Washington Football Team signs LB Jordan Kunaszyk to the practice squad

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 06: Jordan Kunaszyk #43 of the Carolina Panthers before their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Bank of America Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 06: Jordan Kunaszyk #43 of the Carolina Panthers before their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Bank of America Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /
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Jordan Kunaszyk has been signed to the Washington Football Team’s practice squad.

The Washington Football Team had an open spot on their practice squad to fill before Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. After placing Brandon Scherff on IR as he is set to miss time with a knee injury, the team elevated Cam Sims to the active roster to create the opening.

On Saturday morning, Washington filled that spot. According to the team’s official Twitter account, the team signed linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk to the practice squad. The former undrafted free agent from California had previously played on Ron Rivera’s Carolina Panthers in 2019.

Kunaszyk was able to make the Panthers’ team last year as an undrafted free agent largely thanks to his play on special team. He only played seven defensive snaps for the Panthers last year, but he logged action on 35 percent of the team’s special teams snaps despite playing only nine games. Overall, he recorded seven tackles for the team.

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The addition of Kunaszyk is a smart one for Washington. They could use some extra depth at the linebacker position with Cole Holcomb absent due to a knee injury, so adding Kunaszyk, a player who is familiar with Ron Rivera’s system, makes sense.

Washington may opt to use a practice squad call-up on a linebacker to provide that extra depth on special teams with Holcomb out. Last week, they brought up Jared Norris to the gameday roster. This week, they could do the same or they could give Kunaszyk a chance to play for the team.

Either way, having extra linebacker depth amid injuries will be important, as teams can only call up players from the practice squad four times without having to subject players to waivers. So, Kunaszyk’s presence will afford them the opportunity to alternate calling him and Norris up if they want to make sure they can safely keep both.

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Kunaszyk doesn’t figure to be a game-changer, but given that he’s just 23, he has a lot of room for potential improvement. He could be a nice developmental project, core special teamer, and depth piece for Washington to work with this year.