WFT gets back Allen, Fuller, Curl
However, 5 coaches to miss Sunday’s game against Dallas
In a major boost to its depth and defense, the Washington Football Team activated starting cornerback Kendall Fuller, starting safety Kam Curl, backup quarterback Kyle Allen and backup linebacker Milo Eifler from the COVID-19 reserve list Friday morning.
Washington’s COVID-19 list, once at 26 players, is now down to five — though two of players on it, right guard Brandon Scherff and linebacker Cole Holcomb, are starters.
The team also announced five coaches would miss the game at Dallas on Sunday night because of COVID protocols. Four of them — Chris Harris (defensive backs), Brent Vieselmeyer (assistant defensive backs/nickel), Vincent Rivera (defensive quality control) and Cristian Garcia (defensive coaching intern) — missed the loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday as well, while Jim Hostler (senior offensive assistant) was a new addition.
On defense, Fuller and Curl returning is important because Washington, which has lost two straight games, ruled out top cornerback William Jackson III (calf ) and safety/ linebacker Landon Collins (foot). Coach Ron Rivera said Jackson and Collins “could be out a little bit longer” than just Sunday night’s game.
Washington also listed running back Antonio Gibson (toe) and receiver Curtis Samuel (hamstring) as questionable. Rivera said even though Gibson’s injury is similar to the turf toe that forced him to miss two games last year, the running back seems better prepared to handle it this year.
“He says that it doesn’t feel like it did last year,” Rivera said.
In Jackson’s absence, Fuller will likely step into the top cornerback role, which he held last year, though for a zone-heavy defense such as Washington’s, it likely won’t mean shadowing the opponent’s top receiver. The wide corner opposite him will probably be Darryl Roberts, a veteran who hadn’t played a defensive snap this season until he took all 71 in Tuesday’s loss to Philadelphia. The nickel corner would likely be Danny Johnson, and Corn Elder would be the team’s top reserve.
“We like what we got from Darryl Roberts last week,” Rivera said. “We feel that we’re in a good spot now that we got Kendall Fuller back as well in our secondary.”
Fuller said he felt weak and “achy” during his stint on the COVID list and that it was frustrating to watch the loss in Philadelphia from home on his couch. He texted with Curl during the game and was excited to return to practice Friday. He said he wasn’t worried that the time off would affect his stamina.
“You got to play a full game,” he said. “It’s end of the season, we got to win.”
Curl, a versatile safety, could replace Collins. In Week 13 at Las Vegas, the only game Collins has missed this season, Washington opted to not move Curl and instead use two players to fill Collins’ hybrid role, known as the “Buffalo nickel.” But neither of those players, linebacker Khaleke Hudson or safety Deshazor Everett, will be available Sunday. Hudson is on injured reserve with an ankle injury, and Everett was hospitalized Thursday night following a car crash, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff ’s
Department.
Before the team changed Collins’ role earlier this season, Curl had regularly played Buffalo nickel. Even when Collins, Curl and free safety Bobby McCain are on the field together now, the trio can disguise coverages and switch into each other’s positions, so it’d be a natural transition for Curl — especially because the safeties behind him, Jeremy Reaves and Darrick Forrest, haven’t shown the same position flexibility.
Allen’s return, one day after starter Taylor Heinicke came off the COVID-19 list, means Washington will likely carry three quarterbacks for at least the next two games. If a team signs a player off another team’s practice squad, as Washington did with Garrett Gilbert, it must keep him on the roster for three weeks.
After practice Friday, Rivera said he thought Heinicke “looked fresh” and only had one regrettable pass.
“I thought he looked good and crisp in practice,” Rivera said. “I thought Kyle looked good in practice as well. Getting those guys back and getting it back out there, I think brought a little energy to both sides of the ball.”