As of now, Will Compton has been demoted to backup status, beginning the last two preseason games behind Mason Foster and newly acquired Zach Brown. He's also been royally roasted by the media, mostly due to a poor rating by the never-challenged Pro Football Focus, which has a monopoly status on grading players. Cousins is playing under the franchise tag for the second year in a row so he's yet to sign a long-term deal to stay in Washington.
This is from a typical recent article about Compton:
For Redskins Will Compton, every missed tackle is a missed opportunity
Compton’s 2016 season was a disappointment, to say the least. The then fourth-year veteran led the Redskins in missed tackles, quite possibly the most undesirable defensive stat category.
Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 41.7 for the 2016 season, good (or bad) for 75th in the league among inside linebackers. I don’t need to explain any further. Unless you’ve hit the golf course one too many times in the past week, you know that grade is bad.
But Compton isn’t completely inept. In fact, he’s far from it. The players noticeably rally behind Compton. Although he had a down year in 2016, his experience and leadership are true commodities to the rest of the defense. His recent play may not reflect his true value. However, it does skew that value. Compton needs to perform if he wants to keep a substantial role on the team.
Recently unseated by
Zach Brown as the starter, the underdog must now prove himself again. And it won’t be easy. Brown was voted into the Pro Bowl last year, having the best year of his career in a defensive scheme nearly identical to the Redskins. Compton, meanwhile, had his worst season, exposing his own personal flaws while also weighing down the defense as a whole.
For Compton, every missed tackle is a missed opportunity to earn his spot on the starting lineup back. Compton will stay as a reserve linebacker if he can’t elevate himself. But the underdog craves change. Compton’s play calling ability and leadership, if nothing else, are valuable to the Redskins. But he can’t succeed on those two qualities alone.
full article:
https://riggosrag.com/2017/08/23/redskins-will-compton-every-missed-tackle-missed-opportunity/