Reports: Redskins had interest in Dontari Poe who signed with Panthers

According to reports, the Washington Redskins were interested in adding Dontari Poe to their team. However, he signed with the Carolina Panthers instead.

One of the biggest holes on the Redskins depth chart for the past few seasons has been at the nose tackle position. In 2016, they went into the season with Kedric Golston as the starter. He was promptly injured in Week 2, and Ziggy Hood was tapped to serve as his replacement. Hood has held that starting job since then, but he’s undersized and playing out of position. So, it was assumed that the Redskins would get some help at the position during the 2018 offseason.

Dontari Poe was arguably the best player available at the nose tackle position on the open market. Poe had experience playing in Kansas City’s 3-4 defense before inking a one-year deal to serve as one starter at tackle in the Atlanta 4-3 defense. For the most part, when Poe wasn’t dealing with a back injury, he performed at a high level, showing solid ability to rush the passer while having a high level of success as a run stuffer.

That skill set reportedly had the Redskins interested, but per Kimberly Martin of The Washington Post, Poe has signed with the Panthers in spite of this.

Martin would later go on to report that the deal between Poe and the Panthers would be worth $27 million over three years. That number would make Poe the second highest paid 3-4 defensive tackle in the league, but at the same time, he still ranks behind some other prominent players in the 4-3 defensive tackle category. For that reason, the value on Poe’s deal isn’t too bad, and the deal the Panthers got appears to be solid.

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For the Redskins, missing out on Poe for that type of money is somewhat of a missed opportunity. With all the departures the team has dealt with in recent days, adding a guy like Poe on a deal worth $9 million annually would look pretty solid. He would be a long-term starter next to Jonathan Allen and would do a lot to improve the team’s shoddy run defense.

Of course, it’s also worth noting that the Redskins may be in position to land a quality defensive tackle in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. At the No. 17 slot, either Da’Ron Payne or Vita Vea could be available, so the team could opt to target one of them. They have an interest in Payne, as we have previously reported, and adding him would be a good move, especially if the team can retain Zach Brown.

Next: 5 available free agents for the Redskins to sign

Still, the fact that the Redskins were interested in Poe and weren’t able to land him is a bit concerning. They’ve been linked to a few players so far on the market, but only Paul Richardson has elected to sign. This may not be a huge deal, but it’s something worth monitoring. If players don’t want to come to D.C., the team will have trouble competing in 2018.