The Washington Redskins have seen three key players leave in free agency. Did they make the right decisions?
One of the hardest parts of NFL free agency is trying to figure out which players to re-sign. Some teams have had players for their whole career and decide to let them walk. Others overpay their guys that they are confident in. It is difficult to predict how teams will act each offseason, and the Washington Redskins epitomized that this year.
The Redskins were coming off of back to back seasons with a winning record. They had a lot of veterans set to hit the market, and one would have thought they might try to retain some of them. Instead, the team let some of their top weapons walk despite the contract value being somewhat fair.
The Redskins choices on their three biggest losses were made for some interesting reasons. Here is a look at grades for each of the major Redskins departures in 2017.
Letting Chris Baker Walk For Three Years, $15.75 Million
This was easily one of the worst moves that the Redskins made this offseason. Chris Baker was far and away their best defensive lineman over the course of the last five years. In 2016, he continued to be a dynamic force at the 3-4 end position, producing 4.5 sacks and playing very well against the run. He is a well rounded player who was expected to get a big raise from the $3 million per year the Redskins had been paying him.
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Baker did end up getting a raise, but it was not nearly as much as anticipated. Baker left the Redskins to sign a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that pays him $5.25 million per year. I had thought that Baker would receive a contract in the $6-$7 million range, so this deal was a steal.
As if the Redskins not re-signing him was not enough, the signings that the team made to replace him were worse. They elected to pay Terrell McClain, a lesser caliber player who does not project well to a 3-4 defense, the same average annual amount with $1 million more guaranteed. In a similar move, the team also handed Stacy McGee a $25 million deal over five years. McGee is a good run stuffer, but he will not be able to rush the passer nearly as well as Baker.
While the two replacements should improve the overall play of the line, there is no question that the Redskins should have re-signed Baker. He was an integral part of their defense, and letting him go was a big mistake.
Grade For Baker’s Departure: F
Letting Pierre Garcon Walk For Five Years, $47.5 Million
Initially when I heard that Pierre Garcon was getting this kind of a deal, I thought it was ridiculous. Sure, Pierre Garcon is a great possession receiver who will be able to play well into his 30s in the right environment. With his great route running skills, he will be able to have an impact for a very long time. All that said, paying nearly $50 million to a receiver over the age of 30 seemed like a dangerous proposition.
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However, after looking at the deal that Garcon got from the San Francisco 49ers, it was not as bad as it initially appeared. Garcon is only slated to make $20 million in guaranteed money, and his dead cap hit after year three of the deal is only $4.8 million (per Spotrac.com). That will give the team some flexibility in case Garcon regresses as he ages.
Still, I can definitely see why the Redskins would not want to pony up that kind of money. The team has a lot of younger players that will soon be due contract extensions including Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff, right tackle Morgan Moses, and receiver Jamison Crowder. They cannot afford to spend recklessly, so why they did what they did is understandable.
At the end of the day, I cannot be too hard on the Redskins for this one. I will say it is just about an average move, as the pros and cons of signing this deal were relatively even.
Grade For Garcon’s Departure: C
Letting DeSean Jackson Walk For Three Years, $33.5 Million
Despite getting a much shorter deal than Garcon, DeSean Jackson was actually given the same amount of guaranteed money. Jackson’s deal gives him $20 million in guarantees, and that is a bit of a risky proposition for the Buccaneers.
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When healthy, Jackson can do a lot for an offense. His speed can scare opposing teams and open up the field for other playmakers. In Tampa Bay, Jackson will be operating as a No. 2 receiver across from Mike Evans, which figures to make him a more effectively player. The tandem should have success, but there are a couple of potential pitfalls.
The first is that Jackson has had some injury troubles in the past. He has only played a full 16 game season twice in his career, and sometimes plays a little bit nicked up. The bigger issue though is how Jackson’s game is constructed.
Because Jackson is a speed receiver, there is no telling when he will decline. Speed and athleticism are often the first areas that players regress in once they get older, and there is no way of knowing when that will be. Jackson is only on a three year deal, but he will turn 31 during the 2017 season. If he slows down at any point, his route running is not good enough to make him a viable threat. For that reason, he could end up becoming a sunk cost.
This is not to say that Jackson is a bad player. It is just that there is a lot of risk in the contract. Because of that, I think the Redskins were right to let him walk and to allow Josh Doctson a wide open chance to break into the starting lineup.
Grade For Jackson’s Departure: B-
Overall Departure Grades
The Redskins still have a lot of free agents that have yet to be signed or re-signed. Thus, the grade for this section is still not fully complete.
Based off of the departures that the team has had, things do look bleak on paper. However, as more details come out about the contracts signed, the moves make a little more sense for the Redskins. But there is no denying that they made some mistakes and that the departures will hurt them.
At the end of the day, I do not think that the Redskins have done the best that they could with player re-signing. They should have retained one of these players, and they should have made that player Baker. I will give them a poor grade mostly weighted on that decision.