Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
If there’s one player this preseason that has played their way onto the Washington Redskins‘ final 53-man roster, it’s quarterback Pat White.
The Redskins signed the former West Virginia Mountaineer star this past spring. Before joining the Redskins, White hadn’t played in the NFL since 2009, when he was with the Miami Dolphins. He was a long shot coming into camp that the Redskins gave a chance to. White took that chance and ran with it.
In three preseason games this season, he’s 15-28 with 149 yards and two touchdowns through the air. On the ground, White has been just as dangerous, running with 12 carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns. White showed this type of ability in college, but now he’s showcasing that ability in the NFL.
When you take a look at the roster, the Redskins currently have four quarterbacks. After Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins, it then goes Rex Grossman and White, in that order. Keeping four quarterbacks would be unnecessary. They would be better suited to use that roster spot at another position. So, the battle now comes between Grossman and White for the third and final chair in the quarterback room.
Without question, that chair should have White’s name on it. Grossman is nothing more than the punchline of a joke in D.C. now; he had his opportunity in Washington and spoiled it. While statistically he’s done better than White, the same old Grossman has shown up often this preseason.
Another positive to keeping White over Grossman is the playbook. Let’s just say, thanks to some unfortunate incident, that the Redskins find themselves down to their third string quarterback, White. The playbook is not nearly as limited when White is in the game as it is when Grossman is under center. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has many more plays at his disposal with White as his quarterback.
He’s no RG3, but he’s the next closest thing the Redskins have. White is a mobile quarterback that can get it done with his arm, as well. In their third preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, we saw White get a number of snaps in the read-option set that usually belongs to Griffin.
Slowly but surely, Grossman has slipped down the depth chart. After being the starter, he was demoted to the backup role. After RG3 and Cousins arrived, he was then bumped to the third string. With the emergence of White, it’s time for Grossman to finally be shown the door.
White may not be the future starter for the Redskins, but he is a great player to have as a “just-in-case” measure. The Redskins need to do whatever they can do keep him on the roster at preseasons end.
Brian Skinnell is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, Like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
