The Washington Football Team could be in some trouble heading into their Week 17 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Starting cornerback William Jackson III is out with a calf injury, the second consecutive game he has missed.
Fortunately for Washington, Kendall Fuller is back. Fuller missed the Week 15 game against the Eagles due to COVID-19. However, outside of Fuller and Danny Johnson, Washington has depth issues against a team that finished with over 500 yards of total offense against them only two weeks ago.
One of Washington’s corners, Darryl Roberts, is currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Washington could elevate veteran D.J. Hayden from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.
Considering Washington’s cornerback depth at the beginning of the season, it’s remarkable it heads into Week 17 with only two of the original six cornerbacks healthy: Fuller and Troy Apke, who plays almost exclusively on special teams.
Torry McTyer and Benjamin St-Juste were lost for the season, Roberts is on the COVID list, and Jackson will miss his fourth game of the season. Johnson was elevated from the practice squad and has played well for Washington.
Washington coach Ron Rivera spoke to the media Friday and acknowledged concerns about his team’s depth at cornerback.
“Well, it’s very thin right now,” Rivera said about cornerback. “We’re a little concerned obviously, just hoping that we can keep everybody healthy through this weekend, and we’ll get those guys back next week, and we’ll go from there. But, it is a little precarious.”
Rivera did express confidence in Hayden, a former first-round pick and nine-year NFL veteran.
“You see a lot of the savvy vet come into play,” Rivera said of Hayden. “The way he goes through his progressions as a corner and the techniques he uses, you can see that he’s a veteran guy that knows how to play certain things.”
It’s good Rivera likes what he sees from Hayden because it’s very likely he’ll need to play a significant number of snaps Sunday.