Mocking The Washington Redskins Off-Season

The National Football League’s “legal tampering” period begins Monday, March 7. The three-day window gives teams an opportunity to contact and enter into contract negotiations with agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents Wednesday, March 9 at 4 p.m. EST.  Entering into their second off-season with Scot McCloughan as GM, the Washington Redskins have a golden opportunity this spring and summer to really improve their football team. It all has to start in the trenches and McCloughan did a solid job laying the foundation for that last off-season. Washington is projected to have around $19 million available in cap space.

 

Needs: QB, RB, WR, OG, OC,  NT, DE, CB, S, ILB

 

Potential Cuts:

• QB Robert Griffin III ($16,155,000 savings) – No brainer.
• DE Jason Hatcher ($4,234,375 savings) – At 33 years old, it would be good for the team if he just retires. If not, you need to dump the contract. He’s been productive but hasn’t stayed healthy nor been consistently dominant. 
• Dashon Goldson ($8,000,000 savings) – Goldson wasn’t “horrible” last season, but he wasn’t productive either. At 31 years old, he’s on the decline. I’d consider this cut or a pay cut of sorts.
• Perry Riley ($4,000,000 savings) – Riley is a better player than people give him credit for being. Not to mention, he’s only 27 years old. However, I think the Redskins could use an upgrade — Mason Foster may be that. Martell Spaight may also be that. Either way, there’s potential cheaper options.
• Andre Roberts ($3,000,000 savings) – Simply was a bust free agent signing. Roberts has done much to nothing on offense and special teams. Time to move on.
• Kory Lichtensteiger ($2,9500 savings) – At 30 years old, Lich is a solid player but not right for this scheme. Redskins need to get younger and bigger at center.
• Adam Hayward ($885,000 savings) – Good on special teams, but you can replace that.

 

Potential Trades:

• Pierre Garcon is part of the grossly expensive, yet underachieving Redskins WR group. He’s not a bad player. In fact, he was a huge part of Washington’s late season playoff push. However, he’s almost 30 years old and his style of play is replaceable at a cheaper rate. I’d look to trade him, although I doubt anyone would want to do that without him agreeing to a paycut or restructure. Washington would save $8,000,000 if they just cut him. But I think you either dangle him in a trade, cut his pay or just swallow the money.

 

• Trent Murphy - the Redskins are building some depth on the Edge and Murphy is going to get lost in the crowd. Why not try to see if a team wants him? I said the same thing this time last year about David Amerson and the team eventually cut him. Amerson went on to find success in Oakland. I could see Murphy having some success in a place like LA with the Rams.

 

Trade I Think Happens:

• Kam Chancellor to Washington: According to a source, a trade to Washington almost happened last year. Both Seattle and Washington just couldn’t come to an agreement on the price tag. If I’m the Redskins, a 4th round pick and a player like Trent Murphy would be an ideal trade. Maybe another pick, but I don’t think Seattle is going to get that second or third for Chancellor. He’s still relatively young (will be 28) and is an impact player. Washington needs more of those. A V-Tech trio of DeAngelo Hall, Kam Chancellor and Kyshoen Jarrett sounds good to me.

 

Washington Redskins 2016 Unrestricted Free Agents:

• Terrance Knighton, 29, DT
• Logan Paulsen, 29, TE
• Alfred Morris, 27, RB
• Darrel Young, 28, FB
• Kedric Golston, 32, DT
• Josh LeRibeus, 26, OG
• Keenan Robinson, 26, LB
• Duke Ihenacho, 26, S
• Will Blackmon, 31, CB
• Frank Kearse, 27, DL
• Mason Foster, 27, ILB
• Junior Galette, 27, OLB
• Pierre Thomas, 31, RB
• Alex Smith, 33, TE
• Cary Williams, 31, CB

 

Re-sign:

• Mason Foster - I thought Foster played well late in the season. The Redskins would be wise to re-sign him and have him compete for a starting job.

• Junior Galette - It’ll be interesting to see how he is returning from his injury. Galette has been injury prone in the past. However, he provides speed and an attitude that the Redskins lack on defense.

Alfred Morris, in a way, would make sense to be re-signed. However, the fact he’s a one dimensional player makes his value extremely low. The Redskins can upgrade over him without spending a lot of money. Terrance Knighton is another player who, in a way, could make sense to be re-signed. But the Redskins run defense didn’t improve with him last year and he doesn’t offer you much of anything else. I don’t think it’ll be worth his potential price tag. 

 

Potential Free Agent Targets by position:

• Brandon Boykin
• Jeremy Lane
• Ron Brooks
• Jaryon Hosley
• Morris Claiborne

 

 

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Mock Free Agent Signings:

 

• Jeremy Lane, CB, Seattle Seahawks: Jeremy Lane would be my top free agent target for the Redskins. He’ll be 26 at the start of the season and is capable of playing nickel back. I still believe that the Redskins have two very solid corners in Bashuad Breeland and Chris Culliver — if the group can stay healthy. But you can never have enough Corners in today’s NFL. Plus, nickelback is a big need for the team. Lane has had his own history of being injury prone. That could help the Redskins sign him for a generally cheaper price.

 

• Ron Brooks, CB, Buffalo Bills: The Bills are loaded at corner and could let Ron Brooks walk in free agency. He’s 27 and is an under-the-radar type of player. He’s capable of playing nickel or outside. Not to mention, he’s a very good special teamer. Even if the Redskins are unable to sign Lane, this would be a smart signing.

