HEADLINES

Offseason In Review: Washington Redskins

August 1st, 2017 at 8:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Redskins narrowly missed earning a second consecutive postseason appearance in 2017, as a tie with the Bengals in London ended up costing Washington another playoff berth. That frustration seemed minor compared to the upheaval that began on the first day of free agency, when the Redskins fired general manager Scot McCloughan and began a summer-long saga of unfruitful negotiations with quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Notable signings:

Kirk Cousins has played the free agent game perfectly: assigned the franchise tag for two consecutive seasons, Cousins has now raked in nearly $44MM from 2016-17, and will earn another ~$34.48MM if the Redskins use the franchise tender again in 2018. Exerting all his leverage, Cousins rejected an offer from Washington that the team claims included $53MM in full guarantees, noting that he wanted more time to evaluate an organization that has seen considerable turnover both on the field and in the front office.Kirk Cousins (Vertical)

While Cousins clearly isn’t the league’s best quarterback, he’s going to be paid like it next season, either through another franchise tag, an extension with the Redskins, or a free agent deal with another club. Over the past two seasons, Cousins has completed 68.3% of his passes while averaging more than 4,500 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. That level of production will earn a quarterback a massive contract on the open market — especially given that Cousins’ former offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, is now the head coach of a quarterback-needy 49ers club — and Cousins will easily clear the $27MM per year mark if he reaches unfettered free agency.

Cousins will be throwing to a new group of wideouts that includes former Brown Terrelle Pryor, whom the Redskins landed on one of the best value free agent signings of 2017. Pryor is only 28 years old, and posted 77 receptions, 1,007 yards and four touchdowns in his first season as a wide receiver. Given that he was a quarterback until 2016, many clubs seemed reticent to invest in Pryor despite his excellent statistics, but Washington took the plunge. It’s a worthwhile risk, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Redskins attempt to extend Pryor in-season if he continues his run of receiving success.

While receiver Brian Quick may not even make Washington’s final roster, veteran tight end Vernon Davis could play a key role for the club after re-signing on a three-year pact. Starting tight end Jordan Reed has had difficulty staying healthy during his four-year career (four missed games last season), and has already been placed on active/PUP with a toe issue. Davis, who looked finished in Denver two years ago, put up 44 receptions for more than 500 yards in his first season as a Redskin. While he still can’t block (bottom-10 among tight ends in the run game, per Pro Football Focus), Davis is a serviceable starter if Reed is sidelined again.

On defense, the Redskins sought to beef up a defensive line that ranked just 27th against the run, according to Football Outsiders‘ adjusted line yards metric. While Stacy McGee and Terrell McClain should do just that along Washington’s front, both signed contracts that can be escaped relatively easily. McClain, notably, is two years older than McGee, but received a larger guarantee, a larger signing bonus, and a longer contract than the former Raider. While both interior defenders will see time up front on a rotational basis, both players could see their deals effectively turn into effective one-year pacts.Zach Brown (vertical)

At the second level, Washington made an addition that rivals its signing of Pryor in terms of value, inking linebacker Zach Brown to a one-year deal. Finally utilizing the speed and athleticism that made him a second-round pick in 2012, Brown played 91.2% of Buffalo’s defensive snaps a year ago while posting 149 tackles, four sacks, and one interception. That performance earned Brown second-team All Pro honors, but his market never developed, as interest from the Raiders, Dolphins, Colts, and incumbent Bills never materialized into a deal. Landing a linebacker of Brown’s caliber for just $2.3MM is an absolute steal.

Like Brown, safety D.J. Swearinger is a former second-round draft choice who never put it all together until 2016, when he started 12 games for Arizona and graded as the NFL’s No. 9 safety, per PFF. Swearinger, who is already drawing praise for his work in Washington, is expected to line up next to Su’a Cravens (yet another ex-second-rounder) in the Redskins’ secondary. The Redskins ranked 25th in DVOA against tight ends last season, so the club is hoping Swearinger can help cover the middle of the field.

Notable losses:

If Kirk Cousins struggles in 2017 and doesn’t land a gargantuan contract next spring, he may look back at the Redskins’ decision to let his top two receiving options — DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon — leave via free agency. That’s not to say either decision was incorrect, as both Jackson and Garcon are on the wrong side of 30 and received at least $17MM in full guarantees. But Washington is certainly taking a leap of faith by not re-signing Jackson or Garcon, who together accounted for roughly 35% of Cousins’ 2016 targets.DeSean Jackson (Vertical)

The loss of Jackson will likely hurt the Redskins’ offense more than Garcon, as Jackson’s deep speed — last season, he led the league in yards per reception for the third time in his career — allowed Cousins to work in the middle of the field with passes to tight end Jordan Reed and slot receiver Jamison Crowder. It’s an open question as to whether free agent addition Terrelle Pryor or 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson (who essentially redshirted during his rookie campaign) can provide that sort of deep-ball threat.

