Washington Football Team wide receiver Curtis Samuel was considered the team’s biggest free agent addition this past off-season. With a three-year, $34.5 million contract, there were huge plans for Samuel lining up opposite of star receiver Terry McLaurin.
However, his first year in the Burgundy and Gold has been disastrous to say the least. A groin injury surfaced in June and has lingered all season long.
Samuel was forced to miss most of training camp, the entire preseason and six of eight games so far this season.
On Thursday, Samuel was not at practice. Instead he was meeting with doctors to get another update on his groin injury, according to 106.7 the Fan’s Grant Paulsen.
Samuel was placed on injured reserve to start the season after suffering a setback in practice. He missed the first three games. But, he returned in Week 4 against the Atlanta Falcons, playing 20 offensive snaps.
He also suited up the following week against the New Orleans Saints. Yet, he was limited to five snaps after suffering yet another setback. He hasn’t played since, missing the past three games.
A bye last week appears to not have improved his recovery. Samuel did not participate in practice Wednesday. It’s unknown if he could be cleared to return to the field with his latest visit to doctors. Or if the visit could determine if he is shut down for the remainder of the season.
Washington’s head coach Ron Rivera has been adamant Samuel doesn’t need surgery, going back to a fiery comment on Sept. 10 — a full two months ago.
“Don’t even bring that up, okay,” Rivera said per Ben Standig of The Athletic. “Somebody else brought that up. I don’t want to start any rumors any crap, okay…”
Curtis Samuel has played a total of 20 offensive snaps this season. He has four catches for 19 yards. Despite not playing since Week 5, Rivera has previously dismissed a return to IR for Samuel.
It’s not clear the exact severity of Samuel’s injury. The fact is he has missed a lot of time and the injury hasn’t healed as expected. The next update hopefully will provide some clarity to if we will see Samuel on the field again this year.
