UGA TE Washington (ankle) questionable vs

Georgia tight end Darnell Washington has a strained ankle and soft-tissue bruise and is questionable to play against TCU in the College Football Playoff Championship game presented by AT&T on Jan. 9.

Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart informed ESPN’s Marty Smith that Washington’s injury wasn’t a high ankle sprain and won’t need surgery, increasing his possibilities of betting the No. 3 Horned Frogs at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App).

1 Related Washington, a possible first-round pick in April’s NFL draft, was hurt early in the second quarter of No. 1 Georgia’s 42-41 success over No. 4 Ohio State in a CFP semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Bowl on Saturday night. He was hurt after Buckeyes linebacker Steele Chambers obstructed a Stetson Bennett pass.Washington, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound junior from Las Vegas, didn’t go back to the game. He told Smith after the Ohio State game that X-rays of his ankle were unfavorable. He was using a strolling boot and utilizing crutches on the sideline

Georgia leans heavily on both Washington and All-American tight end Brock Bowers as both receivers and blockers. The Bulldogs had used two-tight-end sets 59% of the time entering into the Ohio State game, 3rd most in the FBS. Washington had 27 catches for 426 backyards with 2 scores this season.

“He attempted to go back and couldn’t go back on it,” Smart stated after the game. “We’ll have to evaluate and see. Fortunately is he’s got more than a regular week. I know he’ll do whatever he can to return. He’s gone out west towards where he’s from. It will be essential to him to attempt to return.”