Steve’s reasonable, realistic offseason plan for Washington
January 23, 2023
by Steve Thomas
Washington’s 8 – 8 – 1 record was along the lines of what I had expected for the team this season; of course, I certainly didn’t predict a tie or the on – off – on nature of the team’s performance this season, but the end results of a mediocre record and last place finish in the NFC East were pretty predictable. What can be done to make things better next year? Without further ado, I present my 2023 offseason plan, sure to turn the Redskins the Washington Football Team the Commanders Washington into a contender next season (for those of you still rooting for such a thing). Let’s dive right in.
Quarterback
Executive summary: Cut Carson Wentz, let Taylor Heinicke walk, promote Sam Howell to #2, sign Jimmy Garoppolo, and spend a back of the draft pick on a developmental quarterback.
Some folks seem to believe that the team has already committed to handing the starting job to 2022 fifth round pick Sam Howell. That seems highly unlikely. The team may end up giving him a shot at earning the job, but the idea that Ron Rivera, of all coaches, all of a sudden decided in January to give the 2023 season starting quarterback job to a guy who went 11 for 19 for 169 yards in his single, week 18 start, is improbable and unwise. I’m not saying that Howell will never get the job; I’m saying that it’s far more reasonable to think that Rivera and company bring in a veteran to handle things for another year. This isn’t a good year for quarterbacks in the draft and Washington has just the 16th pick in round 1. Therefore, the top two prospects, Alabama’s Bryce Young or Ohio St.’s C.J. Stroud, probably won’t be available, if the team would even want one of them, and I’m not convinced about Kentucky’s Will Levis. Instead, in my plan, Washington makes an effort to sign Jimmy Garoppolo. He’s coming off of a one year, $7M contract, so his 2023 price tag shouldn’t be too burdensome to the salary cap and would also allow the team to promote Howell should the Garoppolo experiment go wrong.
Most project Jimmy G to go somewhere else, not Washington, though. If Garoppolo isn’t available, Teddy Bridgewater is probably the next best candidate. I’m a Taylor Heinicke fan, but bringing him back now that his biggest supporter, Scott Turner, is gone may not be the smartest option. Forget about Lamar Jackson – Jackson is very talented, but he needs a very specific offense, and I doubt that Washington would ever put it in place for him. He also wants an enormous contract, and Washington isn’t in a position to do that. Tom Brady is old and washed up and needs to retire, not keep playing football. A thousand times “no” to Tom Terrific.
Offensive system
This isn’t necessarily about the vacant offensive coordinator job, directly. It’s more about development of an offensive plan, which is something that is desperately needed. I don’t have any particular names at this point. In my view, for this as-of-yet unnamed person to be the right man for the job, he needs to implement a system that bests fits the skillset of the starting quarterback and the rest of the offensive line, whether that’s a veteran, Sam Howell or Taylor Heinicke. This means that Ron Rivera and the rest of management needs to first decide what they want this offense to become. The team does have some talent, particularly in the wide receiver group, but someone needs to design a plan to get the most out of this group before they hire a coordinator. What is that system? Good question. They started out with a pass-happy, downfield, run-deficient offense at the beginning of the season under Carson Wentz, but by the end of the year, the running game was the biggest strength. Jimmy Garoppolo probably isn’t the type who can carry a team by himself, so Washington needs to continue to be a run-based team, but one that uses the receiver group to open up the mid and deep-range passing game.
Offensive line
Without question, Washington clearly and obviously needs to spend its first round pick on the best left tackle they can find. Forget about corner, which inexplicably is the position most frequently mocked to Washington in round 1 (see Noonefromtampa’s Road to the Draft column from last week). I’ll get to the secondary below. Washington’s offensive line is an unmitigated disaster and, other than possibly the quarterback position, is the single biggest problem holding the offense back. Washington also needs to find a starting guard in the draft, so they need to spend their second round pick on one of the top guards in the draft.
Re-sign Daron Payne
This needs to happen regardless of the health or talent of last year’s second round pick, Phidarian Mathis. He may end up demonstrating talent, but it was a dumb pick in terms of team needs. Payne proved that he’s integral to the performance of the front four, and Washington needs to do whatever it has to do in order to get him back for the long haul. I wrote a column about how Washington can realistically do this (click here to read), so I’m not going to repeat myself here, but it is possible. Go back and read my column from last week.
Bring in two new linebackers
Newsflash: Cole Holcomb isn’t the answer at linebacker, and Washington needs to let him walk. They need a real, serious 4 – 3 middle linebacker. I’d suggest T.J. Edwards – he’s a quality starter coming off of his rookie deal, and as a bonus, he’s currently with the Eagles. If Washington cuts Carson Wentz, they’ll have plenty of cap space for this move; regardless, I don’t think that Edwards will have enormous, top of the market contract demands. Whether Edwards will want to leave a Super Bowl contender for a fourth place, perennially moribund team is a separate question, but Washington should give it a shot. Then, Washington needs to spend a fairly high draft pick – think third or fourth round – on another one. Weirdly, neither Rivera nor defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who were both linebackers in their playing days, seem concerned about the fact that Washington’s linebacker group is one of the worst in the NFL.
Find a blocking tight end
Washington has a host of young tight ends, but none of them of particularly good blockers. This exacerbates the problems along the offensive line. I don’t have a list of specific names here, but think either low draft pick or inexpensive free agent.
Leave the secondary alone, mostly
Kendall Fuller perhaps isn’t the greatest corner in the league, and his contract isn’t exactly cheap. However, he’s serviceable, he and Benjamin St-Juste make a decent pairing, and the team can afford him. The same can be said for Kamren Curl and Darrick Forrest. Fuller doesn’t need to be cut just for salary cap reasons – getting rid of Carson Wentz will be enough to get them through, and spending significant draft capital on this group isn’t smart when the offensive line is such a mess. In my plan, the team just re-signs Jeremy Reaves, spends a low pick on a corner, and moves on.
Ownership change
This one goes without saying. Hopefully, Dan Snyder is serious about selling his interest in the team and isn’t just intent on taking on more minority partners. I’m still not totally convinced, but if media reports are right, offers for up to $6.3B have come in, and he’d be a fool not to take that kind of money, leave the fan hate behind, and move off to London, never to be heard from again. Of course, nobody can do anything about this one except ‘Lil Danny himself, so it isn’t a true “offseason plan” item; it’s more of the continuing, fervent hope of a desperate fanbase.
Change the name back to Redskins
Seriously. Do it. A boy can dream. Okay, fine, this isn’t really an offseason plan item either.
If Washington does these simple, painless, uncomplicated things, it will be in a much better position to compete next in the talent-laden NFC East.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comment section.