Sims Jr. To Be Activated, Will Play Sunday

ASHBURN, Va. - Steven Sims Jr. is officially getting activated off the injured reserve list, a Washington Football Team source confirmed to SI.com on Saturday.

At about 1:30 pm, the team officially announced the move and the release of defensive end Nate Orchard.

The news was fully expected as we've mentioned many times in this space but first reported by ESPN"s John Keim.

READ MORE: Sims Jr.'s Return is Big!

Sims Jr. has missed the last four games because Washington waited too long to put him on injured reserve.

He returned to practice on Wednesday and while he did not officially have to be listed on the injury report, sources had indicated that he was a full participant all along.

Ron Rivera said on Friday about Sims Jr. and the receiver position group: "I don't have to talk to you guys about Steven because he's not active yet. But we'll have to mix and match and figure out the best way to go. We've got some guys we feel pretty comfortable with."

Sims Jr. (No. 15 in the video above) has been out since the loss against the Browns but was not targeted at all in that game.

Last year, Sims, as a rookie had a four touchdowns along with 34 receptions on 52 targets.

Washington needs the Steven Sims of the second half last year and they need it quick. Before his injury, he was targeted eight times and had six receptions (ProFootballFocus.com 2020 receiving chart below)

Washington can use him as early as Sunday both inside and outside, as they continue to experiment with using Terry McLaurin more out of the slot.

Sims can also very much help on the kick and punt returns, where his speed can be an electrifying difference maker.

The only issue? Sims has two fumbles already this year and lost one of them on a key punt return.

Sims is added to a group that features Terry McLaurin and Cam Sims. Dontrelle Inman is expected to miss the game with a hamstring injury.

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