Chad Wheeler

NFC East Notes: Redskins, Guice, Giants

By Andrew Ortenberg | at June 22, 2019 7:40 pm

The Redskins’ backfield situation didn’t go as planned last year. The team drafted Derrius Guice in the second round to be their starter, but then Guice tore his ACL in the preseason. They ended up signing Adrian Peterson at the last minute, and he unexpectedly became the team’s workhorse. Peterson played well all things considered, but noticeably wore down toward the end of the year and won’t be expected to handle the same workload in 2019. Guice had some complications while recovering from his injury, but is expected to be fully recovered soon.

Guice is the much younger player who would appear to have more upside, but don’t count out Peterson yet. Speaking after a recent minicamp practice, Redskins running backs coach Randy Jordan said he envisions a 50-50 or 60-40 split between the two backs this season, per Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post. Washington was depleted by injuries last year, and getting Guice back is a great step in the right direction. Assuming they end up starting Dwayne Haskins at quarterbackthey’ll need a strong running game to help take some of the load off, and a Guice/Peterson partnership has the potential to be one of the league’s better backfields.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

• With Haskins and Guice now in the fold, the Redskins’ offense is going to look a lot different next year. They won’t be the changes, as second-year receiver Trey Quinn is coming back from an injury of his own. A seventh round pick out of SMU last year, injuries limited Quinn to just three games as a rookie. He’s reportedly been a standout this offseason though, and the team is very high on him. Speaking to the media recently, Redskins coach Jay Gruden declared him a starter. “Trey Quinn has taken over the inside slot role,” Gruden said, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports. Quinn must’ve been really impressive in practices for the coaching staff to have this much confidence in him. After Jamison Crowder left in free agency the Redskins were left with a hole in the slot, and they’re apparently comfortable with Quinn filling it.
• Mike Remmers signed with the Giants last month, and is widely expected to be their starting right tackle in 2019. The offseason back surgery he underwent was initially deemed minor, but Remmers didn’t participate at all during OTAs or minicamp, according to Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com. Remmers apparently isn’t fully healthy, and Dunleavy thinks there’s a chance Chad Wheeler will take advantage of the opportunity to keep the starting job. Wheeler, a 2017 UDFA, was the starter for most of last season, but played poorly. Remmers is still the favorite, but if he can’t get back soon he might end up losing the job.
• In the same piece, Dunleavy also breaks down the Giants’ situation at receiver beyond Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate. Shepard and Tate are locked in as the top two options, but there’s not much clarity after that. Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler both operated as the third receiver last season, but Dunleavy thinks Corey Coleman is the favorite for that role in 2019. Dunleavy writes that Coleman showed well in recent practices, as “Latimer started the offseason with the upper hand and Coleman finished with the edge.” A 2016 first round pick of the Browns, Coleman has had a bumpy road in the pros. The Browns, Patriots, and Bills have all given up on the Baylor product, but it looks like he could make a home for himself in New York.