Washington Football Team: What’s level of concern with Curtis Samuel’s injury?

The Washington Football Team‘s offense really held the squad back in 2020.

We obviously don’t mean any disrespect to Alex Smith, who completed one of the greatest comebacks of all time by playing in the NFL again after he nearly lost his leg, but it was a miracle in and of itself that he led Washington to a 5-1 record in his six starts last year.

The offense simply needed a shot in the arm after it ranked 30th in yards per game (317.3) and 25th in points per game (20.9) a season ago, and the front office responded by signing QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, speedy receiver Curtis Samuel, and slot WR Adam Humphries.

They also added wideout Dyami Brown in the third round of the draft. They’ll join a group that already had rising talents in Terry McLaurin, Antonio Gibson and Logan Thomas.

By every measure, the Football Team’s offense should be improved. However, should fans be concerned that Samuel still hasn’t practiced at training camp?

How concerned should WFT fans be about Curtis Samuel?

Ron Rivera scoffed at the idea that the team is concerned about Samuel, but it’s alarming the former second-round pick has been shelved for over two months with a groin issue. It helps Samuel that he played in Scott Turner’s system in Carolina, so the playbook shouldn’t be a problem. However, he still has to develop chemistry with his new teammates and QB.

To make matters worse for Samuel, who inked a three-year, $34 million deal with WFT this offseason, he landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after he was already working his way back from the physically unable to perform list. It’s been a week since the 24-year-old was placed in healthy and safety protocols, so let’s hope he’s activated off that in short order.

That still brings us back to the groin injury, though. Samuel has spent quite a bit of time on the sidelines for someone who’s dealing with a “minor” injury. It’s clearly taking longer to heal than doctors expected, and the last thing we want is for it to linger throughout the season.

Could that be why the Football team has held him out for this long? To minimize the risk of re-injuring it when he does return? Possibly, but we don’t know that for sure.

Again, it bodes well for Samuel that he already should have a decent understanding of the playbook and that Rivera coached him for three seasons in Carolina. However, we’d feel a lot better about Samuel’s outlook for 2021 if he had a full training camp.

While he might not be a rookie entering his first NFL season, he still needs to shake off the offseason rust and get his conditioning back up to speed before Week 1 of the regular season, which is quietly just a little over one month away.