The Washington Commanders never wanted to release wide receiver Van Jefferson. However, when Washington trimmed its roster down to 53 players last week, it was a numbers game at wide receiver. The Commanders kept seven receivers, with Luke McCaffrey seemingly winning the final spot over Jefferson.
Jefferson is now headed back to Washington. On Monday, the Commanders signed the 30-year-old veteran to their practice squad and released tight end Joshua Simon. Jefferson initially signed with Washington back in March. Simon signed with the Commanders’ practice squad last week. While Washington would have liked to sign Jefferson to the practice squad initially, he probably wanted to see if there were opportunities on another 53-man roster.
Simon was
one of two tight ends the Commanders signed to their practice squad, which was confusing at first, considering there were four on the 53-man roster. Ben Sinnott dealt with an injury late in training camp but has since returned to the practice field.
Jefferson was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in the 2020 NFL Draft. After 3.5 seasons with the Rams, he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. He spent the 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers and last season with the Tennessee Titans. His best NFL season came in 2021, when he caught 50 passes for 802 yards and six touchdowns.
For his career, Jefferson has 166 receptions, 2,226 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He had an excellent offseason with the Commanders and carried that over into training camp. Now, he gives Washington another proven receiver on the practice squad should injuries impact the main roster.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders bring back veteran wide receiver to practice squad
