Washington Football Team: Final 53-man roster prediction

Specialists

Current roster: Dustin Hopkins, Tress Way, Camaron Cheeseman

If Hopkins continues to struggle, perhaps another kicker will come in to challenge him, but until that happens, this group is set.

Final roster (3): Hopkins, Way, Cheeseman

The Bubble 

I currently have 49 spots locked in. That leaves four open. There are no more position battles. This comes down to where you want to keep an extra player or two. I have six guys competing for those four spots – Peyton Barber, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Ricky Seals-Jones, Casey Toohill, David Mayo, and Jeremy Reaves. I’m keeping Seals-Jones for his experience. I’m keeping Mayo for the same reason.

I just flat-out like Jeremy Reaves. Out of the remaining three, it’s a coin flip for me, but I will go with Barber, a no-nonsense guy who stays healthy and will play special teams for you. That’s my final 53.

Practice Squad

The vast majority of the PS will come from the final cuts. COVID rules remain in place, which offers a lot of flexibility. More slots (16), and more slots available to veterans. And you can protect four players week-to-week so it is easier to stash a promising prospect without having him poached by another team.

A couple spots will undoubtedly go to a player cut by another team, but ignoring that for now, here’s who I’m keeping.

Kyle Allen, Jonathan Williams, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Dax Milne, Temarrick Hemingway, Beau Benzschawel, David Sharpe, Casey Toohill, William Bradley-King, Daniel Wise, Devaroe Lawrence, Jordan Kunaszyk, Darrick Forrest, Cole Luke, Danny Johnson, and a kicker-to-be-named-later.

I’m stashing Allen in case one of the two QBs goes down. He can step right in. I don’t think Steven Montez has shown enough to merit a spot. Time to move on. The others represent a mix of young vets who have played in the big leagues and can step up in a pinch, and developmental guys with upside potential.

I expect some teams to stash a second kicker on the expanded practice squad, but if a guy like Ryan Succop (currently on the COVID reserve list in Tampa) or promising youngster Austin Seibert (Cincinnati) were to become available, I’d snap him up. Both those kickers are competing against well-regarded rookies for a roster spot.

That’s my roster. What’s yours?