Washington Redskins sign linebacker Nico Marley to 90-man roster

The Washington Redskins had one spot left on their 90-man roster after making a flurry of roster moves on Monday. They ended up filling it with linebacker Nico Marley.

For the second straight season, the Washington Redskins have agreed to terms with an undrafted free agent from Tulane. In 2016, running back Robert Kelley joined the team only to become their starting running back midway through his rookie season. On Tuesday, the Redskins agreed to sign Nico Marley, a linebacker who had been a tryout player for the team, to a deal to fill their vacancy. Marley is an intriguing signing who could provide depth for the team.

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Marley is most notable for being the grandson of legendary reggae singer, Bob Marley, and the son of former Miami linebacker Rohan Marley. However, his production at Tulane was nothing to sneeze at. Over the course of four seasons, Marley totaled 319 tackles with seven sacks and four interceptions. He was a consistent force for the Tulane defense, and steadily improved his production year by year. In his final three seasons, he had at least 13 tackles for a loss per year. He also forced six fumbles over that time period.

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The glaring concern with Marley as a potential NFL prospect is his size. He is listed as a 5-foot-8, 200 pound player. That is extremely small to be a linebacker. Though his weight is not too bad, Marley will likely have issues trying to become an every down player. If he plays at a low weight, he may have issues tackling bigger running backs. If he plays at a higher weight, he may be slow footed in coverage. It is the ultimate catch-22 for the young linebacker.

Still, Marley offers a few important traits. He is a hard worker. He has been productive. And most importantly, he is consistent. Marley will almost certainly be a quality special teams player. There is a chance that he could play a few snaps per game at linebacker, but it would only be on running downs in all likelihood.

Even if Marley cannot play linebacker at the next level, he could try and play another position. He does not have the ball skills necessary to be an effective cornerback, but perhaps a switch to running back could reap some rewards. The Redskins will have a whole offseason to figure out what they want to do with him.

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Overall, Marley seems like a player who may be destined for a practice squad. He offers some upside at this point in the offseason, and the Redskins may be able to mold him into a quality player.

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