Ron Rivera misses Washington’s practice due to cancer treatments; team releases depth chart

September 8, 2020

Rivera announced Aug. 20 that he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in a lymph node in his neck. In an interview for the team’s website, he said he would receive treatment five days a week for seven weeks, and it would include proton therapy and “some other stuff.”

According to Neil Gross, the director of clinical research in the department of head and neck surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center, some patients with squamous cell carcinoma have to remove the cancerous tissue. For others, the cancer can be treated non-surgically with some form of radiation that is usually paired with chemotherapy to enhance its effectiveness.

Proton therapy is a form of radiation that delivers high-energy doses to a targeted area, so it’s believed to cause less collateral damage to nearby healthy tissue than X-ray radiation. The treatment, however, is relatively new and research is ongoing.

“It’s a pretty intense treatment,” Gross told The Washington Post in August. “While the prognosis is good, it’s a hard treatment for patients, and that’s because the throat is so exquisitely sensitive. … It’s very common for patients to lose weight — sometimes a lot of weight. … Part of the reason for that is radiation zaps the taste buds, so nothing tastes right. Then they can have sores in the throat and dryness in the mouth, and all that adds up to people being pretty miserable.”

Rivera’s hope was that he could continue coaching while undergoing treatment, but he also acknowledged that he would have difficult days. So he and his staff laid out a Plan B: On days he couldn’t lead the team, Del Rio would, while also continuing his duties as defensive coordinator.

Del Rio was a head coach in Jacksonville and later Oakland for a total of 12 seasons. In between, he was defensive coordinator in Denver and served as its interim head coach for four games in 2013, when then Broncos head coach John Fox underwent heart surgery.

“Having had that experience, I don’t really give it a lot of thought,” Del Rio said. “My day’s up, coach says he’s going to be out, it means he needs me to step in. I’m like, ‘I got you, coach.’ Then I’m just going to carry on his message. We’re going to stay on point with what we’re doing. I pay attention to what he’s saying to the staff and what he’s saying to the team and I echo those things. So it’s very much just taking control in a way that he would and making it easier for everyone that we’re working with.”

Del Rio said he learned over the weekend that Rivera would be absent from Tuesday’s practice but that it’s been “pretty seamless” in moving forward with their game preparation.

“To be honest, it did feel a little weird because of what’s going on, what he’s going through,” cornerback Ronald Darby said. “But we got to keep pushing, and I know he’s going to be good.”

During the team’s workout Tuesday, its first unofficial depth chart for 2020 was released and, as expected, it features Dwayne Haskins as its starting quarterback; Terry McLaurin, Dontrelle Inman and Steven Sims Jr. as its starting receivers; and the same offensive line that started for much of camp: Morgan Moses at right tackle, Brandon Scherff at right guard, Chase Roullier at center, Wes Martin at left guard and Geron Christian at left tackle.

It was notable, but perhaps not surprising, that Kyle Allen was listed as the backup quarterback and Alex Smith as third-string, an indicator he could be inactive on game days.

More surprising, perhaps, was the order of the running backs. After releasing veteran Adrian Peterson (who has since signed with the Detroit Lions), the team listed J.D. McKissic as the No. 1 back, followed by rookie Antonio Gibson, Peyton Barber and Bryce Love.

During training camp, Rivera said McKissic would be used more on situational downs. His spot on the depth chart doesn’t necessarily mean otherwise. His versatility, as well as that of Gibson (another converted wide receiver) and Love allow offensive coordinator Scott Turner multiple options in how he uses his backs, be it the running game, having them catch passes out of the backfield or even flexing out wide as a receiver.

“Being named the No. 1 running back, that’s new to me. I just know that I’m not going to let it get to my head because I may not even be the first guy to step on the field Sunday,” McKissic said Tuesday.

On defense, the starting line was also the same as the first team in camp, with rookie Chase Young and Montez Sweat at end and Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen inside at tackle. At linebacker, Thomas Davis was listed as an outside linebacker, but second-string behind Shaun Dion Hamilton. Jon Bostic is the starter at middle linebacker and Kevin Pierre-Louis will start at the other outside linebacker position.