Redskins Warpath – August 2019

all despite some positive moments in his rookie year.
Perine struggled to hold onto the football consis-
tently on a team with absolutely no margin for error.
In addition, he’s not a great receiver or a stud in pass
protection along while not contributing on special
teams.
That often means Perine was inactive on game
days. Perine was deactivated 11 times last year and in
his five games, racked up only eight attempts for 32
yards and three catches for a paltry 5 yards. Not good,
Bob.
However, it must be pointed out Gruden has
praised Perine repeatedly, even when not directly
asked. “I think Samaje [Perine] really has been the guy
that has been most impressive,” Gruden told reporters
this month. “He’s been out here [mini-camp] taking
all the reps. He’s really improved in not only the run-
ning game, but also in the passing game.”
Gruden went on to cite Byron Marshall, Thompson
and others, but Gruden seems to like something about
Perine as more than just a warm body. There’s some
evidence to this in the past as well, as it must be
pointed out that Peterson did not directly replace
Guice, but he was only added when Perine went down
to an ankle injury the following week.
That means Gruden and perhaps others on the
coaching staff weren’t convinced Peterson was a better
replacement than Perine. It could lead to more of an
opportunity for Perine in camp and certainly in the
preseason to see if he can force his way onto the roster
as a third halfback.
The problem? There are no pads and tackling in

May and June. It’s limited in training camp until the

games and then tackling and opponents in August are

not as good as they are in September and beyond. Per-

ine can look the part, as he usually does, until it mat-

ters. Then, will he disappear?

Thompson’s health is always a question. A physical

position has not been kind to the swiss-army knife

weapon the former Florida State back is. Thompson

missed six games in 2018 and while he looked fresh

in the first two weeks, as both a runner and receiver,

was quickly neutralized for the most part after that. In-

deed, 19 of 41 receptions came to start the year.

Who will answer the bell in September for the Red-

skins? To reach expectations, it needs to be Guice.

AUGUST 6, 2019Warpath 13

HEALTHY

RETURN

Second-rounder

Derrius Guice looks

to bounce back from

his torn ACL in the

2018 preseason

game against the

Patriots..