Washington To Sign William Jackson III
The Washington Football Team is signing former Bengals corner William Jackson III, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that it will be a three-year, $42MM pact with $26MM in guaranteed money.
That puts Jackson in the top-10 of the cornerback market in terms of AAV. The 2016 first-rounder has proven himself as a strong cover corner over his first few years in the league, and though he has yet to make a Pro Bowl, he could receive those honors in the near future. He missed his entire rookie campaign due to injury and started just five games in his second professional season, but from 2017-20, he tallied 41 passes defensed and three picks, and he graded as Pro Football Focus’ 20th-best CB (out of 121 qualifiers) last season.
He will serve as a worthy replacement for Ronald Darby — who agreed to a free agent deal with the Broncos yesterday — and will team with Kendall Fuller to provide WFT with a strong starting tandem at the cornerback position. The club was terrific against the pass last season, so maintaining a quality 1-2 punch on the boundaries was a key part of its push for back-to-back playoff appearances.
Although Jackson had previously expressed a desire to remain in Cincinnati on a long-term basis, the writing was on the wall when the club agreed to sign Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie earlier today. Jackson is probably better than both players, but Hilton and Awuzie’s combined AAV is about the same as Jackson’s, so the Bengals saw an opportunity to acquire two quality starters for the price of one.
Washington To Sign QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Fitzpatrick is heading to Washington. The veteran quarterback has reached an agreement with Washington, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). It’s a one-year deal worth $10MM, but the deal could grow to $12MM with incentives.
Despite having turned 38 years old in November and completing his 16th NFL season, it never really looked like the veteran was going to hang up his cleats. We heard earlier this week that Fitzpatrick intended to play in 2021, and it sounded like the quarterback would have plenty of suitors.
“For me, personally, I have to take every offseason and reassess,” Fitzpatrick said recently. “These last two years have really re-lit that fire under me. I still want to play, and I enjoy being out there playing.”
Those past two years saw Fitzmagic lead the Dolphins to a 9-11 record in his 20 starts with the organization. He completed 64.2-percent of his passes over those two campaigns, throwing for 5,620 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. He also continued to produce on the ground, finishing with 150 rushing yards for the 10th time in the past 13 seasons.
Washington was looking for a quarterback after letting go of Alex Smith earlier this month. The team entered the offseason rostering both Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen.
WFT To Re-Sign K Dustin Hopkins
The Washington Football Team will re-sign kicker Dustin Hopkins, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter). NFL Insider Adam Caplan reports that it will be a one-year, $2.5MM pact with $1.9MM guaranteed (Twitter link).
Hopkins had a rocky start to his pro career. After being selected by the Bills in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, the Florida State product won Buffalo’s placekicking job as a rookie but sustained a groin injury before the season got underway. He missed the entire 2013 season and then lost his roster spot the following summer, ultimately catching on with the Saints’ taxi squad towards the end of 2014.
He lost New Orleans’ kicking battle in the summer of 2015, but he finally found a home with Washington. He has served as WFT’s kicker for the last six seasons and just wrapped up a three-year, $6.875MM contract that he signed right before free agency opened in March 2018.
Hopkins, 30, did not disappoint in his first year under the new deal, sinking nearly 89.7% of his field goal tries in 2018 and 96.2% of his PATs (both career-highs). But he regressed a bit in 2019 and cratered in 2020, struggling to a 79.4% field goal percentage last season (25th in the league). That wasn’t an ideal platform campaign, but WFT was willing to bring him back just the same.
Now that one of their own priority FAs is back in the fold, Finlay suggests that Washington could try to lock up CB Ronald Darby before free agency opens on Wednesday (Twitter link).
Brandon Scherff Signs Franchise Tender
Brandon Scherff is now attached to a monster guard salary. Washington’s twice-franchise-tagged offensive lineman signed the second of those tenders Friday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
This will guarantee Scherff’s $18.04MM franchise tag salary. Washington franchised Scherff again earlier this week, with the hope of locking him down long-term. Should the sides fail to agree on an extension by July 15, Scherff moved to ensure his lucrative 2021 tag salary will be locked in.
