Third-round cornerback Kendall Fuller was a spectator during the Redskins weekend rookie minicamp as he recovers from ACL surgery, but Fuller is eyeing a return to action by the time the pads come on.
“I’ll definitely be good by training camp,” Fuller said in a Saturday minicamp interview session. “Right now they’re just taking it slow, so [doctors] can see where I’m at for themselves. But I’m moving along quick.”
Fuller suffered a torn ACL last September, ending his final season at Virginia Tech. Most draft projections had him going in the first two rounds before the injury.
The Redskins signing prized free agent Josh Norman last month probably pushed cornerback down the team’s list of needs and made Fuller at No. 84 a luxury pick of sorts, but Redskins coach Jay Gruden said in a story on the team website about Fuller’s recovery that he expects Fuller to be an immediate contributor.
“I think [Fuller] is big enough to play corner, but we also think he’s got a skillset to play nickel, which is very important,” Gruden said. “Ideally, we’d like to keep him at nickel, and keep Bashaud Breeland outside.
“If he can play outside, we can move Breeland inside to nickel. I think he’s got a skillset where he can play both corner and nickel, which is very important nowadays to be versatile.”
Fuller had eight interceptions in his first two college seasons. He entered the draft despite being limited to three games as a junior by the injury.