Minnesota Vikings 2016 Schedule Previews: Washington Redskins

To kick off the second half of their 2016 schedule, the Minnesota Vikings will take to the road to face another team that made the playoffs in 2015, that being the Washington Redskins. Washington survived the demolition derby that was the NFC East in 2015, riding a surprising season from Kirk Cousins to the post-season. Have they done enough to repeat on that front in 2016?

Our friends from Hogs Haven have put together this preview of their team for us to take a look at. They haven’t posted their preview piece on the Vikings yet, so keep an eye out for when that happens.

Date and Time of Game

13 November 2016, 12:00 PM Central Time, FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland

Notable free agent additions

CB Josh Norman, DL Kendall Reyes

Notable free agent departures

QB Robert Griffin III, RB ALfred Morris, DT Terrance Knighton, LB Keenan Robinson, WR Andre Roberts

Trades

None

Draft picks expected to contribute as rookies

WR Josh Doctson, S/LB Su’a Cravens, CB Kendall Fuller

Biggest offseason addition

It would be hard not to call the acquisition of an All-Pro CB our biggest addition of the offseason, especially when the secondary has been one of the biggest weaknesses of this Redskins team over the last few seasons. The importance of the insertion of Josh Norman into this defense can not be understated.

Biggest storyline heading into training camp

Will Kirk Cousins play on the franchise tag, and more importantly, will he take a step forward from his meteoric finish to the 2015 campaign? He threw for 23 touchdowns and three interceptions over the last ten games of the season last year en route to both the playoffs and a firm grasp on the locker room. If he continues evolving from there, Washington can call itself a true contender.

Under-the-radar storyline heading into training camp

What is our safety position going to look like? DeAngelo Hall returns as likely the most certain member of our starting safety duo, which doesn’t exactly inspire fear in opposing passing offenses. David Bruton and Duke Ihenacho will certainly factor heavily in the training camp battle to fill out the backside of our defense, but all eyes will be on rookie Su’a Cravens, the hybrid safety/linebacker. If he is able to log meaningful minutes at the strong safety position and make the kinds of plays our coaches feel confident he can make, this secondary could be exponentially better than it has been for years.

Notable injuries heading into training camp

Junior Galette continues to heal from his Achilles injury suffered in August 2015, and all reports seem to lean toward an impressive recovery. Should he regain his pass-rushing form from two seasons ago, it would be the equivalent of adding a top free agent from our own roster. First-round draft pick Josh Doctson is also being held out of a lot of workouts so far to allow a tender Achilles to heal fully before training camp.