Flashback to Week 1 for a minute. That’s when Wendell Smallwood made some in-jest comments about “whooping” on his old team.
It didn’t happen. In fact, Smallwood didn’t see a single carry in Week 1 at Lincoln Financial Field despite being active for the game. Instead, the running back was relegated to a special-teams role.
That doesn’t appear to be the case on Sunday as the Redskins may need Smallwood to take on a larger role with Derrius Guice on injured reserve.
Veteran Adrian Peterson will draw the start and the future Hall of Famer needs only 66 yards to surpass Curtis Martin on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. He is also just 292 yards away from achieving his ninth 1,000-yard season.
But the 34-year-old will need to rest and Washington will turn to Smallwood and backup Chris Thompson to spell him. Smallwood has 19 carries for 76 yards this season.
THANK YOU PHILLY ! Forever .
“He’s a great character person and player,” Redskins coach Bill Callahan told reporters, via the News Journal. “He’s got great makeup. His best trait is his availability and his dependability. He shows up every day, works hard, focused, concentrates, not only as a running back, but on our special teams as well.”
Redskins Top Pass-Rusher Ruled Out
The Eagles’ opponent this week may be more banged up than they are.
The Redskins placed Ryan Kerrigan on injured reserve on Friday, thus ending the linebacker’s season. Kerrigan has routinely killed the Eagles, with 11.5 sacks in 17 career games versus Philadelphia.
The #Redskins have placed Ryan Kerrigan on the reserve/injured list.
In addition to Kerrigan, Washington will be without two of their three starting receivers in Paul Richardson Jr. (hamstring) and Trey Quinn (concussion). Rookies Kelvin Harmon and Steven Sims Jr. will join fellow rookie Terry McLaurin as the starting receivers for the Redskins.
Safety Montae Nicholson (ankle), cornerback Quinton Dunbar (hamstring) and guard Brandon Scherff (elbow/shoulder) are all listed as questionable.
Cornerbacks Fabian Moreau (hamstring) and Josh Norman (illness) are also questionable. Again, there is no reason for the Eagles to lose this one.
The Challenges of Facing Terry McLaurin
Terry McLaurin has quickly established himself as one of the top speed threats in football. The rookie out of Ohio State has 46 catches for 703 yards and six touchdowns.
Remember, McLaurin torched the Eagles’ secondary in Week 1 for 125 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. He was targeted seven times and was clocked at 21.2 miles-per-hour. The Eagles know they must be prepared to stop him at all costs.
The @Redskins are rolling!
@CaseKeenum launches a 70-yard TD to Terry McLaurin! #WASvsPHI
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“He has speed, he has hands. He’s sort of become their No. 1 guy,” said Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. “He’s taken on a bigger role as they’ve lost their tight ends. I think what we saw in the first game — sometimes a guy can have a great game and then sort of disappears, sort of a one-hit-wonder kind of game. That’s not the case with him.”
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Former Eagles RB Could be Speedy Difference-Maker for Redskins