Washington Football Team: A pre-camp look at Steven Sims Jr.

With camp and the preseason opening in the coming weeks, the Washington Football Team will begin to pare down its roster to its regular season core.

One pressing issue for the Washington Football Team: The number of wide receivers on the roster.

Washington’s team website currently lists 12 wide receivers on the roster. While some will certainly be moved to the practice squad and off the active roster, the franchise will likely be looking to this group for preseason roster cuts.

The top of the depth chart is essentially etched in stone. Terry McLaurin is among the most talented young receivers in the NFL and has been the top receiver on the team pretty much since he was drafted in 2019. Fellow Buckeye Curtis Samuel, who previously played under head coach Ron Rivera in Carolina, inked a three-year, $34.5 million contract this offseason. His proven talent, history with Rivera, and recent contract signing make Samuel the clear No. 2 to McLaurin.

From there, decisions get a little murkier. Rookies Dyami Brown and Dax Milne will likely get ample targets in the preseason to try to earn a roster spot. Veteran Cam Sims shined in many opportunities last season, putting up a career year and showing his ability as a third option. Free agent signing Adam Humphries has proven to be a solid player in the NFL and will also vie for playing time.

Also competing for playing time is third-year man Steven Sims Jr. With the signings of Samuel and Humphries, coupled with a lackluster 2020 season, it is Steven Sims Jr. who appears to be the most in danger of being a veteran cut come August.

Sims regressed slightly in yards in 2020 compared to his rookie campaign. Through his career, Sims has played in 28 games and recorded 575 yards and five touchdowns. His sole regular season touchdown of 2020 came on a three-yard pass from Alex Smith against the Bengals in November, although he added his first career playoff touchdown in the loss to Tampa Bay.

Sims, who entered the league undrafted, has been able to produce well for a player with a bit of an uphill climb to make the league. However, Sims displayed some troubling miscues in 2020. On 39 targets, Sims dropped three passes. Additionally, Sims showed some problems late in the season on returning kicks, losing several fumbles on punt returns throughout 2020. As the season went on and the fumble problem continued, Washington appeared to shift away from having Sims return punts.

Humphries seems primed to fill Sims’ role. He has experience fielding punts and kicks, although he did not return any kicks in 2020. Sims has returned a kickoff for a touchdown before – something Humphries has never done – but in the modern NFL, kickoff and punt returns are more about ball security than explosiveness. Ultimately, Humphries’ experience and ball control give him the edge over Sims entering camp.

The financials also make sense for the Washington Football Team. Sims is entering the final year of a three-year, $1.77 million contract. If the franchise cuts Sims, the team will save $850,000 on the cap and suffer a $5,000 dead cap hit – pennies in the world of NFL contracts.

Washington is no stranger to cutting tenured players in favor of new signees or draft picks. Last season, the Washington Football Team made a surprise move by cutting future-Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson in favor of rookie Antonio Gibson. That move ended up paying dividends, as Gibson had one of the most productive rushing seasons in recent franchise history and proved to be a promising running back. Although Sims carries a lot more potential than an aging Peterson did, the parallels of prioritizing new players are there.

For these reasons, many eyes are on Sims as camp nears. Some writers, including ESPN’s John Keim, point to Sims as the veteran most in danger of being cut.

Regardless, as a 24-year-old receiver, Sims still has many NFL games to go. If Washington ends up cutting him, there will certainly be teams that will look to add him to their wide receiver groups. In a crowded field like the one in Washington, players on the edge like Sims are facing an August where they must work to stand out above the pack to make the team. There is no doubt that Sims could do that, but entering camp, he appears to be the most vulnerable to falling below the cut line.