RICHMOND, Va. – It’s day two of Washington Redskins training camp in Richmond as the team prepares for a fresh start in 2019.
This year, some big names return to the field after suffering injuries last season.
The Redskins are a group loaded with talent and potential, especially given that they have a future Hall of Famer, Adrian Peterson, and one of the more popular and energetic players around, Derrius Guice.
The run production didn’t hit the gear that the Washington Redskins expected a year ago.
They had just drafted the explosive Guice from LSU in hopes of having a running core that could run and pass effectively with him and veteran Chris Thompson.
But that plan was altered after Guice tore his ACL in the first preseason game of 2018.
"It’s the hardest thing I’ve had to through in life, period. Doing what you love, finally getting here and getting to the NFL and your first game, you’re out for the whole year, like, it’s just mind-blowing," said Guice.
But all wasn’t lost.
Washington added veteran Peterson to the mix and watched him run for more than 1,000 yards.
The experienced back can now help the rising star rehab mentally. And with a clean bill of health, the Redskins know this could be a dangerous group of guys coming out of the backfield.
"I think anytime you have a future Hall of Famer on your roster and see how they’ve taken care of their body over the course of time like Adrian has, it’s a great example for these young backs," said head coach Jay Gruden.
"We have four running backs that are good route runners, as wel,l so it’s helping me get better by learning little things from them. It’s just great competition that will help us be better in the season," said Thompson.
"You know, I couldn’t be out there for OTAs so that killed me. So, now that it’s training camp, we’ll be in full pads soon, and I’ll be ready to. It’s exciting, like, it’s been a long year," said Guice.