Redskins’ Ryan Kerrigan on Alex Smith: ‘You can already tell that he has a really good command of the offense’

Offseason practices offer limited information about how an NFL team will perform when it counts.

Still, there are aspects of the sessions that can be telling.

‘You could just tell that this guy has experience being a leader’

For Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, what he saw of the team’s new quarterback, Alex Smith, during OTAs and mandatory minicamp has left him smiling.

“We’ve been really impressed with Alex so far, not only from a physical standpoint and his command of the offense, but really his leadership and how quickly he adapted to it and accepted a leadership role,” Kerrigan told Vic Carucci and Dan Leberfeld during a recent appearance on Press Coverage. “It was so natural for him. You could just tell that this guy has experience being a leader, experience running the show.

‘We’re excited to see what Alex can do this fall’

“So we’re really pumped to have him on board and I know he’s really excited to be here. You can already tell that he has a really good command of the offense, so we’re excited to see what Alex can do this fall.”

Kerrigan, who is entering his eighth season with the Redskins, sees a general optimism throughout the team. Besides Smith’s play, he is also impressed with the overall strength of the squad.

‘We have the pieces there to make it a really strong season’

“This is as big and as strong of a team as we’ve had, I feel like, since I’ve been here,” Kerrigan said. “Our strength staff, with (strength and conditioning) coach Chad Englehart, has done a real good job of getting us ready, getting us big, getting us strong, getting us in shape. Now, it’s ultimately up to us to sustain that through the rest of the summer and come into training camp in Richmond ready to roll and ready to make this season a great one.

“Because we have the pieces there to make it a really strong season. We’ve just got to stay healthy, got to just continue to work to improve.”