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.
No. 3 – Where does the buck stop at quarterback for the Redskins?
With this year’s quarterback crop almost doomed to disappoint, Bruce Allen has let it be known that the Redskins likely won’t be interested in taking a first-round signal caller. Obviously, all such claims must be taken with a grain of salt, as a lot can change from now until April. But for now, that statement puts a spotlight on free agency.
Washington would be brash to add a free agent signal caller on a starting salary, even a modest one, by current standards. Set to have just $21 million in cap space by the turn of the league year, and with $50 million in dead cap tied up in Alex Smith’s contract, in addition to over ten percent of the Redskins overall cap space, the Redskins can’t afford to shell out more hefty quarterback guarantees.
Thus, an interesting question arises for the Redskins: Where does the buck stop at the quarterback position in free agency? Is Josh Johnson set to return as a capable backup, and fill a spot on the roster, or will the Redskins be a bit more aggressive?
To fulfill the latter option, the Redskins would have to make some cuts, as we’ll get into later. While it’s possible, such a move could have drastic long-term implications, depending on how much the Redskins are willing to give a Ryan Tannehill or Joe Flacco type. It would easily be better to simply wait and fill the roster with value deals at other positions, but Bruce Allen is on the record saying they’re “close” for yet another year. He knows as well as anybody that only teams with quarterbacks compete. The question is, how bold are he and Snyder willing to get, in an effort to maximize another annual opportunity?
No. 2 – Should in-house free agents be prioritized by the Redskins?
The Redskins have long received scrutiny for failing to hold onto and develop their own drafted players. This offseason, they have a number of players at positions of need who also happen to be entering free agency, such as Preston Smith, Jamison Crowder, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
Despite none of these options proving themselves to be more than journeyman starters, save for maybe Preston Smith, they could garner preference from a Redskins team that has, so far, favored continuity this offseason, keeping Jay Gruden around for another year.
But should in-house free agents be prioritized by the Redskins? Should exterior value be ignored, simply for the sake of continuity and “building from within”? This is a question the Redskins need to explore and find the answer to, because there are many suitable free agents at positions of need this offseason, especially edge rusher and safety.
By focusing on the right positions, Washington could set themselves up for a more productive and flexible draft season. If they weigh their options disproportionally, however, they could set themselves up for an underwhelming 2019 campaign.
No. 1 – If the Redskins want to spend, are they willing to make tough decisions?
This ties into the first question: If the Redskins decide they want to spend this year, whether at quarterback or elsewhere, are they willing to make cuts to make that happen?
With $21 million, Washington isn’t scraping the bottom of the barrel for cap space. They can sign at least one starter with that money. But enter a bidding war with a team for a free agent like Adrian Amos or Demarcus Lawrence or Tyrell Williams, and $21 million becomes a lot less very quickly (although the safety market stalled last year, and could do the same this year).
That said, there is savings to claim on the roster, if the Redskins are willing to make some tough decisions. Jordan Reed, if released, would only incur $3.6 million in dead cap, freeing up a net value of over $6 million. Josh Norman’s contract allows for over $8 million in savings for a release this year, and Zach Brown’s allows for just under $6 million.
Start with those three players, and the Redskins would free up almost $20 million, on top of the $21 million they’d already have. From purely a business standpoint, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea, but with the way Bruce Allen has spoken about the team’s chances in 2019, signs point to the Redskins keeping their assets.
But it’s a tough decision for a reason, and that’s one thing the Redskins will need to mull over in the coming weeks, if they ultimately want to splurge in free agency, as they’ve done in the past, to try and force the issue of competitiveness. These are the questions they need to answer, and while deliberation proceeds, onlookers will watch, impatient and unconvinced.