Washington Football Team places wide receiver Steven Sims on IR

The Washington Football Team placed Steven Sims on IR and made a couple of corresponding moves on Friday.

Steven Sims missed the Washington Football Team’s Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens while dealing with a toe injury. While there was some hope that the injury wouldn’t sideline him long-term, it appears that he will, in fact, be out for a while.

According to the team’s official website, Sims was placed on IR on Friday. That means that Sims will be out for at least three games while he recovers from that pesky toe injury.

That obviously isn’t ideal for Washington. Sims was supposed to step into the No. 2 target behind Terry McLaurin after Kelvin Harmon (ACL) was lost during the offseason, but that hasn’t yet materialized, in part, because of his injury.

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With Sims out, Washington doesn’t have a logical player ready to step up into that No. 2 role. Rookies Antonio Gandy-Golden and Isaiah Wright have the most upside of any players currently on the team, but are they ready for bigger roles? That remains to be seen. Dontrelle Inman is around as well but save for a two-TD performance against the Browns, he hasn’t done much this year.

Perhaps Sims’ absence will continue to allow Antonio Gibson to emerge in the passing game. The rookie running back is coming off a career-high 82 receiving yards and looked explosive against the Ravens. Maybe he’ll be the one that steps up to fill the void.

Either way, it looks like it will have to be someone that is already on the Washington roster. The corresponding move to Sims’ placement on IR was elevating guard Joshua Garnett from the practice squad to the active roster.

Garnett will provide some needed, veteran depth on the line and could replace Wes Martin at left guard if he continues to struggle. Conversely, Garnett could also start at right guard if Wes Schweitzer (elbow) can’t suit up on Sunday. If both Wes’ can play, Garnett would then be a top backup on the interior O-Line.

The final move that Washington made was to replace Garnett on the practice squad. They signed kicker/punter Kaare Vedvik who was once a preseason wonder for the Ravens but has since bounced around the league looking for a home. Since Vedvik can serve as either a kicker or punter, he’s a good resource to keep around just in case Dustin Hopkins or Tress Way get banged up.

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Losing Sims isn’t ideal at all for Washington. They made some nice moves to address their depth in other areas, but the wide receiver position will be one to watch, as the team will need to get the most out of their young players to have a shot at fielding a competitive passing game.

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