Washington must have impressed more than just the football fans who couldn't help but notice him flying all over the field making tackles in his preseason opportunities for the Cardinals.
Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt named Washington as a starter (inside linebacker) for the opening game of the season against the St. Louis Rams.
KTAR has the full story:
KTAR.com - Rookie Washington gets the start
It's rare for an NFL rookie to crack the starting lineup in the first week of the season, at least in Arizona. The only other rookies to start the first game of the year under Ken Whisenhunt are lineman Levi Brown, who did so in 2007, and returners Steve Breaston and LaRod Stephens-Howling, who started in 2007 and 2009, respectively."He's kind of lived up to that policy that we hold everybody to, the best players," explained Whisenhunt after practice Thursday. "He's played the best at that position (inside linebacker); and you know at some point you've got to recognize that he should be in there even though he's a rookie."
Washington was selected 47th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft coming out of TCU. Go, Horned Frogs!
Maybe if the Cardinals were on HBO's Hard Knocks, he would have a cool nickname like "Wash-Frog" or "Daryl the Terminator".