While the Redskins have already entered negotiations with pending free agent linebacker Zach Brown, there is a “gap” between Brown’s asking price and Washington’s comfort level, reports John Keim of ESPN.com.
It’s unclear how many years or what type of annual salary the 28-year-old Brown is searching for, but it’s worth noting he was met with lukewarm interest during the 2017 free agent period. While he was a year younger and coming off a much more productive season with the Bills, Brown was forced to accept a one-year deal with the Redskins that paid him only $2.55MM.
In his first season with Washington, Brown appeared in 13 games and played on roughly three-quarters of the club’s defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus graded Brown as the league’s No. 51 linebacker among 88 qualifiers, a steep dropoff from his 2017 production. As a unit, Washington’s defense ranked 29th in rush defense DVOA.
While the Redskins rank sixth in the NFL with approximately $52MM in available cap space, they have 19 unrestricted free agents, a list that includes quarterback Kirk Cousins and cornerback Bashaud Breeland. Washington could use that financial room to find a new signal-caller and add improvements at wide receiver, offensive line, or in the secondary, meaning Brown may not be a priority.
Please resign him and forget about Kirk. You can go out and get an Alex Smith and have a really solid defense. Resign Mr. Brown he’s a beast.
Zack Brown is awesome but I agree that they shouldn’t overpay for him. If they’re not going to do that with Cousins and Breeland, why do it with an LB fresh off of an underperformed year?
They can be aggressive finding guys in free agency to fill the gaps, that’s exactly what Philly did last offseason and now look at them.
If you watched any of the redskins games he played he was the best player on the field.