What to watch for at Washington Football Team training camp
2. Who is returning punts?
The punt returner position may be the most underrated weaknesses for the Washington Football Team. In 2020, the position was rather costly to the team at some of the worst times.
There was the fumbled punt-return from Steven Sims against the Cardinals that took nearly all the wind out of the sails in the Week 2 matchup for Washington. Isaiah Wright’s muffed punt against the Giants in Week 10 gave the Giants great field position inside the 20 and New York later waltzed into the endzone.
Or the most costly of them all, the muffed punt from Steven Sims against the Panthers in the penultimate regular-season game, that bounced into the endzone and was recovered by Carolina for a touchdown. Washington lost that game 20-15.
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A victory would have clinched the NFC East, instead, their celebration was pushed to the final week of the season.
Keeping an eye out for who will fill the role of punt returner for Washington seems trivial. However, it is a very important position. Some players to watch for are the two aforementioned players, Sims and Wright, as well as Danny Johnson, the team’s kick returner, Adam Humphries, and undrafted rookie free agent running back Jaret Patterson.
When seeking an answer for what could be a costly weakness, Washington just needs a reliable set of hands to field the punts. If the player is capable of ripping off a decent return every so often, that is only a bonus. But a reliable set of hands should be the priority.
The Washington Football Team is too talented of a team to have special teams set either side of the ball back. During both the preseason and training camp keep track of who is returning punts. As 2020 proved, it matters.