Jamison Crowder is entering his fourth season in the NFL. And this one will certainly be his most important one to date.
Following the 2016 season, the Washington Redskins controversially elected to overhaul their receiving corps. A year after both Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson finished with 1,000-plus yards receiving, neither of them returned to the team. Both players were deemed too expensive and were jettisoned in favor of younger, cheaper players.
On the surface, this may have been the right move for the Redskins, given Garcon’s health issues and Jackson’s ineffectiveness in Tampa Bay. But, the Redskins still dealt with problems in the aftermath of this decision. And as a result, their team’s receivers struggled during the 2017 campaign.
Free agent signee Terrelle Pryor was a bust. Second-year man Josh Doctson had issues with untimely drops and looked like a rookie, which was to be expected after he missed his first season with an Achilles issue. While Ryan Grant helped to pick up the slack, it wasn’t enough to make the receiving corps effective without the dynamic duo of Garcon and Jackson.
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Part of the problem was that the Redskins relied on projected growth from their younger receivers. Doctson and Pryor essentially had a combined one year of NFL experience between the two of them, so that explains their troubles. That said, Jamison Crowder, a player who was expected to step up and become more of a key target for the Redskins, was a problem for the offensive unit as well.
In 15 games, Crowder saw a career-high 103 targets, but he only caught 66 of them for 789 yards and three touchdowns. It was a tiny regression from the numbers he posted in his second season, but it seemed a lot bigger than that since many were expecting him to continue developing and become a 1,000-yard receiver.
Heading into 2018, the pressure is now on Crowder to become a key receiver in the offense. There are many factors that will be motivating the fourth-year man, and he knows that he will have to step up in order to ensure he has a future in Washington.
Crowder is due for an extension… along with two others
One of the biggest motivating factors for Crowder is that he will be hitting free agency during the 2019 offseason. Should he have a big year, there’s a good chance that he will earn a lucrative contract in free agency, especially if the Redskins deem him worthy of keeping. However, should he continue to stagnate, there’s a chance that he could end up taking a backseat to a couple of other priorities.
In addition to Crowder, stud right guard Brandon Scherff and starting rush linebacker Preston Smith are both set to hit the free agent market. Both should get hefty deals commensurate with their skill sets.
I’ve discussed Scherff’s potential deal with the Redskins at length in the past. It stands to reason that he will receive a contract that makes him one of the five highest-paid guards in the league, and it’s within the realm of possibility that he becomes the second-highest paid. That would likely carry a $13 million annual tag at the least, so Scherff will cost a pretty penny. He’s also the player that the Redskins will almost certainly re-sign.
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As for Smith, he’s a bit tougher to truly value. But, he has 20.5 sacks in three NFL seasons, he has excellent length and athleticism, and he has a good pass rushing skill set. The one knock on him is that he hasn’t been consistent, yet he has still produced two seasons in which he recorded eight sacks. That’s very good, especially considering he did it in his rookie season as a rotational player.
Considering the premium that is currently being placed on pass rushers at the NFL level, it’s well within the realm of possibility that Smith could receive a massive payday. If he breaks out and has a 10-plus sack season, some team could consider giving him $13-$15 million per year. That may sound crazy on the surface, but that’s just the market for pass rushers right now. I mean, Trent Murphy got $7.5 million per year after missing an entire season!
In short, these two deals are going to complicate Crowder’s ability to stay. If Scherff and Smith continue to play at a high level and Crowder doesn’t show much growth, the Redskins could consider investing their money in those two players, leaving nothing left over to sign Crowder.
Of course, they can always look to increase their cap room to sign all three, but that would create new holes on their roster, as they would likely have to release or restructure Jordan Reed and/or Josh Norman. While the Skins may do both of those things, it’s not a given at the moment. Either way, the cap crunch with these three contracts will definitely have an impact on Crowder.
Crowder must stave off a potential increase in competition
Despite the concerns about a future contract, Crowder has more immediate issues that he must address. That’s the fact that the Redskins have some young receiving talent that could be ready to make the next step. And if any are targeting a starting role in the future, his would likely be the one up for grabs.
