After practice on Tuesday, head coach Anthony Lynn told the media that he gave rookie linebackers Uchenna Nwosu and Kyzir White the day off to “rest sore knees” because the two will both “play a lot” on Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I’ve got to get them to the weekend,” Lynn continued “And they played a lot in the game last week.”
It’s not often that a head coach would give rookie players a full day off from practice due to “soreness” in their very first training camp but I believe Lynn knows he has something special and likely does not want to risk anything worse than sore knees.
White was tied with DE Isaac Rochell for the team-lead in tackles against the Cardinals with four while Nwosu recorded a pair of tackles and notching one of the team’s two sacks in the game. Although they didn’t stuff the stat sheet, both linebackers were often around the ball, usually picking themselves out of the piles regardless if they had recorded the tackle or not.
Both will look to keep their momentum going through the preseason and hope it lands them a spot among the starters come week one against the Kansas City Chiefs. Until then, look for Lynn to get these two players as many reps as possible throughout the next three weeks of preseason action.