Washington Redskins Severely Overpay Stacy McGee In Free Agency

The Washington Redskins needed some help at the defensive end position, and they signed a new player. However, Stacy McGee does not project to be a very good starter.

Coming into the offseason, the Washington Redskins really needed to find some help along the defensive line. They had only one solid down lineman the previous year in Chris Baker, and upgrading the trenches was a priority. However, on Thursday they let Baker walk, signed a decent nose tackle candidate in Terrell McClain, and then capped off the day by overpaying for former Oakland Raider Stacy McGee. The five year, $25 million deal that they gave to McGee can only be classified as ridiculous and it will likely blow up in their face.

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Over the course of the past four years, McGee has played 51 games for the Oakland Raiders. In those games, he has 18 starts, 44 tackles, and just three sacks. At the very best, he is a decent rotational player. He does have some upside since he is still 27, but it is fair to doubt whether or not he will ever be a true impact player.

That said, the deal that the Redskins gave him is irresponsible. They are essentially paying starter money to a player that on most teams would be a backup. Yes, he did start nine games for the Raiders this past year and had his best year, but he also dealt with injury concerns. The Raiders frankly did not miss McGee that much, and his absence had minimal impact on their success.

It appears that McGee is going to be the replacement for Baker. That seems like an absolutely terrible idea. For one, Baker got less than a quarter million more annually than McGee despite having significantly better production. McGee is due to earn more than Baker over the course of his contract as well, due to the length. Also, Baker has been a longtime Redskin and has ties to the team. It just seems like the front office does not care about their players any more, and they are trying to bring in younger guys with upside.

Next: Kirk Cousins Denied Trade Request By Daniel Snyder

The problem is that if the Redskins regress again, nobody is going to want to play there. The team had a unique chance to greatly improve this offseason, and they have failed to do that. Moving forward, if the Redskins do not land some quality players, this may end up being one of the worst free agent periods in their history.

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