Redskins will not pick up Josh Doctson’s fifth-year option, per reports
By Ian Cummings
The writing appears to be on the wall for the future of a certain wide receiver with the Redskins.
The Washington Redskins drafted Josh Doctson in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, with hopes that Doctson would emerge as a star beside veterans Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. Now, three years later, on the tail end of a troublesome developmental curve, the Redskins appear to be preparing for the eventual departure of Doctson.
Being a former first-round pick, Doctson had a clause in his contract that allowed the Redskins to lock him up for an extra year beyond his standard four-year term. Called a fifth-year option, the fifth-year option is intended to give teams more time to negotiate with their highest-quality players, or, at the very least, give them more time to glean value from their assets.
Fifth-year options cost money, however; Doctson’s was set to be more than $10 million for the 2020 season, and the deadline to exercise the fifth-year option was set at May 3, or this Friday. In a turn of events that was not unexpected, the Redskins have reportedly informed Doctson that they do not plan on exercising his fifth-year option. J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports Mid-Atlantic first reported the news.
Doctson will be a free agent after the conclusion of the 2019 regular season. In three years with the Redskins, Doctson has amassed 81 receptions, 1,100 yards, and eight touchdowns. He set career highs in 2018 with 44 receptions and 532 yards, although he set a career high mark in touchdowns the year before, with six on 35 catches.
Doctson has rectified the injury issues that sidelined him for almost the entire 2016 season, but the damage done to his development has proven inescapable. Doctson showed some measured growth in 2018, but more likely than not, he will not repay the investment the Redskins entrusted him with. The Redskins already appear to be adding players to compensate for his eventual departure. Incoming sixth-round rookie Kelvin Harmon projects well in Doctson’s current role, and Terry McLaurin, the team’s third-round draft selection this year, will only take more targets away from the TCU product.
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2019 is almost certainly Doctson’s final year in D.C., but it’s still unknown how he’ll respond to the latest developments. Will he use this opportunity to show out, and earn a new contract in free agency? Or will his role continue to diminish? One thing is certain: The Redskins aren’t paying him either way.