Scherff has been eligible to sign an extension since the 2018 offseason. Washington picked up the Pro Bowler’s 2019 fifth-year option, used the franchise tag in 2020 and has now used it again. The team has put off a long-term arrangement with its 2015 first-round pick for quite some time now, but with Scherff continuing to produce and remaining by far the best O-lineman on Washington’s roster, he has moved into good position to land a long-sought-after extension.
Some urgency may exist on Scherff’s part as well. He has a history of injuries, including an MCL issue that sidelined him for three games last season, and will turn 30 later this year. Still, the second franchise tag will put the four-time Pro Bowler in strong position this offseason.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/12/21
The restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decision deadline is fast approaching. Some teams are already making their calls in advance of March 17. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Non-tendered:
- Cardinals: WR Trent Sherfield
- Chargers: TE Stephen Anderson
- Seahawks: G Jordan Simmons
- Washington Football Team: CB Danny Johnson
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Chargers: T Tyree St. Louis
- 49ers: OL Daniel Brunskill
- Seahawks: DB Ryan Neal
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/10/21
The restricted free agent and exclusive rights free agent tender decision deadline is a little more than a week away. Some teams are already making their calls in advance of March 17. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:
RFAs
Tendered:
- Washington: WR Cam Sims
Non-tendered:
- Jets: LB Harvey Langi
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Ravens: C Trystan Colon-Castillo, LB Kristian Welch
- Seahawks: OL Kyle Fuller, DT Bryan Mone
- Washington: QB Kyle Allen
Washington Franchises G Brandon Scherff
For the second straight March, Brandon Scherff will be part of a franchise tag transaction. Washington is again moving to cuff its top offensive lineman via the tag, NBC Sports Washington’s J.P. Finlay tweets.
Because Scherff played last season on the tag, he will carry a hefty price. It will cost Washington $18.04MM to tag the six-year veteran guard. The sides hope to finalize a long-term deal; doing so would lower Scherff’s 2021 cap number. Washington is set to carry plenty of cap space, however. Even after the tag, the team holds more than $35MM.
Scherff, who joined Joe Thuney last year in being the first guards tagged since 2011, has traveled the Jadeveon Clowney route by playing out a fifth-year option season and playing a subsequent season on the tag. Unlike Clowney, however, Scherff has now received a second tag. The clock is ticking on his ability to maximize his value. Despite being a 2015 draftee, the four-time Pro Bowl blocker will turn 30 later this year.
Washington ended a messy divorce with Trent Williams last year, leaving Scherff as its cornerstone O-lineman. While Scherff has battled a few injuries in recent years, he returned to top form after his most recent malady. Returning from an early-season MCL injury, Scherff played a key role in elevating Washington back to the playoffs. He earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in doing so.
Washington has until July 15 to finalize an extension with Scherff. Considering his lofty tag price, the team will likely continue efforts to extend Scherff ahead of free agency’s March 17 outset. The Iowa product’s tag price is far and away the highest salary for a guard this year. As far as long-term deals go, no guard is making as much in average salary as Scherff earned last year on the tag ($15MM). He stands to fetch a high price on an extension.
WFT Unlikely To Re-Sign Reuben Foster
It does not appear that Reuben Foster will ever suit up for the Washington Football Team. WFT’s prior regime claimed Foster off waivers from the 49ers in November 2018 — a controversial decision at the time, given that he had been arrested twice in a matter of months, with the second arrest stemming from a domestic abuse allegation — and he landed on the commissioner’s exempt list shortly after he was claimed. That precluded him from playing for the rest of the 2018 campaign.
