NFL Free Agency: Redskins target Allen Robinson signs with Bears

The NFL free agency market caught fire overnight on Monday into Tuesday. The net results wiped out a couple of Washington Redskins options and helped set the linebacker market.

Wow. What a night for NFL free agency. After a relatively quiet start to the tampering period, things really heated up overnight and saw multiple signings of key free agents take place. To the dismay of Washington Redskins fans, their squad wasn’t among the team that made major moves.

The two biggest moves that were made involved receivers. First, Allen Robinson signed with the Bears for a reported three years and $42 million, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson. The Redskins were rumored to be interested in Robinson earlier in the month, but it was always expected that he would price himself out of their range. Paying $14 million for a receiver is a lot, so it makes sense that he team wasn’t really a contender for the fourth year man out of Penn State.

However, another receiver came off the board in a more surprising move. Sammy Watkins, the speedster formerly of the Los Angeles Rams, inked a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs that actually pays him more than Robinson over the same time frame. The three year, $48 million deal will give Watkins a whopping $16 million per year and $30 million in guarantees, which is surprise given that it was expected he would get less than Robinson.

Also, the Chiefs are an intriguing fit, as they already had a top speed wide-out in Tyreek Hill. Now, they have one of the fastest receiving corps’ in the NFL, which should benefit second-year man and new starter Pat Mahomes, given his great arm strength. Still, giving Watkins $30 million in guarantees is a bit concerning because of his injury history. And this high price is probably why the Redskins were never a realistic contender for the 24-year-old talent.

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With Watkins and Robinson gone from the market, the Redskins will now shift their focus to other receivers. Paul Richardson is a name who they have been tied to in the past, but some other more cost-effective options could be Tavon Austin and Taylor Gabriel, who is a favorite of our own Ian Cummings. We will continue to monitor the receiver market as it develops.

In addition to the activity on the receiver market, there was a key move made in the linebacker market. The Chiefs made the decision to sign former Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens to help out their defense. They needed a replacement for Derrick Johnson, and they elected to give Hitchens a deal that would be worth $9 million per season, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. If true, that could have an impact on the market for Zach Brown.

The truth is that while Hitchens is close to the same level as Brown, he’s not quite as good of a tackler as Brown. Hitchens is now the fifth highest paid linebacker in average annual value, and Brown could be poised to beat his number. Brown had been looking for money over $10 million, so it seems likely that he will get that. The ball is now in the Redskins court, as they can choose to offer him what he’s worth on the market, or let him go. Of course, the value of Brown’s deal could change based off what type of guaranteed money Hitchens gets.

Next: 3 prospects who may slide to Redskins after Bills trade

Keep in mind that it is still very early in the free agent process. The Redskins still have plenty of time to make moves to add quality players. Technically, the free agent period hasn’t even started yet. So, don’t panic even though a few potential top targets have come off the board.

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NFL Free Agency: Redskins target Allen Robinson signs with Bears, Anthony Hitchens sets linebacker market

By Jacob Camenker | Mar 13, 2018

The NFL free agency market caught fire overnight on Monday into Tuesday. The net results wiped out a couple of Washington Redskins options and helped set the linebacker market.

More from Riggo's Rag