The rest of Washington’s notable losses came on the defensive side of the ball, starting with three defections along the defensive interior. Chris Baker‘s absence will hurt the most, as the 29-year-old posted 10.5 sacks over the past two seasons and graded as the NFL’s No. 18 defensive tackle in 2016, per PFF. The Redskins anonymously questioned Baker’s worth ethic on the way out the door, but he was a productive player for Washington, especially against the run. Ricky Jean-Francois (released) and Cullen Jenkins (free agent) are also gone, but neither played more than 40% of the Redskins’ defensive snaps last season, and have been replaced by arguably better players.

Similarly, several members of Washington’s secondary have departed but been exchanged for more productive options. Safeties Duke Ihenacho and Donte Whitner both played on at least 40% of the club’s snaps in 2016, but neither was very effective. Ihenacho graded as a bottom-10 defensive back, per PFF, while Whitner has yet to find a new NFL home. With D.J. Swearinger now in tow, and Su’a Cravens expected to play a larger role, Ihenacho and Whitner won’t be missed.

Trades:

Draft picks:

In the months leading up to the draft, Jonathan Allen was thought to be a surefire top-five selection, but a shoulder issue apparently worried some clubs. The Redskins weren’t scared off by the injury, as they considered trading up to acquire Allen on draft day. Instead, the Alabama product — who led all interior linemen with 67 pressures last season, according to Pro Football Focus — fell to pick No. 17, and Washington landed a player who could potentially start on its defensive line for the next decade.Fabian Moreau (vertical)

The Redskins continued to add pieces to their defense on Day 2, including linebacker Ryan Anderson, who boasts a “disciplined, assignment-based approach” that will win over defensive coordinators, per Lance Zierlein on NFL.com, and cornerback Fabian Moreau, who posted the second-highest SPARQ score among draft-eligible corners. Like Allen, Moreau slid in the draft based on injury, as he underwent pectoral surgery in March. Neither Anderson nor Moreau figures to start immediately, but both could be high-impact players by their second or third season in the nation’s capital.

In the fourth round, Washington targeted the offensive side of the ball, picking up a bowling ball of a running back in Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine. At 5’10”, 233 pounds, Perine is a “thick, compact, bruising runner with good feet,” says Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, who also notes the heavy toll placed upon Perine’s legs at the collegiate level. Incumbent starter Rob Kelley shouldn’t be promised anything after averaging 4.2 yards per carry last year (and posting sub-par athletic testing numbers prior to the 2016 draft), and John Keim of ESPN.com has already projected Perine to receiver the lion’s share of the carries in 2017.

Extensions and restructures:

Other:

Following the firing of ex-general manager Scot McCloughan on the first day of the free agent period, Washington’s front office is in perhaps the most precarious position of any personnel team in the league. Several executives, including Doug Williams and Eric Schaffer, have been handed promotions, but team president Bruce Allen is essentially still running the show. Allen, who’s shown no ability to manage a front office in his past stops, essentially worked off McCloughan’s draft and free agent board during the spring, so the real test for the new staff will be the 2018 offseason, when McCloughan’s hints are no longer available.

The turmoil in the Redskins’ front office is in contrast to the surprising stability exhibited on the field, where the club extended head coach Jay Gruden and found internal replacements for both of its departed coordinators. If Gruden sticks it out through the end of his contract in 2020, he’ll be the longest tenured Washington coach since Joe Gibbs‘ first stint in DC. Promoting Greg Manusky to defensive coordinator was a curious choice, however, as he was part of the staff that led the Redskins to a 25th-place DVOA ranking.

Top 10 cap charges for 2017:

  1. Kirk Cousins, QB: $23,943,600
  2. Josh Norman, CB: $20,000,000
  3. Trent Williams, T: $15,137,500
  4. Ryan Kerrigan, LB: $11,700,000
  5. Terrelle Pryor, WR: $6,000,000
  6. Brandon Scherff, G: $5,786,083
  7. Jordan Reed, TE: $5,737,500
  8. Shawn Lauvao, G: $5,000,000
  9. Terrell McClain, DL: $3,734,375
  10. Morgan Moses, T: $3,621,394

The NFC East figures to be one of the more competitive divisions in the NFL next season, as Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders indicates the NFC East is one of only two divisions where every club is projected to win at least seven games. Washington figures to be in the thick of things thanks to an excellent offense and an improving defense, but whether the Redskins can earn another playoff appearance in 2017 is anyone’s guess.

Information from Over the Cap and Roster Resource was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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