Because Crowder is a pending free agent, and the Redskins have a limited budget, the team is going to take a long, hard look at the players behind Crowder to see if they are worthy replacements for him. It’s possible that none of these players will pan out, but there is more reason for optimism than pessimism in the Redskins receiving room.
Trey Quinn has gotten a lot of buzz since being drafted as Mr. Irrelevant. And the buzz is deserved. Quinn could have been an early Day 3 pick but slipped down the board with other talented receivers. He led the nation in catches during his final year at SMU, posting 114 catches for 1,236 yards and 13 touchdowns.
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Granted, that was in the pass-happy Big 12 across from second-round pick Courtland Sutton, but Quinn has the makings of a potential starter outside or in the slot. So, if he impresses as a rookie, he could be a logical replacement for Crowder.
Elsewhere, Robert Davis has great size and athleticism and could be ready to make the leap in his second year. Davis has the potential skill set of a true, well-rounded No. 2 receiver, so it will be interesting to see what he can show in 2018. Undrafted free agents Cam Sims and Simmie Cobbs Jr. also figure to make some noise, as both have the size to be quality possession receivers and red zone threats.
None of Crowder’s competition is proven. But the fact is that all the members of the squad are young, talented players that could break out at any moment. Crowder has to have a mini-breakout of his own to combat this potential changing of the guard, should he want to stay in Washington.
If Crowder can perform well during the 2018 season and stave off this competition, fans will focus more on Josh Doctson in his second full year as a starter. If he doesn’t show improvement, he could draw ire from the fans and front office, and that would also take a considerable amount of pressure off Crowder.
Crowder must develop chemistry with Alex Smith
This is the most important short-term goal for Crowder. If he can’t get on the same page as Alex Smith, then he won’t stand a chance of remaining in Washington.
For all the criticism Kirk Cousins drew during his time in D.C., one thing that fans can’t complain about is his willingness to target Crowder. In the last two seasons Crowder and Cousins spent together, Cousins threw the ball his way a whopping 202 times. They did have their share of mistakes together, but generally speaking, the two seemed to be on the same page, especially when things were going well.
With Smith now in charge of the Redskins passing game, Crowder will have to start from scratch and develop a relationship with Smith. That said, it shouldn’t be hard for Crowder to do.
Smith likes to target players close to the line of scrimmage and across the middle of the field. While he often takes advantage of the deep routes, Smith likes to make the safest decision that will give the team a chance to move the ball and score. That means that Crowder could see a lot of targets in the intermediate part of the field. And given Smith’s excellent ball placement, Crowder should be able to put up bigger numbers.
Crowder’s downfield ability may also be better off under Smith, as he will have a chance to work himself open more. Since Smith’s combination of arm talent, accuracy, and ball placement is better than that of Cousins, he might be able to find Crowder more to create the explosive plays he was accustomed to making in his first two seasons with the Skins, when he was the forgotten man next to Garcon and Jackson.
That said, ability is one thing. Chemistry is another. As Terrelle Pryor showed Redskins fans last year, all the talent in the world can’t make up for a lacking chemistry with the quarterback. So, Crowder is hopefully getting a head start working with Smith at training camp to get on the same wavelength.
Crowder’s future is murky, but answers will soon come
The fact is that nobody will know whether or not the Redskins will re-sign Crowder after the 2018 season. There are too many variables that could come into play.
But, Crowder is in control of a lot of these factors. His destiny is in his own hands, and that’s how most players want it. All Crowder has to do is put forth a quality season and he will be on to another contract. The question is just whether or not that will be in Washington or elsewhere.
It would seem that the Redskins want to bring back Crowder if they can afford to do so. Save for last season, he has been a very consistent receiver for their offense and has the potential to be one of the better slot men in the NFL. It also helps his cause that he projects to fit well as a weapon for Alex Smith.
And, of course, it is worth noting how important Crowder can be to the Redskins offense. He has 13 career touchdowns, 12 receiving and one in the return game. In the contests in which he has scored, the Redskins hold a 10-2-1 record. That’s a watermark of how critical Crowder is to the offensive success of Washington.
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Time will tell whether or not Crowder is long for the Redskins. But one thing is certain. The 2018 season will be pivotal in deciding what will happen next for the former fourth-round pick out of Duke.