Commanders 'A Little Concerned' With Curtis Samuel Practice Injury
The Washington Commanders will need all of their offensive weapons healthy ahead of this season, especially considering the growing pains that second-year quarterback Sam Howell is still set to experience.
Washington receiver Curtis Samuel will be big in elevating the offense and Howell's play, but he'll first need to overcome some of the tightness he experienced at Sunday's practice that caused him to sit out for the remainder of the session. For a player with the injury history of Samuel, it's understandable if a small ailment gets put under a microscope and causes some concern, something that coach Ron Rivera admitted to.
“Yeah, just a little concerned," Rivera said. "He was complaining a little bit about getting tight, so we're just gonna be smart. We're going to slow some guys down. If we gotta take a guy and put him down for the rest of the day, we will."
Rivera said that Samuel had "seemed fine" at the start of practice, but a player of his projected workload and play style is more likely to feel uncomfortable from time to time.
"He got some work early on," Rivera said. "Everything seemed fine. Again, you start tightening up, especially the highly-tuned athletes. We gotta be smart about that.”
Last year marked the first time in his career that Samuel played in every game of the season. During his first season in Washington in 2021, he appeared in just five games and had six receptions before putting together a comeback 2022 campaign that saw him post 64 catches for 656 yards and four touchdowns along with 38 carries for 187 yards and one score.
The Commanders begin preseason play on the road Friday against the Cleveland Browns.
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