What Moves Should Washington Make in Free Agency?
March 5, 2021
By Noonefromtampa
Free agency is a time to fill immediate needs on the roster and help align what needs that should be addressed in the draft. What are the needs of WFT and what are the best ways to address them in free agency? One the goals of free agency should be to address any glaring roster holes to afford flexibility in the draft. This column will look at some of the top needs and what moves could be made to address them.
Team Top Needs
Wide Receiver – The crew opposite Terry McLaurin did not stand out. Cam Sims, Steve Sims Jr., Antonio Gandy-Golden, Isaiah Wright, Dontrelle Inman, and Robert Foster combined for 107 receptions for 1,142 yards and four touchdowns while McLaurin had 87 receptions for 1,118 yards and 4 touchdowns. A better #2 wide receiver is important to the offense.
Right Guard – All-Pro Brandon Scherff is a free agent and that creates an important opening on the offensive line.
Tight End – Logan Thomas had a career year but got no support from Jeremy Sprinkle, Marcus Baugh and Temarrick Hemingway.
Linebacker – Kevin Pierre-Louis is a free agent, Jon Bostic is in danger of being a cap casualty, Thomas Davis is retiring and Ryan Anderson is a free agent. So, at least one starter and depth are needed here.
Free safety – Sean Davis didn’t make the team last year. Troy Apke got replaced and Deshazor Everett got injured. Help is needed at this position, and that is unfortunately not a new need either.
Cornerback – Ronald Darby and Fabian Moreau are free agents. Jimmy Moreland has been inconsistent at times and Danny Johnson was used mainly on special teams this past year.
Quarterback – Taylor Heinicke signed a new two year contract. Kyle Allen is an exclusive rights free agent, so the team only needs to tender him a one year contract offer prior to the start of the new league year, which is less than million dollars in cap numbers. Reports are unclear whether whether Steven Montez signed a one or two year deal when he was elevated from the practice squad before Washington’s playoff game, but if he isn’t yet on the roster for 2021, he would be an Exclusive Rights Free Agent and thus under Washington’s control.
Possible Free Agency Moves
Here are Noone the WFT GM’s recommended moves with the $32M in free cap space. Alex Smith was released and freed up almost $14M in cap space. So, the project free cap number may be as much as $48.8M (according to Spotrac). You’re going to to reserve $5M to $8M for draft picks and in season moves.
The first I would look to re-sign three current players from the 2020 team.
- Brandon Scherff: it may take a 4 year deal that averages $14M a year, but when he is healthy, he is very good.
- Ronald Darby: it isn’t a great year for free agent cornerbacks, so bringing him back on a 4 year, $8M per year deal would stabilize the cornerback position. The team should mitigate the injury risk with him by using game day bonuses as part of the contract structure.
- Kevin Pierre-Louis would be the other player I would look to bring back. He played almost 50% of the defensive snaps last season and has good speed at the linebacker position. My offer for him would be for three years at $3M per year.
- Kyle Allen: I would offer him a similar deal as they already gave Heinicke which is about $2M per year.
The next group of players are free agents signed from other teams:
Tight End – People will be looking for a splash name here, but we have Logan Thomas as the #1 TE at $3.5M per year, are you going to spend $6-$10M per year for Hunter Henry, Gerald Everett or Jonnu Smith? I would go more under the radar for Dan Arnold who could be signed for $1.5M per year to be the #2 TE. He’s 26 and had been improving year over year.
Wide Receiver – Again, a lot of big names are available for $12M to $20M a year range. This will not be a popular decision among Washington followers, but my signing choice is Keelan Cole who should not cost more than $4M a year.
Free Safety – This is a position where I’m going to spend some money to improve the secondary. My target is Tre Boston at $6M a year.
Summary
| Player | Position | Cap Hit |
| Brandon Scherff | G | $14M |
| Ronald Darby | CB | $8M |
| Kevin Pierre-Louis | LB | $3M |
| Kyle Allen | QB | $2M |
| Dan Arnold | TE | $1.5M |
| Keelan Cole | WR | $4M |
| Tre Boston | FS | $6M |
| Total | $38.5M |
Those are the moves I would make to improve the roster in free agency within the cap space available. This give Washington around $10M in cap space going into the season.
There is usually another wave of veterans cut after the draft. So, not spending all the cap dollars now, gives the team some flexibility later, if a player the coaches like becomes available.
The other ramification of cutting Alex Smith is that adding another quarterback becomes more of a priority, which could be addressed in several ways:
- Draft a promising player such as Trey Lance or Kyle Trask
- Draft developmental prospect like Kellen Mond or Jamie Newman
- Pursue a veteran quarterback like Ryan Fitzpatrick or Marcus Mariota (if released)
- Trade for an prospect quarterback like Sam Darnold
In my GM-ship, I going with drafting a guy.
Sources: Spotrac.com, Overthecap.com