Roster Battles: KC’s Midway Point 53-Man Roster Prediction

Morris has a history of putting the ball on the ground and aside from his 21 yd dash he didn't do anything impressive running against the Bears running, blocking or receiving ... if you really want him in reserve he's a lock to clear waivers and be available as a practice squad player. His best hope is that Hightower hasn;t recovered or returned to form ... which frankly wasn't all that impressive at 3.8 yds/carry, and under 3 yds/carry against top defenses/NFC East opponents. Paulsen is the Redskins largest TE and a decent blocker ... better than Davis and probably at least as good a Cooley as a blocker. Apparently he can catch as well in the old school TE patterns. I think Cooley needs to remove all questions about his return to peak form and recovery from his knee injury ... or he's probably a last cut for the Skins ... unless Davis continues to be unimpressive and can't improve his blocking in which case I'd expect to see the Skins try to trade Davis before everyone realizes that something isn't right. Don't see Banks, Armstrong, Austin making the roster or even making it hard not to keep them

Good breakdown. I don't think Armstrong can fetch anything in a trade quite honestly though. Nearly 30 years old, and at best a #4 WR on most teams. As for Banks, I'm convinced (and I think I mentioned it to LL on Twitter) that the reason Banks was told to learn WR was to up his trade value. At best, he was going to be the #5 WR here in a perfect situation. And the #5 WR is only playing so much WR unless you're a "crafty veteran" sticking around to teach the young guys. But that's not Banks. I think Austin though could potentially fetch more than Banks, meaning a 5th or 6th (nothing more). Color me unimpressed with Banks' TD return on Saturday night. All these people who are asking "does this make Banks a lock now?" my answer "of course not" We went into this preseason knowing Banks could return a KR for a TD. Death, Taxes, Preseason KR for a TD by Brandon Banks. The coaching staff wants more from Banks, and he hasn't shown it. But then you look at Austin, who slides under the radar in all of this. But if it were up to me the discussion is between Robinson and Austin for that #6 WR spot, not Robinson and Banks. Austin has already proven he can play WR in the league, he's an underrated route runner, he made key blocks and TD saving tackles on Saturday night. And he can provide solid kick returning abilities as well. Niles Paul, on the other hand, is a lock. Or as close to one as possible. If Shanahan and company didn't believe in him, they would have let him fight out with the other 10 or so WRs. Moving him to TE was their way of saying 'we believe in you, and we want to find a way to put on this roster" And I think Paulsen has solidified his spot as the 3rd TE, based on his production, upside, and (ever so important in today's NFL), his contract. I think that final offensive skill position will come down to Cooley vs. Morris. Cooley has been practicing at FB rather exclusively all summer. But Royster has also been getting practice at the FB position. And Royster can carry the ball, pass protect, and has upside. So you could go Hightower, Royster, Helu, Morris at RB with Young your lone fullback, then slide Royster to FB if needed. And that frees up a roster spot for an extra CB. They could take a chance, like Royster last year, with putting Morris on the PS. But I'm not so sure he clears waivers

Interesting, I highly doubt Captain Chaos gets cut, if he is truly healthy, he's a better all around TE than Paulsen and fills in at FB. I see Morris and Davis to PS, its a gamble but I see both clearing waivers. I agree with Banks being left off, if the Skins were already established they might have the luxury of keeping a return only guy, in addition I don't see him being picked up by anyone else except the Pack, Giants, or Pats, so he should be available off of the street if need be. The interesting one is AA, people seem to forget how valuable he is as a gunner, do the Skins have anyone to fill that void, and his experience in the offense. I personally wouldn't use last year as a barometer as he was injured and he had no one that could get him the ball deep. Having said all that, I wouldn't want them to release Brisco or Robinson. Robinson will definitely not clear waivers and keeping Brisco makes too much sense, he's only 22 and the Skins would be counting on two injured starters to be healthy all season (Hank, Morgan), to answer all those folks wanting Banks because the 6th or 7th receiver won't see any action.

I would think the skins would want to keep 5 cb's - I guess the 5th would be Thompson. I would think they would keep Doughty - isn't Reed a solid special teamer? I think Bernstein is a dark horse to make it based on his athleticism - he could at least contribute on teams - practice squad candidate?