The Washington Redskins on Wednesday agreed to terms with restricted-free-agent-to-be safety Duke Ihenacho.
The Washington Redskins have reached an agreement to re-sign safety Duke Ihenacho, the team announced on Wednesday.
Ihenacho, 26, will be entering his fourth NFL season in 2016 with the last two coming with the Redskins.
The safety originally joined the Redskins after being claimed on waivers before the start of the 2014 season.
He would make his Washington debut on Sept. 7, 2014, playing strictly special teams as he adjusted to his new team following two seasons with the Denver Broncos.
But before the San Jose State product could get into a groove on the East Coast, his season was cut short in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering a season-ending fractured foot.
Ihenacho would spend the rest of that season rehabbing in anticipation of better things to come during the 2015 season.
"I felt healed during the season, so my rehab process was, I was in a boot, I was in a cast for like seven to eight weeks, then I started the rehab process," Ihenacho told Redskins.com "So I just would come in, do a lot of strengthening and stuff like that while I was in a cast I was still lifting and just doing what I could."
Despite the fact the Redskins would bring in Jeron Johnson, a backup to the talented safeties in Seattle, during free agency last offseason, Ihenacho would participate in an open safety battle before ultimately winning a starting spot for the season.
But in the regular season opener against the Miami Dolphins, Ihenacho would once again be lost for the season, this time to a broken wrist.
"They were like 'Yo, don't look at it,'" Ihenacho recalled of the injury. "Then I looked at it and I was like 'Oh wow.' It was deformed. It was just out of place. My wrist was going a whole different way."
While the Redskins' safety depth will likely continue to change (Dashon Goldson and Johnson were both released on Monday), Ihenacho has the confidence to jump right into any situation and not miss a step.
"I'm never lacking any confidence," Ihenacho said. "I still feel like I can contribute and I still feel like I can't wait to get back out there and compete for a starting spot again, get back on the field and continue to start making plays again…I'm excited. We're playing better than we did last year. We've still got work to do but I'm excited. The thing that hurts the most is just watching us on TV, and not only us but just watching all my other friends in the NFL on TV around the league and seeing everyone do well. It makes me jealous because I want to do well and I want to be out there with them."
Regarding his health moving forward, Ihenacho believes he'll be ready for minicamp in June.
"I mean I can do minicamp right now, it's just minicamp," Ihenacho said in January. "So it's not like it's a foot injury or knee injury, it's a wrist injury and if the whole football season was played like flag football, then I would be able to play but it's not. I'll be ready to go minicamp."
The Redskins last week also reportedly extended tenders to exclusive rights free agents Will Compton, Chris Thompson and Tress Way.
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