3 bold predictions for Commanders WR Curtis Samuel in 2022
By Jerry Trotta
When Washington Commanders fans hear the name Curtis Samuel, they can’t help but grimace a little bit. Signed to a three-year, $35.4 million deal, including $23 million guaranteed, last offseason, the talented receiver wound up playing less than 100 snaps due to a mysterious groin injury that surfaced in the offseason.
In Samuel’s defense, Washington’s handling of the injury didn’t do him any favors. Instead of simply shutting him down and putting him on injured reserve, the coaching staff instilled a day-by-day and week-by-week approach.
The injury never fully healed and when Samuel did play he looked like a shell of the dynamic playmaker that haunted defenses in Carolina. And when he finally strung a few games together, a hamstring injury knocked him out for the rest of the year.
To say the upcoming season is make-or-break for Samuel is dead accurate, but there’s reason to believe he’ll prove his doubters wrong. The Commanders load managing his practice reps seems to be working in spades and Samuel got in a full week of practice after the team’s first preseason game.
Approaching such a huge season for his Commanders future, let’s delve into some bold Samuel predictions for the 2022 campaign.
3 bold predictions for Commanders WR Curtis Samuel in 2022
3. More Receiving Yards Than Jahan Dotson
This might not come across as bold, but Dotson has seemingly asserted himself as Washington’s No. 2 receiver opposite Terry McLaurin.
With three hungry mouths to feed, it’s tough to predict how the target share will be divided, but there should be enough targets to go around now that Scott Turner has a quarterback who can properly run the Air Coryell offense .
This prediction isn’t an indictment on Dotson, but he’s a rookie and might need an adjustment period to adapt to the talent of NFL defensive backs. It’s one thing to dominate training camp against your teammates. It’s something entirely different to hit the ground running in the regular season.
Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are unicorns in that regard.
Still, this prediction is more a vote of confidence in Samuel to bounce back from his injury-riddled 2021 than anything else. What makes it bold? Dotson is more of an outright receiver, whereas Samuel will be used in a variety of roles so his catch and yard output is impossible to predict.