Curtis Samuel gives puzzling update on health after regular-season finale

This might feel like deja vu for fans, but the Washington Football Team has major question marks at wide receiver for the second-straight offseason.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but here we are.

Dyami Brown, the club’s third-round pick out of North Carolina, was a non-factor all year. The rookie appeared in 15 games, but played just 34% of the offensive snaps and tallied just 12 receptions for 165 yards and zero touchdowns.

The real disappointment, though, was Curtis Samuel.

After being regarded as one of the most exciting signings of any team in the league, Samuel couldn’t stay on the field. That almost might be pushing it. The former second-round pick couldn’t even get on the field.

If you were let down by Samuel’s debut season, you can only imagine how frustrating it was for him. In his end-of-season presser on Monday, the 25-year-old expressed disappointment over not being there for his teammates.

Later on, though, Samuel gave a positive update on his health that is guaranteed to disorient the fan base.

Washington wide receiver Curtis Samuel is feeling good. Too bad the season’s over.

"“Going into the offseason, I’m mentally focused and locked in and really ready to go,” Samuel told reporters. “I haven’t felt this way in a really long time. I’m going to put in so much work to try to put myself and the team in the best position next year to win games.”"

Oh, so NOW Samuel feels great and the best he has all season? Just days after the season ended? That’s great. We were ready to move on and root for better things in Year 2, but this comment is just infuriating.

If my memory serves me correct, Washington had a game Sunday and Samuel wasn’t on injured reserve. Assuming he’s felt this good for more than 24 hours, why couldn’t he see the field for at least a couple snaps?

Did Ron Rivera and the rest of the coaching staff decide behind closed doors to shut him down after they were eliminated from playoff contention? If so, they should’ve done so in a public setting so there was no room for speculation.

Now, fans have questions, and rightly so.

Now that the dust has settled on Samuel’s first year in Washington, let’s run through a timeline of his injury-riddled campaign.

In the offseason, Samuel signed a three-year, $34.5 million contract, including $23 million in guaranteed money. From there it was all downhill.

A groin injury in the summer caused Samuel to miss most of training camp. He either suffered a setback or was shut down every time Ron Rivera hinted that he was nearing a return and he started the season on injured reserve.

We were against it, but Samual was activated in Week 4, playing 37% of the snaps while catching four passes for 19 yards. Not a good game by any stretch, but a sign of encouragement for things to come.

The only problem? That was the most Samuel played and contributed in any game this campaign.

From there, he missed the next five games — while somehow avoiding a stint on injured reserve —  before returning in Week 12. He appeared in the next three games, notching two catches for eight yards over a 25% snap share.

We’re not sure when or where it happened, but Samuel suffered a hamstring injury over that stretch and we never saw him again.

There’s no denying the frustration behind Samuel’s season, but nothing good can come from holding it against him. It clearly took a toll on him mentally and it’s not like players can control when or how injuries happen.

The best thing we can do is take his comments to heart and trust that he, when fully-healthy, can be a difference-maker for this offense.

We’ll believe it when we see it.