Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, August 9, 24 days before the Washington Redskins cut their roster to 53 on September 2.

Timeline

The Redskins last played a game 220 days ago; they will open the 2017 season against the Eagles at FedEx Field in 32 days.

Today’s schedule: Off day

Days until:



—Preseason opener @ Ravens (8/10) 1

—Preseason vs. Packers at FedEx Field (8/19) 10

—Sunday night Raiders @ Redskins (9/24) 46

Redskins hot topics

RICHMOND—A few topics from around Redskins training camp as they complete their preparations for their first preseason game.

—The Junior Galette hype train is going full steam. The outside linebacker, sidelined for the last two seasons due to a pair of torn Achilles, will play an undetermined number of snaps against the Ravens tomorrow. “I hope everybody is as fired up as Junior. I think everybody is excited to get back on the field. I know Junior is after two years,” said Jay Gruden. “Obviously there’s a strong case for that. He’s put a lot of work in. I’m proud of the fact [of] what he’s accomplished getting his body right, getting his weight down, getting himself in football shape . . . He’s on the right track.”

—Kirk Cousins is going to go behind center tomorrow and see only one pass catcher who is an anticipated Week 1 starter, Terrelle Pryor. On the bench with injuries will be Josh Doctson, Jamison Crowder, and tight end Jordan Reed. “It’s going to be a good test because I stood up here at the previous podium session a week or two ago and said the best quarterbacks as the players come and go around them, they continue to produce at a high level,” said Cousins. “And that’s certainly a goal of mine is to play well regardless of who’s in there. In this league, with how much attrition takes place, you’re not going to have the luxury of playing with the same starting receivers for 10 years. So, welcome to the NFL.”

Or, perhaps more accurately, welcome to the NFL preseason. It’s possible that a least one or two of the three might be playing a little bit hurt if this was a game that counted.

—The last two items here are fan questions from Facebook and Twitter.

What position group has impressed you the most and which has seemed needing the most work?#ntk — Braves In Burgundy (@BravesnBurgundy) August 6, 2017

On the up side, I would say the safeties. D.J. Swearinger has been impressive in both his play and his leadership. He will be a major upgrade. Su’a Cravens is still learning but he is getting better by the day. Will Blackmon has made some plays in practice and he will be a solid backup at either safety spot.

I have yet to be impressed by the defensive line. Perhaps this is by design as Jim Tomsula doesn’t have a depth chart and players are moving all over the line and playing against the first-, second-, and third-team offenses. It’s just hard to get any sort of feel for who is capable of doing what. This should start to sort itself out beginning tomorrow but for now it’s hard to make any sense of it.

That’s a very good question and we won’t know the answer until the regular season starts. Greg Manusky will keep his situational defensive schemes under wraps until Week 1. I’ve asked many players on defense a similar question and I get the same vague answer. Perhaps they don’t even know what Manusky will be dialing up in Week 1.

The best answer came some Su’a Cravens. “We’re not going to sit back and let the offense take their shot and hopefully we’re in the perfect defense,” he said. “We’re going to come after the quarterback, we’re going to get aggressive with receivers on the edges, and hopefully our talent is better than their talent.”

Stay up to date on the Redskins. Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page Facebook.com/TandlerCSN and follow him on Twitter @Rich_TandlerCSN.

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