Team news: Atlanta Falcons | Page 31

While the Redskins have listed wide receiver Jamison Crowder as questionable for Sunday’s season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, he said he’s not concerned about his hip injury. According to Crowder himself, he’ll be ready on Sunday.

Related Players: Kirk Cousins, Terrelle Pryor

Crowder is a FLEX option in Week 1. Keep in mind he only saw nine targets in two games against the Eagles last season. However, Washington does have 200+ targets up for grabs, as has been well documented this preseason with the departures of Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. Philadelphia provides a good match-up though, ranked just 26th in our aFPA vs. PPR WRs from last season.

The Redskins released their first unofficial depth chart ahead of Thursday's first preseason game. One hyped newcomer will start, while another hasn't cracked the second string as of yet. As expected, free-agent acquisition WR Terrelle Pryor is listed as a starter along with incumbents Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson.

At running back, Rob Kelley is the starter with 3rd-down back Chris Thompson on the second team. Fourth-round pick Samaje Perine will enter the preseason third string, with work to do if he is to earn playing time at the start of 2017. This gels with camp reports that Perine has had ball security and pass protection issues. Former starter Matt Jones is buried on the depth chart with the fourth string.

The coaching staff has continuously noted this offseason that while there’s a depth chart, position battles will be contested up until the cutdown from 90 players to 53.

Related players: Kirk Cousins, Jordan Reed

Pryor finished the season as the #21 receiver, though his numbers dipped over the final month of the season. Still, his output in the first 12 games -- 5.2 catches for 71 yards and 0.33 TD, #11 WR -- is very encouraging. He’ll certainly benefit from an upgrade at quarterback in Washington. The quality of his targets may offset the reduction in workload.

Kelley won the RB1 job in Week 8, and from that point on, he was the #13 RB in standard (#15 in PPR) down the stretch. He averaged 4.19 YPC, which was the 14th-highest per carry average of the 27 running backs who saw at least 150 carries last year. Rookie Samaje Perine will make a hard push for the job, but it's clear that Kelley is taking his job seriously by getting leaner in the offseason. He currently sits atop the Washington depth chart, so he’s one of the cheapest starters available in early drafts. OC Mat Cavanaugh said that Kelly is “obviously” the starter, but things can change. Chris Thompson is the best receiver in this backfield, so neither Perine or Kelley are likely to see many receptions regardless. Keep in mind that once Kelley won the job in Week 8, he was the #13 RB in standard (#15 in PPR) down the stretch.

Jordan Reed opened training camp on the PUP list with a toe injury, with head coach Jay Gruden saying he hoped it would be a short-term stay.

Five days later, Reed is travelling to Charlotte to see a specialist about the toe. That is a bit alarming, considering Reed's injury history and Gruden not suggesting a timetable for his return.

CSN Mid Atlantic Redskins Insider JP Finlay notes visiting a specialist does not necessarily mean an injury is serious, especially as the visit was scheduled. It's possible Reed and the team just want to get clearance from an expert before the star tight end returns to practice. But it could also mean things aren't improving.

On Monday, Reed was also spotted with his left knee wrapped during team drills. Redskins PR later said that Reed was icing down his knee after a workout.

Related players: Vernon Davis, Kirk Cousins

Reed has missed 20 games in four seasons. We have Reed projected for about 12 games right now. When he's on the field, his production is elite. Reed has led all tight ends in PPR fantasy points per game in back-to-back years. But will he be on the field to help your fantasy team?

Healthy franchise quarterbacks don’t hit the open market. Next year, two of them could.

In addition to Washington’s Kirk Cousins (who threw for more than 4,900 yards last season), Saints quarterback Drew Brees could be available to the highest bidder and/or the best chance to pursue another Super Bowl.

Last year, as Brees was entering the final year of his contract, he signed a one-year extension. Which now puts him in the same place he was a year ago — one season removed from free agency. This time around, however, there is no discussion about an extension.

The story quoted Brees from January saying he wants things to "take form and take shape" for the next year while he puts forth his best effort for the Saints. The story also pointed out that Saints GM Mickey Loomis is also fine with Brees' approach.

And now the countdown hits seven.

