The Washington Redskins were hit with some devastating news despite beating the Cleveland Browns 20-17 in Week 1 preseason action. Tight end Niles Paul unfortunately suffered a season-ending ankle injury that will see him do his best to rebound for the 2016 NFL season. Not only did Paul dislocate his ankle, he broke it too. The Redskins not only lost a valuable part of their offense but they also lost a team leader that helped keep everyone in check during key offensive drives of football games.
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Paul was coming off his best season yet that saw him total 507 yards on 39 receptions for a touchdown. Since Paul was averaging 13.0 yards per catch, he was a safety net for quarterback Robert Griffin III when it came to coming through with clutch receptions to keep those chains moving.
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Not only will the Redskins have a major loss to fill, it will absolutely hurt their pass protection and run blocking schemes as Paul was exceeding expectations with his ability to block consistently. Griffin is heading into a potential make-or-break season for his career and losing one of his main go-to options on offense might very well hinder how he does this upcoming season.
With Paul now out, looking at the Redskins’ depth chart at tight end doesn’t seem too promising that they’ll be able to bounce back at the position. Paul’s backup in Jordan Reed can’t be expected to fill the void since he also has issues staying healthy for the duration of the regular season.
Reed is recovering from knee surgery he had earlier this off-season and is also dealing with a hamstring issue as he might be thrown into a starting role with one big question mark if he’ll even be able to step up and deliver as many hoped Paul would in 2015.
Logan Paulsen is also dealing with a severe toe injury and might have to get season-ending surgery to correct the issue. The Redskins might have consider hitting the market to find another tight end or two for depth purposes alone.
Sep 14, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins tight end Niles Paul (84) chatches a touchdown as Jacksonville Jaguars strong safety Chris Prosinski (42) defends during the second half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Jay Gruden planned to unleash more dual tight end formations this upcoming season but now that plan is out the window with a big piece of the strategy gone. The Redskins are doing their best to have a rebounding season since last year they went 4-12 and were dead last in the NFC East.
It’s tough to see a player that had major potential to have a breakout year go down in injury for the whole season. Unfortunately, injuries are indeed a part of the game but how the Redskins handle Paul’s loss will determine if they are able to rebound from all this and put plans in place to not miss a beat offensively.
Overall, the Redskins losing Paul for the upcoming season is a major blow not only from a production point of view but for all the leadership he brought to the table. Now it looks like the team will have to go back to the drawing board at tight end since they simply don’t have the quality depth to overcome his loss.
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