For Redskins, the appropriate time to bank on a young secondary is now

Passing of the torch

Just as the Redskins’ young defensive backs may provide answers through opportunity, necessity may also lead the Redskins to force the issue.

It’s no secret that Josh Norman‘s contract bears a heavy weight on the team. In 2018, he’s due to haul in a base salary of $13.3 million, per Spotrac, and in 2019, that number still hovers in double digits, sitting at $12 million. Despite that, in 2019, the dead cap accrued by cutting loose Norman’s contract drops from $22.5 million to $6 million. At that point, Norman will be 31 years old, and if he regresses in 2018, the team will be quick to quit on the former All-Pro.

Now, let’s not act like Norman’s regression has necessarily begun. I speculated toward the end of the 2017 season that he was embarking on the downward slope of his career. Whether that information is correct or not remains to be seen. He may be past his peak, but Norman is still playing high quality football. He gave a little too much leeway when he was targeted in 2017, but more often than not, quarterbacks didn’t even look his way. It’s the impact a No. 1 cornerback should have.

That said, most cornerbacks (unless their name is Darrell Green) don’t make it far past 30 years old before regressing. Darrelle Revis, considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of his generation, recently retired at the age of 33. Norman is getting up there in age, and the Redskins have to take that and his contract into account. They have to plan for the future. To do that, they must know what they have in Quinton Dunbar and Fabian Moreau.

Both Dunbar and Moreau will be given opportunities this season, not simply because they’ve earned them with their past performance and their promising traits, but because the possibility of change demands it. It was something that couldn’t be avoided. The Redskins need to give their young players a chance, as their performance will go a long way toward dictating next offseason’s moves.