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The Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles face off in Week 1 of the regular season. As if a season-opener needed even more excitement around it, it's a divisional rival game. But wait, there's more.
The Eagles recently cut Wendell Smallwood. Although the running back might not be the biggest name at his position, he's still a useful player due to his versatility. The Redskins noticed that and snatched him up.
Many assumed that Washington was engaging in a classic form of gamesmanship – bringing in a recently-waived player who just happened to have been cut by an upcoming opponent. Smallwood, though, has refused to engage in that type of intel gathering.
Asked why he's opted against sharing the Eagles' gameplan with his new team, Smallwood alluded to his past with Philadelphia as a Super Bowl winner and young fan growing up.
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Former #Eagles RB Wendell Smallwood says he will NOT sell out his former team & divulge inside information to the Redskins after the Eagles cut him
"I won a super bowl with this team, I can't really sell my team out. That team means a lot to me, it's my childhood team"@6abc pic.twitter.com/qqjyqrBYTh
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) September 6, 2019
Honestly, this makes a lot of sense. As previously stated, Smallwood is a very talented running back. He's not the type of player a team would pick up just for intel. With that in mind, he'll be contributing in a lot of other ways.
You can also understand how it would feel like you're betraying people by doing this. Teams prepare for their opponents without former players giving scouting reports all the time; it's not like it's a life-or-death situation for the Redskins.
Furthermore, he's not burning a bridge. Smallwood's absolutely talented, but he's also on a team loaded at his position. Derrius Guice is the budding superstar and Chris Thompson is a worthwhile third-down back. Oh, and there's the future Hall-of-Famer Adrian Peterson, who ran for over 1,000 yards last season.
