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The 5 o’clock club aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.
Here’s a list of player’s names that most fans weren’t familiar with — or at least didn’t expect to see on the Redskins roster — back in Week 1. All of these players have, at some point, been on the 53-man roster, though you still may not be familiar with all of them.
- Kyle Kalis
- Rhaney Demitrius
- Tyler Catalina
- Tony Bergstrom
- Manasseh Garner
- Kapri Bibbs
- Ogunbowale Dare
- Otha Peters
- Pete Robertson
- Fish Smithson
- LeShun Daniels, Jr.
- T.J. Clemmings
- Byron Marshall
- Arthur Jones
In recent seasons, players have come in late-season and played well for the Redskins. I’m talking about guys that the fans weren’t thinking about at the start of the season, but who were making plays at the end of the season — Derek Carrier, Mason Foster and Will Blackmon are examples of the players that I’m thinking of. They come to the team when the roster is hit with injury and play pretty damned well. They help the team compete and win some games.
The issue comes the following year when the injured guys they came in to replace are healthy again, or when the team acquires younger, better players in the draft. An example of this is Derek Carrier, who is on the Rams roster now. He’s good enough to make an NFL roster, but there wasn’t room for him once Jordan Reed and Niles Paul seemed to be back to full health.
I loved watching the replacements at the end of the last couple of seasons when they were helping the team win games in Week 14, 15 or 16, but are these guys really good enough to be on the team in Week 1 when everyone on the roster is healthy again and we have a group of freshly drafted players just joining the team?
In the cut-throat, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of the NFL, these players often find that — just a few months removed from the cheers of the crowd — they are often struggling to find a place on the team when training camp and pre-season roll around again. At a time when every player is healthy and the competition is fierce, these guys usually look good enough to be part of a 90-man training camp group, but they are ‘fringe’ players who struggle to find a place on a 53-man roster.
Still, the fact is that although a lot of these guys will be cut at the end of training camp, some of them will be back on a roster somewhere in the league by mid-November or December (think of Kapri Bibbs, who was the backup to Devontae Booker in Denver at the end of the 2016 season).
These guys make up the replacement stock of the NFL and keep the league running when the shiny high-performance monster that roared out onto the field in September has parts falling off of it as the demolition-derby that is the 17-week NFL season limps to a conclusion in December each year.
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With that in mind, rate how much you would like to see some of the 2017 replacement parts back on the team in 2018?
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back ILB Zach Vigil as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
7%
5 - Absolutely essential
(23 votes) -
51%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(157 votes) -
16%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(51 votes) -
23%
2 - I think there are other better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job that’s fine
(73 votes) -
0%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(2 votes)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back RB Kapri Bibbs as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
8%
5 - Absolutely essential
(25 votes) -
51%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(143 votes) -
17%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(50 votes) -
21%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(60 votes) -
0%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(1 vote)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back LB Pete Robertson as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
0%
5 - Absolutely essential
(2 votes) -
5%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(15 votes) -
25%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(67 votes) -
58%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(156 votes) -
9%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(26 votes)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back OL TJ Clemmings as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
0%
5 - Absolutely essential
(2 votes) -
10%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(28 votes) -
14%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(37 votes) -
54%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(141 votes) -
19%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(50 votes)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back OL Tony Bergstrom as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
0%
5 - Absolutely essential
(1 vote) -
9%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(24 votes) -
13%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(35 votes) -
57%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(144 votes) -
19%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(48 votes)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back OL Kyle Kalis as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
0%
5 - Absolutely essential
(2 votes) -
26%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(68 votes) -
21%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(53 votes) -
42%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(106 votes) -
9%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(23 votes)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back S Fish Smithson as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
5%
5 - Absolutely essential
(15 votes) -
24%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(62 votes) -
25%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(64 votes) -
36%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(93 votes) -
7%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(19 votes)
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Poll
How strongly do you feel about bringing back DL Arthur Jones as part of the 2018 Redskins?
This poll is closed
-
0%
5 - Absolutely essential
(1 vote) -
7%
4 - It’s a very good idea
(19 votes) -
16%
3 - I’m a bit ambivalent
(40 votes) -
52%
2 - I think there are better players, but if he’s at camp competing for a job, that’s fine
(128 votes) -
22%
1 - He really doesn’t belong in the NFL
(55 votes)