Washington’s OTAs were open to the media on Wednesday, and two players were noticeably sidelined. Running back Antonio Gibson and wide receiver Curtis Samuel were out.
After Samuel played in only five games last season, his absence was a topic of conversation.
After practice, head coach Ron Rivera met with the media and was asked about Samuel.
“Curtis was a rest day [Wednesday] out of an abundance of caution,” Rivera said. “He had a real good day on Monday. Worked really hard, uh, came in the next day. He was a little bit tight, and in talking with him and, and, and talking with [Trainer] Al Bellamy, you know, we decided, hey, let’s just be smart. We’ve had a really good offseason. He’s participated; he’s been in the middle of everything. So, we backed off, and we thought we’d back off these two days, and we’re really looking forward to seeing him back up on the field on minicamp on Tuesday.”
Fans have a right to be worried after last season. It seemed like Rivera said similar things last season anytime Samuel would return to practice and then miss time again.
The Commanders realized they couldn’t go into the 2022 season counting on Samuel to be the No. 2 wide receiver opposite Terry McLaurin and spent a first-round pick on Jahan Dotson. So the team can use a more cautious approach in the offseason with Samuel and his return.
Rivera insisted this was nothing serious and he’s probably right. Why does Washington need to push Samuel in OTAs? The goal is a 100% Samuel in time for training camp next month.
Reporters also asked Rivera if Samuel’s soreness was in his groin, the injury that plagued him for all of 2021.
“No, the soreness is from the work,” Rivera answered. “Okay. He came in, he had, like I said, he had a really big day on Monday and when he came out, he just said, I feel tight, feel sore overall generally. And so that was just one of the things we just said, look, we’ve had a real good, real good run with him. Let’s just be smart. And let’s see if we can get him back ready to go on Tuesday.”
Soreness from the extra work makes sense. If Samuel is not on the field for next week’s minicamp then fans would have a reason to be concerned.