Free Agency 2022 – Offensive Tackles
March 4, 2022
By Noonefromtampa
Starting offensive tackles are not a critical need for Washington with the signing of Charles Leno Jr. to a three year, $37.5 million contract extension and drafting Sam Cosmi last year. Also under contract for next season are Saahdiq Charles, who has played some at both guard and tackles spots, plus David Steinmetz, who has played 9 snaps in two seasons. Cornelius Lucas, who filled the all-important swing tackle roster spot last year, is an unrestricted free agent. Overall depth at the position needs to be reinforced during the offseason either through free agency or the draft.
Top Tackle Candidates
Filtering the pool of unrestricted free agent tackles for players who are 31 years old or younger and who played at least 35% of their team’s offensive snaps in 2021 yields this list:
Player | Pos. | 2021 Team | Type | Snaps | Age | PFF Grade |
Cam Robinson | LT | Jaguars | UFA | 79.00% | 27 | n/a |
Terron Armstead | LT | Saints | UFA | 42.80% | 31 | 76.6 |
Trent Brown | RT | Patriots | UFA | 44.30% | 29 | 73.5 |
Eric Fisher | LT | Colts | UFA | 78.50% | 31 | 68.6 |
Brandon Shell | RT | Seahawks | UFA | 55.60% | 30 | 71.0 |
Germain Ifedi | RT | Bears | UFA | 36.80% | 28 | 61.8 |
Morgan Moses | RT | Jets | UFA | 93.90% | 31 | 70.9 |
Brandon Parker | RT | Raiders | UFA | 77.40% | 27 | n/a |
Geron Christian | LT | Texans | UFA | 55.20% | 26 | n/a |
Orlando Brown | LT | Chiefs | UFA | 94.40% | 26 | 74.6 |
Chukwuma Okorafor | RT | Steelers | UFA | 92.00% | 25 | n/a |
The most of the players on the list above will mainly be pursued for starting tackle positions. Washington’s immediate need is for a backup swing tackle, so they are not expected to sign any of this caliber of player. Washington will likely attempt to re-sign Lucas; or, if that fails, try to sign another veteran tackle to fill the roster spot. Some candidates available are Cameron Fleming, who was on the Broncos roster in 2021, Josh Wells from the Buccaneers, or Riley Reiff from the Bengals.
Sources: overthecap.com, pff.com