He was reinstated in the spring of 2019, but in his first practice with Washington, Foster suffered a torn ACL, LCL, and MCL. He also dealt with nerve damage that left him without feeling in his toes for several months. Last April, WFT made the no-brainer decision to decline his fifth-year option for 2021 — which would have been guaranteed for injury — and though Foster was activated from the PUP list in August 2020, it was clear that he was not anywhere close to his old self. As such, he was shut down again and spent all of 2020 on IR.
Despite all of that, there has been some chatter that Foster could be an integral part of the team’s LB corps in 2021. But as JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington writes, that appears highly unlikely.
Foster is still young enough to be a high-level performer from an age standpoint, as he will turn just 27 next month. Still, he has not played in a game since October 2018 and has not yet been able to overcome his serious leg injuries, so it would be unwise for any club to expect too much of him at this point. Because WFT declined his fifth-year option, he is eligible for unrestricted free agency and will almost certainly need to settle for a minimum contract.
Although there is nothing stopping Washington from being the team to give Foster such a deal, Finlay does not expect that to happen. Instead, Finlay believes the team will seek LB upgrades in the draft and free agency.
OLB Cole Holcomb performed reasonably well in his second pro season, and MLB Jon Bostic is under contract at a reasonable rate in 2021, but Kevin Pierre-Louis is a free agent, and the cupboard is mostly bare beyond that. Washington’s linebackers played better down the stretch in 2020 following head coach Ron Rivera‘s comments that he needed to see more from the group, but some reinforcements are clearly in order.
Rivera has had no problems cutting ties with players brought in prior to his arrival, and Foster, who in 2017 looked primed to become one of the league’s very best LBs, does not appear to be in Rivera’s plans.
Washington Releases Alex Smith
As expected, the Washington Football Team has released Alex Smith. Even after Smith defied the odds in his comeback return, the WFT was unwilling to keep him and his sizable cap hit. 
Smith’s return from a horrific 2018 leg injury was one of 2020 feel-good stories. Washington went 5-1 in his starts and managed to win the NFC East with Smith at the helm. Smith worked tirelessly to get back on the field, but Ron Rivera and the rest of the regime didn’t necessarily want him back.
“When I decided to come back, I definitely threw a wrench in the team’s plan,” Smith said recently. “They didn’t see it, didn’t want me there, didn’t want me to be a part of it, didn’t want me to be on the team, the roster, didn’t want to give me a chance.”
“They tried to put me on PUP for two weeks, then they tried to IR me. I felt like I still hadn’t had my fair shake at that point. I wanted to see if I could play quarterback and play football, and I feel like I hadn’t been given that opportunity yet to find that out.”
By releasing Smith, Washington will save $14.7MM this offseason. Meanwhile, they’ll carry $8.6MM in dead money.
In the interest of equal time: Smith’s on-field performance didn’t quite justify his salary. In 2020, he threw for six touchdowns against eight interceptions with a 78.5 QB rating.
Washington To Cut Alex Smith
The Washington Football Team is expected to release Alex Smith, sources tell Kim Jones and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The quarterback still wants to play and there should be plenty of opportunities for him elsewhere. 
Smith’s return from a horrific injury suffered in November 2018 was one of the 2020 season’s best stories. The Washington Football Team went 5-1 in his starts and managed to win the NFC East with Smith at the helm. But, recently, Smith said that Ron Rivera & Co. didn’t want him back initially.
“When I decided to come back, I definitely threw a wrench in the team’s plan,” Smith said in February. “They didn’t see it, didn’t want me there, didn’t want me to be a part of it, didn’t want me to be on the team, the roster, didn’t want to give me a chance… “[T]hey tried to put me on PUP for two weeks, then they tried to IR me. I felt like I still hadn’t had my fair shake at that point. I wanted to see if I could play quarterback and play football, and I feel like I hadn’t been given that opportunity yet to find that out.”
Smith, 36, found out that he can still play. In 2020, his salary was fully guaranteed, so it would have made little sense for the team to drop him. This time around, his $24.4MM cap charge had only $8.6MM locked in. By releasing Smith, WFT will save $14.7MM on the books.