Assessing Washington Redskins First-Round Options: QB Kyler Murray
How Murray fits with the Redskins
It’s pretty easy to see how Murray would fit in with the Redskins. The team is expecting that Alex Smith won’t play in the 2019 campaign, and even beyond that, his future is unclear. So, the team needs a long-term potential franchise quarterback to eventually replace Smith while keeping the team competitive in the short-term.
Even if the team is confident that they can start Colt McCoy for a season, they are going to have to add depth at the quarterback position at some point. And besides, McCoy is 31, so he doesn’t have a lot of long-term upside. If anything, McCoy is just a band-aid that will help keep the team stabilize the team, not bring them to the next level.
Murray would offer the Redskins something that they desperately need at quarterback. Dynamic playmaking ability and upside. Sure, he has concerns as we addressed in the previous slide, but the fact of the matter is that he could be a game changer. He has arm talent. He has mobility. He has solid football IQ. It’s just a matter of whether or not that will translate to the next level.
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Perhaps even more important in Murray’s fit with the ‘Skins is his impact on the fan-base and the salary cap. The Redskins fan base is as disgruntled as ever and there is little excitement about the team leading up to the 2019 season. The brain trust of Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen could decide that the Heisman winner would excite the fans and make them forgive and forget some of the transgressions the team made earlier in the offseason.
Of course, Murray is a polarizing prospect, so there are some detractors in the fan base that would be upset to see the squad pick him. But, there would be some excitement to see how he performs from all parties. And that could distract momentarily from the constant dysfunction that has marred the franchise.
Regarding the salary cap, Murray would be on a cost-controlled rookie contract that would have five years on it (assuming the team takes him in Round 1 and exercises his year-five option). If the Redskins selected Murray with the 15th pick, he would likely sign a deal worth about $14 million over four years (based on last year’s 15th pick Kolton Miller‘s contract) and would carry a cap hit ranging from $2.5-$4 million for four years.
Given that the injured Smith will carry a $20 million-plus cap hit for each of the next two seasons before the squad has a palatable way to get out of the contract, Murray would help to offset the imbalance in the cap. It would certainly be better than targeting a higher-cost veteran on the free agent market. That would sink too many resources into the quarterback position. So financially, this would probably be the team’s best option.