My offseason plan for Washington
March 7, 2023
by Steve Thomas
It’s shaping up to be yet another eventful offseason, because when you’re Washington, you’re always the champion of the period of time when teams aren’t actually playing. This year, though, the team might just see an ownership change – something for which fans have been waiting for more than 20 years – as the tiny tyrant may finally be out of narcissistic, self-aggrandizing moves. This isn’t going to be another “bash ‘Lil Danny” column, though, even though those are always fun. I bring this up because a potential change in ownership has payroll and roster significance. Certainly, the Redskins Washington Football Team Commanders Washington has major needs, but sometimes when an asset like a sports team is being sold, outgoing ownership likes to maintain a stripped-down payroll. Therefore, it’s possible that the team may have a fairly quiet free agency period despite needing some big additions. We’ll see. Irrespective of that possibility, let’s discuss the optimal moves necessary to improve the team this offseason, in order of importance:
Needs
Quarterback: Washington currently has just two quarterbacks on the roster, second year player Sam Howell and fourth year practice squad member Jake Fromm. As currently constituted, this is probably the least-accomplished quarterback room in the league. Clearly, the team needs at least one and probably two new quarterbacks. The real question is whether the team is going to spend big on a major franchise quarterback as the starter or bring in a journeyman veteran who will have the opportunity to compete. Given Washington’s current salary cap situation, they’d have to make some big moves to clear enough cap space to sign someone like Lamar Jackson or Jimmy Garoppolo. I don’t necessarily buy the thought that Ron Rivera is sold on Howell as his starter; I think his statements about Howell being the starter are just him supporting the player currently on the roster, which is fine – Howell at least deserves a shot. But at the end of the day, I expect Washington to bring in a mid-tier veteran, someone along the lines of Teddy Bridgewater, Baker Mayfield, or Jacoby Brissett who will be given the opportunity to beat out Howell. They should also draft a quarterback. It’s not beyond comprehension to think that one of the top four – C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young, Will Levis, and Anthony Richardson – fall to 16. We’ll preview the quarterback draft class later this offseason, and I’m not convinced about all of those four, but the team would be fools not to consider such a pick if one is available at 16. Either way, I expect Washington to spend a draft pick on a quarterback.
Guard: Washington’s guard group is, collectively, an abomination. The entire position group probably needs to be replaced. The team needs to make an effort to both sign a starter-level free agent (my colleague Dave Earl wrote about this here) and spend a starter-level draft pick, i.e. rounds 1, 2, or 3, on a guard. I doubt that Washington would be willing to spend pick 16 on a guard, so the second or third round is more realistic. Either way, both of these things need to happen. Washington simply can’t put a productive offense on the field with an offense line as weak and future-less as the current group seems to be. If the team were to spend its small amount of free agency money on one group, it should be guards. I’m less concerned about the center position since Washington has Chase Roullier and a couple of serviceable backups. The trainwreck is the guard position.
Tackle: It’s not exactly a revelation to say that Washington’s offensive line, generally, needs a complete redo. It’s not just the guards Charles Leno is an expensive JAG at left tackle, and Sam Cosmi is okay but has yet to develop into the next Jon Jansen at right tackle. The rest of the depth at this position is less. Given Leno’s contract, I don’t think Washington will spend big on a tackle in free agency, but they should spend a starter-level draft pick – i.e., rounds 1, 2, or 3 – on a tackle.
Linebacker: Washington is in desperate need of a true middle linebacker. They sort of backed into starting outside linebacker in Jamin Davis, who was originally drafted to be the leader at the middle position but proved to be better suited to outside linebacker. David Mayo, though, is not an answer, and the rest of the linebacker group currently consists of Milo Eifler, Nate Gerry, De’Jon Harris, and Drew White. If someone reading this can name a less threatening and/or accomplished linebacker group anywhere in the league, I’m all ears. But in the meantime, this group needs help. Linebacker is definitely a candidate for either pick 16 or round 2. Free agency isn’t likely to yield a plus-level starter given that salaries for the top free agents could be between $10M – $14M, Washington probably isn’t in that market. But I think fans can expect a signing of some sort at this position as well as a high draft pick.
Tight end: This one is simple: Logan Thomas is expensive and this year’s group of draft-eligible tight ends is reportedly an historically great class. Washington could use both a serious, legitimate blocking tight end and a big-time receiving tight end. They currently have a number of younger players, and while some have shown flashes of talent, none have yet shown significant, game-changing potential. If this group really is as good as advertised, Washington would be fools not to grab someone with potential.
What they don’t need
Wide receiver: Washington has put significant resources into this group since Ron Rivera’s arrival and now have a Pro Bowler in Terry McLaurin, a first round pick with huge potential with Jahan Dotson, an expensive veteran in Curtis Samuel, and another fairly high draft pick, Dyami Brown. Given the status of some of the other position groups detailed above, the team needs to expend zero additional resources into this group this offseason. Any mock drafter who selects a receiver in round 1 for Washington is delusional and doesn’t know what they’re doing.
Running back: It’s not that this group is in tremendous shape. The next Eric Dickerson is not on this roster. That having been said, Brian Robinson, Antonio Gibson, and J.D. McKissic represent a decent mix of talents who suffered from having to run behind a severely underperforming offensive line. Washington will undoubtedly add a low-level free agent or two for training camp and the practice squad, and if someone they really like falls into their laps during the draft process, they could jump on it. Other than that, though, the team probably shouldn’t make major moves with this group.
Corner: Granted, Washington doesn’t exactly currently have Darrell Green and Deion Sanders on the roster, but Benjamin St-Juste is a legitimate #1 starting corner, and Kendall Fuller is probably overpaid but is nevertheless another worthy starter. The depths in this group needs help, for sure, but I don’t understand why many draft analysts view this as such a serious need in comparison to other positions, and are mocking drafting corner to Washington in round 1 (read Noonefromtampa’s latest Road to the Draft column here). Putting significant resources, either via free agency or the draft, wouldn’t be the wisest allocation of resources. Other than some peripheral moves, Washington would be best served to let the corner group basically sit for free agency and the draft.
Conclusion: What should Washington do this offseason? Sign and draft a quarterback, sign and draft starting guards, draft a starting-quality tackle, and find a starting middle linebacker in the draft. Accomplishing those simple, pain-free, easy-to-accomplish things would go a long way towards making this a better team.
What do you think? Let me know in the comment section below.