Washington Football Team finalizes initial 53-man roster

The buildup has come to a halt. The Washington Football Team’s 53-man roster for the 2020 regular season has been set.

Ron Rivera and the Washington Football Team spent the majority of the past few weeks evaluating their players through padded practices at training camp. The lack of a preseason prevented the team from gleaning as much information as it could from the late summer months, but when it came to cut day, they were still tasked with making crucial decisions on the team’s future.

Some tough decisions ultimately loomed, and some big names ultimately fell short of qualifying for the squad, but the Washington Football Team has officially finalized its initial 53-man roster for the 2020 regular season. Below, you’ll see the roster broken down by position, courtesy of the team’s official Twitter account.

For some of the final decisions, insights into training camp action gave us an idea of who would make it. Fringe additions like Greg Stroman, Kevin Pierre-Louis, and Marcus Baugh helped themselves with productive training camp stints, and other top performers like Troy Apke found themselves comfortably within the bounds of the roster.

Some roster additions were less easily foreseen, however. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the retainment of undrafted free agent wide receiver Isaiah Wright, who joined Antonio Gandy-Golden, Steven Sims, Terry McLaurin, and Dontrelle Inman in the wide receiver room.

The buzz surrounding Wright was largely kept behind closed doors, but he did take action as a returner at training camp, and coaches reportedly liked his dynamic ability and creativity as a runner. He did enough to crack the initial lineup, and now he’ll presumably provide versatility as an offensive weapon who can also contribute on special teams.

Another key storyline on the roster front is the inclusion of quarterback Alex Smith. Smith miraculously worked his way back after suffering a life-threatening leg injury, and for now, he remains not on injured reserve, but on the 53-man roster. Smith, who’s been a mentor to young quarterback Dwayne Haskins and an inspiration to onlookers across the nation, will continue to be a crucial part of the team’s locker room.

While there’s a sense of finality in the development of the final roster, the Washington Football Team isn’t done making moves. They’ll have some players revert to injured reserve after cut day, so that those players have the option to return after Week 3. They’ll also be signing 16 players to their practice squad, where they can continue to develop less seasoned players.

For more information on the coming developments, as well as the biggest takeaways from the roster finalization process, be sure to stick with us here at Riggo’s Rag.