Three questions the Redskins must answer before free agency
By Ian Cummings
Free agency participation is a privilege, and it’s one the Redskins might not be ready to afford just yet.
The Washington Redskins aren’t in a very good cap situation. As it stands, they only have $17 million in space, and while that will become $21 million after the turn of the league year in March, it’s still not enough to resolve the lofty needs that exist on Washington’s roster.
Take a look at Washington’s contracts for 2019 on Spotrac, and you’ll quickly find the problem. Players are being paid disproportionately to their updated values. Together, Paul Richardson, Stacy McGee, Vernon Davis, and Morgan Moses make up 12.94 percent of the team’s cap. Alex Smith alone constitutes another 10.52 percent, and if released, he’d incur a whopping $42 million in dead cap. So he’s not being released.
Alex Smith’s contract, and the contracts of other depreciating assets, have collaborated to hold the Redskins’ salary cap hostage, and now, with 2019 free agency approaching at a steady pace, the Redskins have some decisions to make, pertaining to their precarious financial situation, and how they go about filling needs without emptying the checkbook.
Before decisions, however, there must come internal questions, and these are the questions the Redskins need to ask themselves, before they play with any money. They’ve already deduced, somehow, that they’ll be able to compete in 2019. But they will have to make some tough decisions to make that fantasy a reality.