Washington Redskins: 5 Roster Bubble Candidates Who Must Make the Team

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 23: Ziggy Hood #90 of the Washington Redskins waits in the tunnel before taking the field to play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 23, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

Every NFL team must trim their roster down to 53 players, but the Washington Redskins can’t afford to cut these five players on the roster bubble

As training camp gets under way, veterans and rookies alike take the practice field knowing it’s time to put up or shut up. The following five Washington Redskins players seem to have already been written off by some, but their absence would be felt immediately and last throughout the season.

Ziggy Hood

With so much competition at so many positions there will be some surprising players cut from the team. One line of thinking suggests that to make some room the Redskins will keep only six defensive linemen. Huge mistake! Among the six D-linemen almost guaranteed a roster spot; two are coming off season ending injuries, Jonathon Allen and Matt Ioannidis, two are rookies, DaRon Payne and Tim Settle, and the other two, Anthony Lanier and Stacey McGee, are very solid but not spectacular.

Ziggy Hood, however, is the leader of this group – both on and off the field. When I first read that he might be a roster casualty I wrote it off as an ill-informed writer sharing some bad information. But, since I first saw those gruesome words in print I’ve seen it repeated.

LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 24: Nose tackle Ziggy Hood #90 of the Washington Redskins is helped off the field after being injuried in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at FedExField on December 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /

It is critical to the success of the Redskins defensive line that Ziggy make the squad. He is the only one of the seven that can play anywhere on the D-line. Okay, he’s the only one that can play all of the positions well. A 3-4 defensive end by trade, he filled in admirably in the middle considering he was being flanked by Lanier and McGee. Don’t get me wrong, I like Lanier and McGee – a lot. But, Hood’s performance at Nose would have been markedly different had Allen and Ioannidis lined up on either side of him.

Admittedly at 31 years of age he is the elder statesman of the group and the Skins are transitioning to younger players all across the roster. However, this former first round draft pick still has plenty of fuel in the tank. Whether he is considered a tone setter, a locker room leader, a work out warrior or an insurance policy, he belongs on the roster and needs to be part of Washington’s defensive line rotation. If the Redskins let him go they would be making a colossal mistake.

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