When news hit on Friday that UDFA team Thaddeus Moss had been called off, it was surprising to some, and an ‘I told you’ moment to others, but the reactions might have been a little premature. Tweets from some reporters hinted that the team might want to bring him back at some point, and discussions quickly turned to his struggles, not with talent, but with injury.
It was discovered at Combine in February that Moss was suffering from a Jones fracture to his foot which required surgery, effectively cushioning his draft value. The then Redskins eventually signed him as UDFA to join a motley team of tight ends being rounded up to compete for the roster spots that had been filled by Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis at camp workout from last year.
Some people have trumpeted that Moss was a good deal – a player who otherwise would have been a mid-round pick that didn’t cost Washington interim capital and minimal contract investment – while others pointed out his limitations, claiming that ‘he wasn’t really the starting material for the NFL. The team’s decision to forgo Moss on Friday initially seemed to justify the latter view.
But Ron Rivera, when asked about the decision to drop the rookie, appeared Thaddeus Moss was still in the squad’s plans.
[Moss] had foot surgery. He got it a bit late and it’s one of those things that hinders his ability to go out and work. So, know what his potential is, know what he has done in college football, know his skills, it’s like, okay, he is not healthy enough to go out every day and he would fall further and further back. Again, one of the options we have is that the foot is still sore and the foot is still bothering it, is to put it on IR
When I listened to the coach talk about the player, I heard a lot of emphasis on his skills and potential, and I had a feeling he would like to see Moss stay on the roster.
In previous years, moving to the IR in the camp would have left Moss absolutely off the roster for the entire season, as the only players eligible to return from the IR were those who were on the Week 1 roster (or who were free agents and subsequently signed to roster in the first half of the season).
But with an ongoing global pandemic, the league and the NFLPA have adopted a number of special rules for the season that make rosters much more flexible. For example, the league and players have agreed to expand the size of the training squad to 16 players for the 2020 season. They have also agreed to maintain this extension for the 2021 season if the testing and treatment protocols of COVID-19 remain in effect for this season.
Additionally, during the regular season, teams will be allowed to nominate four of their 16 practice players who will not be allowed to sign a contract with a different team between Game Week Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET and the following day. of the team. next game. (For example, teams playing on Sunday may nominate four players who cannot sign with a different team until the following Monday, at the earliest.)
Teams will also be allowed to activate a player from the practice squad on match days up to 90 minutes before kick-off if a player from the active roster tests positive (or needs to be quarantined for reasons preventive) after the deadline of Saturday 4 p.m.
But one change that may apply to Moss’s situation is that the league and union have also agreed that a an unlimited number of players can be nominated to return from the injured list during the 2020 season. Designated return procedures have been changed to make players eligible return to training and / or games after three regular season games or post-season weeks after their placement in the injured reserve. The teams go then have an additional 21 days to activate players after they have been designated to resume training.
What I’m not clear on is whether the restriction is still in place that requires a player to be on the Week 1 roster to be eligible to return.. I read maybe a dozen articles looking for the answer to this question, but I couldn’t find it.
However, there are only two possibilities.
If Moss has to be on the active Week 1 roster to be eligible to return, then 2020 will effectively turn into a “redshirt” year for him, similar to Bryce Love’s 2019 rookie season. He’ll be on the ice when it comes to rostering, but he can readjust, work on strength and conditioning, spend time with the team and coaches, and learn the system and culture, coming back better prepared for the season. 2021.
If the week 1 roster rule has been suspended for 2020 along with so many other rulers, then it’s possible – and I stress that this would only be the case if the rule is different from the previous one – that it could be activated this season, and that could happen as early as week 4.
Given his injury and his need for development, the team might want to leave Moss in IR for the entire season, although they have the option of activating him during the season. With an additional 8 months of rehabilitation and preparation, Moss could enter next year’s OTAs from a position of strength.
Far from signaling the end of his career in Washington, being given up on Friday seems to have simply pressed the “pause” button on Thaddeus Moss’ career in the NFL. In fact, it may have been the best thing that could have happened for a player embarrassed by a painful injury, surgery and recovery. It seems very likely that this time next year he will be in training camp competing for a valuable spot in the team’s TE group.