 

•  Andre Branch, EDGE, Jacksonville Jaguars: The Redskins OLB position is kind of a weird situation. For one, Washington’s edge guys predominately play with their hands in the dirt now. Although, it was interesting to hear Scot McCloughan give insight on what Junior Galette’s potential role will be if/when re-signed for this upcoming season: “3-4 stuff, 2-point stance OLB.” That lets you know that packages will be created for their group of rushers.  Even if Washington re-signs Galette, they need to continue adding younger pieces for the future. Preston Smith, in my mind, is the star of the current bunch. Branch would add youth, length and size to the rotation. He’s had some health issues in the past, but he’s a talented player who didn’t necessarily fit Jacksonville’s scheme. Branch is a Richmond, VA native.

 

• J.R. Sweezy, OG, Seattle Seahawks: If the Seahawks don’t re-sign Sweezy, I could see the Redskins giving him a look. He’s still relatively new to the position (former defensive lineman). At times, he flashes dominance. Other times, he can get beat badly. At 26 years old, he still has room to improve. If he’s able to become more consistent, he could be a very solid guard. At the least, he provides depth.

 

• James Starks, RB, Green Bay Packers: I’m not a fan of signing Free Agent running backs because it’s so easy to draft them mid and late rounds. However, the Redskins could use an additional vet in the backfield to complement Matt Jones. I think Starks should be relatively cheap. He’s been a nice complementary player — at times, even starting for the Packers.

 

• Zach Brown, ILB, Tennessee Titans:  I think the Redskins should look towards the draft for ILB’s to compete against Mason Foster and Will Compton. But if they were to sign another in Free Agency, it should be Zach Brown. He’s a good special teamer and a very athletic linebacker who I liked coming out of UNC. He’s also from Colombia, MD.

Scot McCloughan will probably lean more to the draft this year, but he knows how to use free agency as a tool to improve a roster. Washington made it to the playoffs last year mostly because of their rookie class and low-end free agency signings. That will probably be their formula moving forward. 

 

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2016 Washington Redskins Mock Draft:

1. Titans: Laremy Tunsil, T
2. Browns: Carson Wentz, QB
3. Chargers: Jalen Ramsey, CB/FS
4. Cowboys: Joey Bosa, DE
5. Jaguars: Myles Jack, LB
6. Ravens: Ronnie Stanley, OT
7. 49ers: Jared Goff, QB
8. Dolphins: Vernon Hargreaves, CB
9. Bucaneers: DeForest Buckner, DE
10. Giants: Ezekiel Elliott, RB
11. Bears: Darron Lee, LB
12. Saints: Andrew Billings, DT
13.  Eagles: Laquon Treadwell, WR
14. Raiders: Eli Apple, CB
15. Rams: Michael Thomas, WR
16. Lions: Jack Cocklin, OT
17. Falcons: Reggie Ragland, ILB
18. Colts: A’Shawn Robinson, DT
19. Bills: Jarran Reed, DT
20. Jets: Noah Spence, DE

 

With the 21st overall pick, the Washington Redskins select: Chris Jones, DT/DE, Mississippi State 

• We’ve discussed Chris Jones for a while now. I think he’s definitely in play for the Redskins at 21 overall. He’s big, long and played in the SEC. Washington needs an infusion of youth and explosion on their DL. This would be a good start. I think a guy like Jonathan Bullard from Florida or Vernon Bulter from La Tech would be good as well — but this may be a little rich for those players. I could also see Washington going receiver here if Treadwell or Thomas is available. In this scenario, they aren’t. So why not get a dominant lineman?

 

Second Round:  Charone Peake, WR, Clemson

• The Peake is rising. I don’t think he will be there by the Redskins’ third round pick. So if they like him, they’d have to pull the trigger in round two. Peake is a first to second round talent with little production in college. He suffered some injuries in school, but it sounds like his medical is all clear. Peake impressed at both the Combine and Senior Bowl. He could be yet another good WR from Clemson.

 

Third Round: Cyrus Jones, CB, Alabama

• Here again is where McCloughan’s theory of “football players” take place. Sure Cyrus is a smaller DB, but he is physical as all get-out and extremely versatile. Not to mention, I’m a fan of DBs who return punts. Jones can do that for you.

 

Fourth Round: Joe Schobert, ILB, Wisconsin

• I’m doing this draft based off the Free Agents signed above — so Washington would already have a super athletic guy in Zach Brown. In Schobert, they’d have a very smooth, instinctive athlete who has a little old school to him. When I watch Schobert’s film, I just don’t see a big drop-off talent wise compared to a guy like Reggie Ragland.

 

Fifth Round: Evan Boehm, C, Missouri 

• Boehm fits the McCloughan profile: big, strong and a great leader. He has the potential to be a day one starter.

 

Sixth Round: Jeff Driskel, QB, LA Tech

• If McCloughan takes a QB in this draft, I bet it’ll be one who played in the Senior Bowl. Driskel is a polarizing guy because some think he could go as high as the second round. He has the traits to be a big time QB. However, his tenure at Florida will forever haunt him until he strings together some consistent play.

 

Seventh Round: Javon Hargave, DT, South Carolina State

• I don’t know if this guy will be available in this round — I’ve seen him go as high as the fourth round in mocks. But he’s a very stout lineman with pass rush potential. I think he’ll be a better pass rusher than guys somewhat similar to him — Jon Bullard and Willie Henry.

 

Seventh Round: James Bradberry, CB, Samford

• Big, physical corner who could provide depth for the team. McCloughan tends to draft multiple DBs and WRs. Of course, this isn’t a deep WR class. But I think you can find quality DBs late. Bradberry is one.

 

 

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