For Redskins fan Bobby Hutton, training camp is one of his favorite times of the year.
The Richmond native was excited once he found out Washington was holding its preseason practices near his home, making 2018 the sixth straight year he has attended the team's training camp.
Three weeks of practice may be a grind for the players, but Hutton looks at his opportunity to get up close and personal with his favorite team once a year as a blessing.
"[My favorite part] is being able to mingle with the players, converse with them," Hutton said. "It's an easy commute for me because again, it's not far from where I live. It's like eight minutes away. I really love it out here."
Hutton became a Redskins fan when he started watching games with his cousin as a child, growing up watching quarterback Patrick Ramsey in the early 2000s. His first memories at FedExField came when Rex Grossman took on the Eagles.
When his favorite team decided to move training camp to Richmond in 2013, Hutton decided he was going to take advantage of the local opportunity. In order to get his favorite players' signatures, he took an old school NFL helmet given to him at a draft party and had players sign it until there was no more room. Not having any more space on the helmet, however, was not going to stop him from getting his autographs.
Creating a painting with his wife that had the Redskins' logo and hashtag, Hutton used the portrait as an autographed memorabilia. After Thursday's walkthrough, cornerback Josh Norman was the first to sign Hutton's painting.
His favorite moment during training camp, however, did not come from a player autograph.
"It was Zach Brown [in 2017]. He did one of my Snapchats," Hutton said with a laugh. "I asked him to be in my Snapchat and he took it over and made it very eventful."
Although Hutton has remained a loyal fan, he is expecting his favorite team to return to their winning ways. He believes that the addition of quarterback Alex Smith will make the offense smoother and thinks a goal coming out of camp is for the team to stay healthy.
"I'm looking for a winning season," Hutton said. "I'm looking for better play at the quarterback position. I'm looking for us to stay healthy, too. I think that played a key factor last year."
