Redskins lose guard/center Spencer Long to New York Jets
Spencer Long wasn’t expected to re-sign with the Washington Redskins. According to sources, he is going to sign with the New York Jets.
This offseason, the Washington Redskins are trying to focus on re-signing their own free agents. They have 17 players hitting the free agent market after all, so getting them all to come back was always going to be difficult. They’ve already had a few departures including Ryan Grant, Bashaud Breeland, and of course, Kirk Cousins. Now, Spencer Long can be added to that list.
According to Jason La Canfora, Long is going to be signing with the New York Jets. The terms of the deal aren’t known yet, but the fit is certainly a sensible one. The Jets have had a massive hole at the center position since the departure of Nick Mangold, so adding Long to lock down that position makes a lot of sense.
Also, it’s worth noting that La Canfora had previously reported that there was a strong market for Long and that the Redskins weren’t going to try and re-sign him. The market value for Long was just stronger than what the Redskins wanted to offer.
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The Redskins probably weren’t interested in bringing back Long due to the success that Chase Roullier had during his rookie season. When Long went down for the season, Roullier came in and did well enough to earn the starting job moving forward. The coaching staff praised Roullier for his work, and that was writing on the wall for Long’s future at the position.
Of course, it is worth noting that Long has the versatility necessary to play guard, and he could have started at the left guard position. Some Redskins fans were hoping that Long would return to start at that position. However, he is going to play center with the Jets, per USA Today’s Mike Jones, so if he wanted to stay at that position, he wouldn’t be able to do that in Washington. Plus, he would have been a bit more expensive than other options at the guard position.
Next: Why Paul Richardson is a perfect fit with the Redskins
Moving forward, the Redskins will have to try and find a new starting guard, and they will likely turn to the draft to do that. A second-round option would include Auburn’s Braden Smith, and if they’re extremely lucky, Quenton Nelson could possibly slip to No. 13 in the first round, though I wouldn’t count on that happening. Either way, the Redskins search for more help on the offensive line will begin now that Long has departed.