Geron Christian: ‘I should have prepared harder’ early in Washington Football Team career

Geron Christian spoke about his early struggles in his first two NFL seasons with the Washington Football Team.

So far at the Washington Football Team’s training camp, Geron Christian has been one of the team’s biggest surprises. The third-year pro was considered to be a dark horse to factor into the left tackle battle, but instead, he has vastly exceeded expectations.

Right now, it looks like Christian is on track to start for the team after looking good at camp, by all accounts. Given that he wasn’t considered a roster lock coming into the season, that is a massive improvement.

So, where did this big jump come from? Per ESPN’s John Keim, Christian said that he didn’t have the right mindset early in his career when looking for playing time.

Christian certainly was buried on the depth chart early in his career, as Trent Williams, Morgan Moses, and Ty Nsekhe were in front of him. So, it was fair for him to assume that he may not play much as a rookie.

That said, the NFL is the ultimate next man up league, and players have to be ready to step in when their names are called. Whether Washington was deep at the position or not, Christian had to prepare like he was starting. Clearly, Christian wasn’t ready to do that early in his career. The results showed it.

But now, under a new coaching staff and with a redefined mindset, it appears that he is ready. Now, Washington fans won’t know officially know that until he gets on the field in a regular-season game, but if his attitude and preparation have truly changed, perhaps he can find a way to hold down the starting job at the left tackle position.

Some players take longer to develop than others. Sometimes, it’s about physical maturation. Sometimes, it’s about mental preparation. For Christian, it seems that he has finally made progress in the latter category, as he admitted. And that should help Washington in their quest to find a new left tackle.