As the Washington Redskins take on the Baltimore Ravens up at M&T Bank Stadium for their last preseason game, there over 30 players who will play tonight for their careers. The deadline to reduce the roster to 53 men is just a few days away (Sept. 1 at 4 p.m.) and, because the starters traditionally do not play in this game, the backups and bubble guys who will take the field will want to be at their best.
Players like WRs Trey Quinn and Cam Sims, late-round draft picks Troy Apke (safety) and Greg Stroman (CB) are closer to making the roster than some of the less-mentioned players who have, mostly, worked just as hard but haven’t gotten as much attention.
Here are three unheralded Redskins to watch versus the Ravens tonight:
1. Wideout Shay Fields
At 5-10 and 181 lbs., Fields does not possess imposing stature. However, the undrafted college free agent out of Colorado was a good college receiver. He led the Buffaloes in receiving yards with 819 his senior year and was second in receptions with 50. He ranked fourth in the conference in receiving yards and was fifth in touchdown receptions (nine).
“Big play Shay,” as they called him at Colorado, appeared to have adequate speed during training camp (although I never saw him turn on the back-burners after the catch, I might have missed it) and, while all the receivers dropped a few passes, he made some good ones. He seemed to use his body well to shield the ball from defenders and had a catching motion that would snatch the ball away from DBs at the last second. While raw, to be sure, he displayed good tracking skills which means a better chance of making over-the-shoulder receptions.
Again, however, he’s not huge and, with the competition at receiver in Washington, making the roster would be difficult.
2. Cornerback Ranthony Texada
Another undrafted college free agent, this time out of TCU, Texada did make a little noise at training camp this year. In fact, head coach Jay Gruden mentioned him a few times during his pressers, saying he was doing a good job.
Unfortunately for a lot of the backup guys, the Redskins CB position – while not set for starters – has some depth with nine guys currently on the roster. A first-team All-Big 12 honoree as a senior, Texada doesn’t have the length that guys like Quinton Dunbar or Josh Norman have but he is durable. Last season, Texada’s 40 career starts were the most among active Horned Frogs. In the NFL, availability is essential.
He is physical and has dynamite ball skills according to the defensive staff at TCU. Most rookies (unless they’re from Alabama) are raw, but they still can display talent and Texada looked good, at least against the third string players, in zone coverage and appeared fluid in his movement. Gruden also said he was an extremely hard worker.
3. Inside linebacker Jerod Fernandez
This North Carolina alum did some nice things during training camp as well as during the preseason. He is likely a serious candidate for the Redskins practice squad. He was a solid tackler at school and seemed to locate and evaluate the action during plays quickly.
In his senior year, he recorded 99 total tackles (43 solo, 56 assists), with nine of those for a loss. He also logged 1.5 sacks and a pass defended. Some will note that a lot of this is because the Denver Broncos first-round draft pick, DL Bradley Chubb, was a teammate but many also say that Fernandez is one of the most underrated rookie linebackers in the league.