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Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, August 17, two days before the Washington Redskins play the New York Jets at FedEx Field.

Timeline

—Today's schedule: Practice 1:10; player availability and Jay Gruden news conference after practice.

—The Redskins last played a game that counted 220 days ago. It will be 26 days until they host the Steelers in their 2016 season opener.

—Days until: Final roster cut 17; Cowboys @ Redskins 32; Browns @ Redskins 46

The Redskins by the numbers

19.7—The 2015 Redskins’ average margin of defeat against teams that finished the season with winning records. There were three such games and all of them were on the road (Jets, Patriots, Panthers).

6—The number of teams that had winning records in 2015 that are on the Redskins’ schedule this year.

1—The number of those games that are true road games. That is in one in Arizona. One, against the Bengals, is in London, and four (Steelers, Vikings, Packers, Panthers) are at home.

64.1—Kirk Cousins’ completion percentage on passes thrown inside the 10 yard line. That ranked second among players who threw at least 25 passes inside the 10.

16—The number of touchdown passes Cousins threw from inside the 10. That was third in the NFL.

0—The number of red zone interceptions that Cousins threw last year. He had more red zone attempts (79) than any other QB who didn’t throw a red zone interception.

133—The number of receiving yards Jordan Reed had in the red zone. That led the NFL.

Tandler on Twitter

With camp over, it should be noted that D. Jackson did not miss a single practice or, as far as I could tell . . . https://t.co/J3PZKBL18b

— Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) August 16, 2016

In case you missed it 

• When will it be time to panic?
• Play calling mechanics unlikely to change
• Roster projection: How will the final 53 look after training camp?
• Michael Crabtree? Josh Doctson? What's the connection?

2018 NFL Draft

Sony Michel has what the Redskins need at running back

Redskins have drafted RBs, just not well

The 2018 NFL Mock Draft 9.0: One week away

Versatile DB Minkah Fitzpatrick could be too talented to leave on the board

On average, the mock drafts like Vita Vea going to the Redskins

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, April 21, five days before the 2018 NFL draft.  

The Redskins week that was

A look at some of the most popular posts and hottest topics of the week on Real Redskins and NBC Sports Washington. 

Should the Redskins pursue Dez Bryant? This topic was one like a meteor, very hot for a short period of time before it quickly faded out. It started to heat up as soon as the Cowboys cut Dez (about a month too late) and when it was reported that he wanted to play against Dallas twice a year it really picked up steam. But then people started to actually think and figured out that signing Bryant didn’t make much sense for the Redskins. Add to that the reports that the Redskins had no interest and would not look into signing Dez in the future and the Redskins fans quickly lost enthusiasm for the topic.

Seven-round Redskins mock draft—I think that most Redskins fans would be happy with this mock. Well, I’ll say some Redskins fans, most is a pretty strong word in this case. 

Is the draft pool deep enough for the Redskins to trade back? There is plenty of talk about the Redskins trading down in the first round to recoup the third-round pick they gave up in the Alex Smith trade. But they need to be careful. Many consider the draft to be top heavy and they may lose their chance to pick up an impact player if they trade back too far. The question then becomes one of quality vs. quantity. 

Three questions as offseason workouts get underway—There will be plenty more questions that we can ask about this team. But we don’t really know what to ask before the draft, particularly when it comes to the defensive line and running back. One the personnel settle into place we will know what we don’t know. 

Tweet of the week

On Chris Cooley’s thought that the Redskins might try to trade back and get Da’Ron Payne in the draft and the use the assets obtained to move up to get Derrius Guice. 

Interesting. They could move back from 13, get Payne and pick up a third. Then package their second and the third to move up to get Guice early in the second. Not sure he’ll be there but not a bad plan. https://t.co/socT0f6oFZ

— Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) April 17, 2018

This is related to the questions about trading back. On paper it looks like a good idea, assuming the Redskins want Payne. We’re pretty sure they would like to have Guice but we haven’t heard as much about the Alabama defensive lineman. 

I had many reply that Guice won’t be there in the second round. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, but you just don’t know. There was zero chance that Jonathan Allen would be there at No. 17 last year, right? 

Stay up to date on the Redskins. Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page, Facebook.com/TandlerNBCS and follow him on Twitter  @TandlerNBCS.

Timeline  

Days until:

—OTAs start (5/22) 31
—Training camp starts (7/26) 96
—2018 NFL season starts (9/9) 141

In case you missed it

• Need to Know: Five pivotal games on the Redskins' schedule
• Clarifying the confusion about the Redskins' Week 16 game at the Titans
• Redskins' schedule "rest disparity" is very fair in 2018

The NFL started taking into account a new factor when putting together its schedule this year. The concept is called rest disparity. It stems from a complaint made by the Giants last year. And, of course, when the Giants have a cold, the NFL sneezes and immediately does whatever it takes to cure the cold. 

Here is how Peter King laid it out this morning on the MMQB:

Last year, I heard the Giants were not pleased with their schedule because they felt they were too often playing teams more rested than they were. In consecutive October weeks, they played teams coming off byes, for instance. The NFL calculated a figure for every team based on the number of combined days of rest for their foes or for the team, calculating, for instance, in those two weeks, the Giants were a minus-14 (minus-seven for each of the foes, Seattle and Denver, coming off byes). In all, by my math, the Giants were a league-worst minus-22 in “rest disparity.”

So the schedule makers worked to minimize the rest disparity this year. According to King, the worst rest disparity in the league this year is minus-11. The Giants are minus-eight. 

The question that Redskins fans will have immediately here is if the Giants’ rest disparity was reduced at the expense of the team in burgundy and gold. The answer that will surprise many is no. 

The Redskins rest disparity in 2018 will be either minus-one or zero. The variance is due to the possibility that their Week 16 game in Tennessee will be flexed to a Saturday game (see details here). If the game stays on Sunday, they will be at minus-one in rest disparity. If it gets moved, they will have had exactly as much rest over the course of the season as did their opponents, in aggregate. 

If you're interested in the nitty-gritty, here is how it breaks down. In eight or nine of their games, they will have had the same amount of rest as their opponents. They play one game coming off of their bye, a Monday night game in New Orleans. The Saints play the previous Sunday, giving Washington a plus-seven in days of rest. That is canceled out when they play the Falcons in Week 9 after Atlanta’s bye. 

Due to their Thanksgiving game, they get three extra days off going into their Week 13 Monday night game in Philadelphia. Two weeks later the Jaguars will have those three extra days of rest when they host the Redskins, having played on Thursday in Week 14.

They lose a day relative to their opponents coming off of those Monday night games against the Saints and Eagles. The Redskins get an extra day prior to visiting the Giants in Week 8 as New York has a Monday night game in Week 7. 

So far, that comes to minus-one in rest disparity. That will remain in place if they play the Titans on Sunday, December 23. If the game is flexed to Saturday, they will gain a day of rest on the Eagles in Week 17, zeroing out the rest disparity for the season. 

More Redskins

• Redskins 2018 regular-season schedule is here
• Sony Michel has what the Redskins need at running back
• Five players who are wild cards for the 2018 Redskins

Stay up to date on the Redskins. Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page, Facebook.com/TandlerNBCS and follow him on Twitter @TandlerNBCS.