Kirk Cousins is officially preparing to play without his best deep target for the next stretch of games. With Cousins under center, the Washington Redskins are counting on their playmakers to pick up the slack while the quarterback works to improve. Jackson is supposed to be a big part of that, but a hamstring injury is set to knock him out forcing the Redskins to rely on other players including the run game.
According to head coach Jay Gruden via ESPN.com, Jackson will miss the next three to four weeks with a hamstring injury after he left Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins in the first quarter. Jackson has been dealing with a number of injuries lately as he sat out the entire preseason with a separated shoulder. The wide receiver was expected to play a big role on the team with Cousins under center and now that he is out, where will Washington turn?
According to Kevin Petra of NFL.com, the run game now becomes a primary focus for Washington. First, relying on both Alfred Morris and Matt Jones will help Cousins eliminate mistakes after he recorded two turnovers in his first game. Last year, Cousins was an interception machine and Washington is hopeful to reduce that this season. Second, Morris is looking like the running back he was his rookie season after putting up 121 yards in the opening game. The Redskins want to lean heavily on those numbers once again.
"Just keep doing it, honestly," Morris said, via the Washington Times. "That's the best way to get better at anything - repetitions. We gotta continue to work at and make it an attitude, 'We're gonna establish our run game.' It helps our offense so much more and we have to find a way to continue to do that and make it an attitude."
Fantasy owners were likely hesitant to take Morris after his lackluster season in 2014. However, the running back is playing out the final year of his contract which means there is added motivation to put up big numbers. A solid season could land Morris a nice pay day as the Washington Post reported the two sides have already begun talks on a new deal.
Outside of Morris, Jordan Reed looked like he could be capable of coming up big for Cousins. The tight end did a nice job of replacing Niles Paul who suffered a season ending injury. It is that kind of production that will allow Washington to not make another roster move in Jackson's absence. With names like Reggie Wayne and Hakeem Nicks sitting on the open market, the Redskins could try and make a roster move for depth purposes, but if players like Morris and Reed can step up, they will not have to.