ASHBURN, Va. — The Redskins are in the middle of their third and final week of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) with one more session to come on Thursday. They will conclude the offseason program next week with a mandatory three-day minicamp at Redskins Park before training camp begins at the end of July.
The team had near perfect attendance on Wednesday. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson was absent after being at practice earlier this week. When he was on the field, Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay both said Jackson looked like he picked up right where he left off last year and was “faster than ever.”
As far as next week’s minicamp?
“We expect him to be here next week,” Gruden said.
Tackle Trent Williams was held out with strep throat. Tight end Jordan Reed did not participate as coaches gave him a day off.
Keeping in mind that these are practices in helmets and shorts, one thing that you can take away is that Kirk Cousins has benefited from having a full offseason as the starting quarterback. You can see how comfortable he is and coaches can as well.
“He’s obviously playing with a lot of confidence, having a lot of fun,” Gruden said. “He’s got great command of the offense, that’s the one thing that you notice. He’s got great command over the formations. He’s got great command on the snap count, and that’s something he didn’t so much have the first year I was here and even last year in this time of year.”
Being more comfortable, coaches are able to put Cousins in more specific situations in practice.
“I’m trying to challenge him situationally, you know?” Gruden said. “Backed up, red zone, third down, fourth down, two-point plays, all of it and trying to see how he handles them.”
Also on the offensive side of the ball we are getting a chance to see Matt Jones as the number one back with the departure of Alfred Morris. It’s no secret that his fumblitis was something that plagued him last year, and the coaches are working hard with him to cure that. One thing they are doing is having him use a special football during drills.
“[Running backs coach] Randy Jordan found a specific football where you have got to have the five points of pressure and it makes a specific beep,” offensive coordinator Sean McVay explained. “If it’s not beeping, he’s yelling at Matt all the time. So you’re always hearing him beep in those individual drills.”
Hey, whatever works, right?
One of the matchups that everyone is waiting to see is Josh Norman vs. DeSean Jackson. We will get a chance next week to witness that at minicamp, but their first interactions this week have been cordial.
“The first day was cool,” Norman said. “The second day he came out and gave me that work. I enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing more of that.”
Norman prides himself as a guy that loves going against the best and always having a chance to get better by doing that. Needless to say, he was disappointed Jackson wasn’t there for that reason.
“I was like, ‘Dang, this guy,’ I called him up and he didn’t answer my phone call,” he said in a joking manner. “It’s cool though, to each his own. If he doesn’t want to be here, he ain’t got to be here. It’s voluntary.”
Norman also said that after three weeks of practices he feels more comfortable each day with the game plan and what the coaches are expecting of him. He’s excited for next week to keep progressing.
One other note from the day was that rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson is still on the sidelines, mainly watching and doing individual drills while resting his Achilles.
He rushed back from an Achilles injury suffered in minicamp and injured his foot last week. Gruden said it’s important for him to be on the field but he’s getting a ton of work done off the field in meeting rooms and Doctson said he’s watching extra film to help him be ready when he’s able to take the field.
