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Ron Rivera Presser: There are a lot of young, talented players on this roster

Ron Rivera speaks after the team cuts down to 53 players

Ron Rivera made a lot of roster moves today, and will likely be making more over the next week. Alex Smith has been fully cleared for contact, and was practicing fully over the last two days. He made his case to Rivera and other coaches, and he earned his spot on the 53. Rivera said he would feel comfortable playing him on September 13th in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles if he had to.

Reuben Foster was not able to fully comeback from his ACL/LCL injury from last May. He was activated off of the PUP list and practiced with the team. Rivera said he plateaued in camp health-wise, and he just wasn’t where he needed to be to make the team.

The Washington Football Team only kept 5 WRs on their initial 53-man roster, and Rivera said that is a position they will be monitoring as players become available. But they felt comfortable only keeping 5 WRs because of the versatility of their RBs. He said both Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic can line up at wide receiver in this offense.

Rivera decided to keep 10 offensive linemen, and said he thinks all of them could start for this team. He also didn’t want to expose those players to waivers in an attempt to get them to the practice squad.

This is a young team, and Rivera sees a lot of talent on the roster. He said one of the problems at the end of his run in Carolina was that the team got old. All 8 of Washington’s draft picks made the team, along with UDFA WR Isaiah Wright.

Alex Smith:

Safeties:

Wide Receivers:

Running back versatility:

Reuben Foster:

Young players:

Ryan Anderson:

James Smith-Williams:

Offensive line:

Danny Johnson: