Jay Gruden Redskins Presser: If we were smart, we would have taken Terry McLaurin in the 1st round

Jay Gruden stepped up to the podium to answer questions about the Redskins as they prepare for the Cowboys on Sunday. Derrius Guice had surgery this morning to repair his torn meniscus. Several other players are already dealing with injuries. Jordan Reed is expected to return to the field after suffering his 7th documented concussion in Week 3 of the preseason.

Injury Updates:

Derrius Guice:

“I don’t have a concern with him getting back to full strength. He came back extremely strong with the much more damaged knee last time. This is a minor procedure from what I’ve been told and he will be back. Great kid, works extremely hard and eventually he’s going to show Redskin nation what he’s all about.”

Quinton Dunbar:

Defensive line:

Terry McLaurin:

“Nothing. I think he’s fine. He’s got a level head on his shoulders. The beauty is when Jordan Reed comes back they have other things to worry about as well. [WR] Trey Quinn is going to make a splash also. [RB] Chris Thompson in the back field. [WR Kelvin] Harmon, [WR] Paul Richardson [Jr.], all those guys I think when you distribute the ball correctly and you add [RB] Adrian Peterson in the running game, it’s hard to just concentrate on one guy and that’s the intent of our offense.”

“We drafted him because he’s fast and a heck of a wide out. We had hopes that he would be a full-time starter eventually. We also knew he was great on special teams. Quality person, leader, two-time captain at Ohio State. Really a no brainer at that spot. If we were smart, we would have taken him in the first round. He’s been awesome. You know a guy from that program, as smart as he is, a captain, those guys can handle day one starter because nothing is too big for them.”

Tim Settle:

“It’s big for him. I think it’s going to come down to him, how he handles more reps. When you have [Daron] Payne, [Jonathan] Allen and [Matt] Ioannidis in there, he’s getting limited 15-20 snaps a game, that goes up to 30, 35, 40, we’ll see how he does. We’ll see how his stamina is. But, I think he’s in great shape. That entire defensive line group worked extremely hard in the offseason to get themselves ready. They weren’t quite ready for three defensive linemen the whole second half against Philly, but they’re in good shape and ready to go. I think Settle, hopefully will show up big.”

Jimmy Moreland:

Cowboys DE Demarcus Lawrence:

Cowboys defense:

“One thing that stays constant is the way they play. They play extremely hard, they’re fast and physical and that’s what they hang their hat on. [Defensive Coordinator Ron] Marinelli does an excellent job of tenacity, teaching tenacity. They play with their hair on fire every snap. They’re moving around, they’re getting up field, they’re getting off blocks. [LB] Jaylon Smith is fast to the football. [LB Leighton] Vander Esch is fast to the football. Safety [Xavier] Woods is an excellent middle safety when he’s in the middle, but he also comes down to cover the backs and the tight ends. They’ve got corners that are very disruptive that really knock you off your routes and force the quarterback to hold it and that enables the pass rush to get home. Very solid defense.”

Redskins vs Cowboys Injury Report