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Ranking the Redskins’ impending free agents in order of importance

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 09: wide receiver Jamison Crowder #80 of the Washington Redskins reacts after a play in the first quarter against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 9, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 09: wide receiver Jamison Crowder #80 of the Washington Redskins reacts after a play in the first quarter against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 9, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – NOVEMBER 11: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins rushes during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – NOVEMBER 11: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins rushes during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on November 11, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

5. RB Adrian Peterson

Some may argue that Peterson should be higher on this list, and I could see that. After all, Peterson had a great season with the Redskins, posting over 1,000 yards and looking rejuvenated after looking washed up the previous season.

That said, Peterson’s importance will be diminished in the team’s offense next season. The reason for this is that Derrius Guice will be returning from the torn ACL that knocked him out in the preseason. The talented second-round pick out of LSU will likely be treated as the starter, and with more than a calendar year to recover prior to the start of the 2019 campaign, he should be in good shape to handle a full workload.

Though Guice will take over the starting job, the team would still probably like to keep Peterson around as insurance. Guice is coming off a major injury and Peterson did look good in the offense last year. So, a new deal would make sense for both sides.

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However, Peterson may not be willing to play second fiddle at this point during his career. He could wait on the free agent market to sign with a starter-needy team as he did with the Redskins last year. Running backs tend to get hurt frequently across the league, so Peterson will get a starting job at some point — if he’s patient enough to wait it out.

The other thing that is driving Peterson down in the importance category is that he struggled down the stretch. He averaged just 3.67 yard per carry on 124 attempts, including a 91-yard carry that skews the data a bit. Without that carry, he would have averaged just 2.96 yards per carry. While Peterson is still capable of putting forth strong efforts and big stat lines, he can’t do it consistently game in and game out. And that makes him more of a backup caliber player.

The Redskins are already fairly solid at RB, and if they wanted to add more talent and not pay Peterson, they could opt to pick up a late-round prospect in hopes of turning him into a contributor. Samaje Perine and Chris Thompson could also be used in tandem with Guice, so the team’s depth is solid. In short, re-signing Peterson would be nice, but it isn’t a necessity.

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