Grading the Quinton Dunbar re-signing for the Washington Redskins
Quinton Dunbar was officially retained by the Washington Redskins on Monday afternoon. This was definitely a solid move.
It was always expected that the Washington Redskins would retain Quinton Dunbar. The 25-year-old restricted free agent was coming off the best season of his career, succeeding as the top backup at corner and putting up solid performances in place of Josh Norman. Given his restricted free agent tag, the Redskins were able to match any offers that were extended to Dunbar, provided that they extended a qualifying offer. At the end of the day, they didn’t even have to do that, as they inked a three year deal with him on Monday.
At the time of the signing, not much was known about the financials of the deal. Shortly after the agreement, it was reported that the three year deal was worth $10.5 million with $5.25 million guaranteed. That lined up exactly with the $3-$4 million average annual value (AAV) that we had projected in our free agency preview for the defensive back position.
Dunbar definitely deserved this type of deal. He has played well enough to get a shot at being the No. 2 cornerback, and that will probably happen, given that the team is unlikely to retain Bashaud Breeland. Now, he will officially return and he will be given a chance to win that starting job across from Norman.
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There are only two instances in which this signing might not look as good. The first is obviously if Dunbar regresses. In the event that Dunbar proves to be only a mediocre backup, this contract will be a bit much for his services. That said, it appears that will be unlikely.
The more likely option that could render this contract useless depends on the play of Kendall Fuller and Fabian Moreau. In the event that Fuller continues to succeed and Moreau steps into a starting role, Dunbar will reprise his role as the primary backup and a special teams ace. While this would be an important role, the contract could end up slightly limiting the Redskins options in future free agent periods. Again, this is highly unlikely, given that the $3.5 million AAV is relatively low by cornerback standards.
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So, all that said, the Redskins look to have made a pretty solid acquisition. They are making a low risk move that should allow them to retain a quality player long term and it will provide them with depth. The only question is, will he get in the way of the young talent? Honestly, it doesn’t even look like that will happen, so provided that there’s no regression, retaining him is a smart choice and it deserves a high grade. It got the 2018 season off to a good start for Washington.