ASHBURN — It didn’t take long for someone to snatch up jersey No. 18.
The change hasn’t been officially approved by the NFL yet, but Redskins receiver Trey Quinn plans to switch his jersey number from No. 14 to No. 18, the number he wore in college. He sported No. 18 at practice Monday, two days after its former owner, Josh Doctson, missed the cut for Washington’s 53-man roster.
Coach Jay Gruden didn’t say how the coaches and front office made their final determination of Doctson’s fate, but called it “a tough deal for Josh.”
“Well, it’s a shame,” Gruden said. “Josh is a good player and I wish him nothing but the best. At the end of the day we decided to go with Terry (McLaurin) at the X and keep Paul Richardson. And obviously the other guys are Trey Quinn and Steve Sims really emerged late as a weapon for us. So those are the guys we went with.”
Doctson landed with another team Monday when the Minnesota Vikings reportedly signed him to a one-year deal, reuniting him with former Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins. Nonetheless, when Washington parted ways with Doctson, it was a clear indication that the team had lost faith in a high draft pick who failed to live up to expectations.
The 22nd overall pick out of TCU three years ago, Doctson amassed just 81 catches for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in 33 games with Washington.
With Doctson out the door, Richardson is the only experienced wideout on the roster, having played more NFL snaps than the rest of Washington’s options combined. Gruden said that didn’t concern him.
“I feel confident about the guys we have,” he said. “Trey Quinn I think is well-versed, very experienced, as far as knowledge of the offense so he’ll be fine. We’ve got to get Steven, Terry and obviously (Kelvin) Harmon up to speed.”
McLaurin, a rookie who only saw one snap during the preseason, becomes the de facto starter in Doctson’s old “X receiver” role, which lines up on the line of scrimmage usually on the weak side of the offense. Gruden said the staff feels McLaurin is ready to start, but added that he doesn’t have to be the nominal “starter” there.
“I mean, he could come in and we can start Paul Richardson over there,” Gruden said. “We can start Harmon at Z. We can do a lot of different things with our lineup. Trey Quinn can still play outside in base-personnel, two-receiver sets. So we have a lot of different options. They’re all gonna get a chance to play and make some plays.”
Meanwhile, tight end Vernon Davis gave McLaurin a ringing endorsement.
“He is my favorite player on the team,” Davis said. “He’s very dynamic, explosive. He’s fast. He does everything the right way … I look forward to seeing what he can bring to this team this year.”
The Redskins may need all the help they can get in the pass-catching department. No. 1 tight end Jordan Reed missed another day of practice and remains in the concussion protocol. No formal injury reports will be released until Wednesday.
Minus Doctson and with or without Reed, Washington’s aerial attack, with new starting quarterback Case Keenum, will be tested in Week 1 by safety Malcolm Jenkins and the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.