Consider Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Doctson a bad investment if he goes another season unable to play.
Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Doctson must get healthy. Everyone has high hopes for the former TCU Horned Frogs standout. However, the Redskins need more than hope for performance from him.
The pace of his progress has been a story of unfortunate injury time after time. Even with a glimpse of his talent on the field during the preaseason, head coach Jay Gruden needs to start thinking if the guy is NFL ready.
With recent health issues affecting his hip, this only gets worse. However, there’s a mysterious cloud of protection around Doctson. According to Mike Jones of the Washington Post, Gruden sees the potential, and is patiently waiting to use it:
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"“He’s a very natural route runner. Very friendly quarterback target,” Gruden said. “He gets in and out breaks smooth, he gets his head around, gets the right depths, understands the route tree very well. He knows how to run everything. There’s not a route that he can’t run. We’ll see how it goes, but I feel very good about where he is mentally and his approach to running routes as a receiver.”"
Waiting is understandable if his final years at TCU are a snapshot of things to come. His inability to play becomes a problem when proven wide receivers like Jamison Crowder get hurt.
According to reports he’s having hip issues too, but it’s nothing serious. Washington Times reporter Nina Princiotti reported Friday that Crowder had no idea there was a possibility of not playing Week 1, so he’s suiting up unless something changes.
Obviously this will be a last-minute call before the game on what happens.
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The only way Doctson’s status gets any higher on the Redskins roster is playing the first half of the season. At least there will be more than sparks of potential shown that will justify his roster spot. Right now, he has nothing but the trust of leadership. That will keep his job, but won’t win over any fans.