Expected to provide Chris Baker with an offer by Tuesday, the Redskins may now be conceding the defensive end is going to move on in free agency. Washington’s top defensive lineman over the past two seasons is “highly likely” to depart the nation’s capital, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The Broncos and Buccaneers are coveting Baker.
However, the Redskins are going to be on the hunt for defensive linemen. One name La Canfora is connecting the team is Dontari Poe (Twitter link). The five-year Chiefs starter reportedly hasn’t seen his market take off during his first free agency period, with Jason Cole of Bleacher Report hearing the mammoth defender could take a one-year contract with a team that would let him rush quarterbacks more.
Poe served as a lane clogger in Kansas City but was a dynamo in terms of snaps played, logging more than any nose man during his rookie-deal tenure in Kansas City. But his sack totals decreased, plummeting from 10.5 between the 2013 and ’14 seasons (both Pro Bowl slates) to 2.5 combined in 2015 and ’16. The 26-year-old wouldn’t be a Baker replacement, being a nose guard, but would help Washington offset the end’s defection from a talent standpoint.
Additionally, La Canfora notes both the Redskins and Jaguars are aiming to land Cowboys safety Barry Church. Jacksonville obviously has the cap room to outmuscle Washington here, at $75MM to $34MM, but Church isn’t expected to command an incredibly lucrative deal. Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com connected the eighth-year safety to an AAV mark north of $5MM. Although, the Panthers are also pursuing Church, so this figure could escalate. The Redskins have experienced inconsistency at safety for a bit now due to injuries and under-performing cogs.