That’s how many days the Washington Redskins have to pull out all the stops and hammer out a long-term deal with quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Otherwise, if 4 p.m. on Monday, July 17, comes and goes without an agreement, Cousins will play a second straight season on the franchise tag. And in that case, the Redskins will face the strong likelihood that they’ll lose one of the most prolific quarterbacks in franchise history to free agency in 2018.

The story went on to say despite optimism expressed this offseason by Redskins officials, two people familiar with the situation said late last week that little to no progress has been made in negotiations. Meanwhile, many people around the league still call it a long shot that the team and player will agree to a multiyear deal because of how Washington has handled negotiations leading up to this point.

After 850 yards last year, Jamison Crowder looks poised for his first 1,000 yard season for the Redskins. A healthy Jordan Reed can absolutely post four-figure yardage totals. On the outside, free agent addition Terrelle Pryor had a 1,000 yard season with the Browns last year, and playing with Cousins, should certainly be capable of that figure or more.

Don't forget 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson, who appears to have his Achilles injuries that cost him his rookie season behind him.

Related players: Kirk Cousins

The story was about how the Skins are projected to once again be among the top passing teams this season, despite the loss of WRs Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. The article feels Cousins is a safe bet for 4,500 passing yards. Under HC Jay Gruden, the Skins have thrown the ball at least 547 time each season it added. Part of that has to do with an inability to run the ball, even though they did well at times last year with Rob Kelley as the lead back.

After he signed with the Redskins, Terrelle Pryor had said Kirk Cousins’ presence was among the reasons he was excited for 2017. Now, after working with him ahead of Monday’s first offseason voluntary workout, Pryor is even more excited.

During their time together in Florida, they only misfired on one or two passes -- out of 200, he said.

“It was about him getting my timing down,” Pryor said. “There were a couple routes I had to run a couple times because he’s a timing thrower, and he throws it to spots. But we’ll get there. When we get there Monday, we’ll go two or three times a week and work on that as well. I was eager. It was great to work with him and get to know him.”

On the surface, this is a puff piece, but it's so important for free agent receivers to build chemistry with their new quarterbacks as soon as possible. It also indicates that Cousins, who has had a tumultuous relationship with the team, is preparing as if he'll be playing for the Redskins in 2017.

Mine [expectations for a Kirk Cousins deal] are rather low. Some people I know think it should be even lower. Maybe it changes, but that's the feeling now. I know the Redskins say they'll get a deal done, but I also think they've waited too long to make an offer that tempts Cousins. That said, they've still been willing to pay him $44 million over two years. It's not as if he's been done wrong financially thanks to the franchise tag. Still, at some point it won't be about the money for him; if free, he can get a similar deal elsewhere.

The story said their is really no update on the contract. Word surfaced the team offered Cousins around $20 million per year for five years on top of the 2017 franchise tag but the guarantees were low. The story went on to say at this point, there's more incentive for Cousins to wait and see how things play out in Washington -- the direction of the franchise, how he meshes with coach Jay Gruden as a playcaller, etc. Cousins can become a free agent next offseason (unless the Redskins tag him for a third and final time).

It’s a 2-year deal for 49ers and QB Brian Hoyer. Fair to say, this makes it unlikely they bring in Kirk Cousins in a trade with Redskins.

This is a good landing spot for Hoyer, who is a fringe starter in the league at this point in his career. He's playing for a sharp offensive mind (HC Kyle Shanahan) and the 49ers figure to throw a lot as they try to stay competitive during a rebuilding year. In 25 career games where Hoyer has started and attempted at least 25 passes, he has a 12-13 record while averaging 268 yards passing (59.6 Cmp %), 1.48 TD and 0.84 interceptions (or 15.1 fantasy points per game). That's a bit more than what Sam Bradford and Alex Smith averaged last year. If he's the starter, he'll be in the streaming conversation in 2017.

While DeSean Jackson is getting older, he’s not showing many signs of losing his ability as a deep threat, at least in my eyes. The problem is more that Jackson and Kirk Cousins have struggled to get on the same page at times this season.

The story breaks down some of Jackson's routes and mostly puts the blame on Cousins. The author thinks maybe the team tries to find more ways to get Jackson the ball in the second half, as he's averaging less than four catches a game this year. Jackson has usually been a boom or bust play through much of his career which makes him a risky fantasy play most weeks as anything but a WR3 or lower.