4. James Washington showed up Friday and made a big play Saturday.
The Colts brought wide receiver James Washington in for a tryout Friday morning, signed him Friday afternoon and then threw him into the fire on Saturday – and he came out of the game with a 42-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
In fact, the first interaction Washington had with quarterback Sam Ehlinger, beyond quickly throwing a ball around on the sidelines, was when he got back to the huddle after that play and Ehlinger told him: “Good (stuff).”
“It’s a credit to his intelligence, his work ethic and who he is as a person,” Ehlinger said. “We knew – we were talking today in the walk throughs this morning and we were calling out the plays and he was on top of it, and he signed yesterday. So, it was very impressive how quickly he picked it up and made some plays for us.”
Washington was up all night Friday studying the Colts’ call sheet, and credited wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne and offensive quality control/wide receivers Brian Bratton with getting him up to speed.
“It’s been a crazy few days,” Washington said, “but I’m very thankful for it.”
Washington means it when he says he’s thankful. The 2018 second-round pick has had to navigate a difficult path to even get back on an NFL field after sustaining a broken foot last year with the Dallas Cowboys – an injury that required two surgeries. He said he didn’t feel healthy until about June of this year.
In addition to the physical stress of rehabbing an injury, Washington discussed the mental toll of feeling like “nobody wants you” while just hoping for an opportunity like the one he now has with the Colts.
“It’s been a journey, I’m not gonna lie,” Washington said, emotionally. “It’s been hard. But I’m very thankful for it.”