed.

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Right now, this is how I see Bostic, Holcomb, and Davis starting at the MIKE, SAM, and WILL positions. Foster will play in rotation with Davis to keep both players fresh given Davis’ status as a veteran and Foster’s return from the devastating knee injury that sidelined him for all of the 2019 season. Foster could also play the MIKE position too, but the team currently views him as an outside linebacker.

Ryan Anderson can back up Holcomb at the SAM position, which fits his natural strengths (setting the edge in run defense and trying to get pressure on the quarterback). He will also play on the defensive line at times which gives the team more freedom to keep eight linebackers.

Kevin Pierre-Louis, Shaun Dion Hamilton, and Khaleke Hudson are more of the Wild Cards in this rotation. Pierre-Louis should see plenty of action on special teams and could help man the middle linebacker position with Bostic given the success he found in three starts in Chicago last year.

As for Hamilton and Hudson, their roles are less clear. But Hamilton is a heady player who served well as a backup last year and should be retained while Hudson, a fifth-round rookie, should be an excellent special teams player.

It’s hard to figure which players Washington may opt to cut at linebacker. They have a lot of potential-packed options and perhaps one could become trade bait as they cut the roster down to 53. But for the time being, we’ll assume they’ll carry extra players at the position, especially since Anderson can serve as a hybrid player.

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