Redskins sign tackle Adam Bisnowaty, waive Chidi Okeke

The Washington Redskins have added a new offensive tackle to their roster. It’s former New York Giants draft pick, Adam Bisnowaty.

It’s no secret that the Washington Redskins could use some depth at the tackle position. After losing Ty Nsekhe this offseason, they are searching for a new swing tackle. While last year’s third-round pick Geron Christian is likely to get the first crack at the role, the team desperately needs some depth behind him, and the battle for the fourth tackle spot on the roster figures to be interesting.

The Redskins will likely test as many players as they can at the position in order to find the right candidate who may have the upside needed to serve as the fourth tackle. It may not seem like a big deal, but with a team that had so many injuries on the offensive line last year, it will be important to try as many depth options as possible.

That would explain the ‘Skins’ latest roster move. They added another new tackle to their offense, Adam Bisnowaty, and waived one of their undrafted free agent signings, Chidi Okeke.

Bisnowaty was a sixth-round pick by the New York Giants in the 2017 NFL Draft. He has a nice 6-6 frame, but doesn’t offer much in terms of athletic ability. He only ran a 5.23-second 40-yard dash and didn’t have as much strength on his frame as other tackles in that class (307 pounds). He has the length and attitude needed to be effective, but the combination of lacking athletic ability and strength would ultimately hurt his chances in the NFL. In fact, it has ultimately proven to be his downfall to date.

Bisnowaty couldn’t latch on the with the O-line needy Giants and bounced around to the Lions, Panthers, and Vikings before being signed by the Redskins here. The ‘Skins do have an opening for the fourth tackle spot, so if Bisnowaty can bulk up a bit or show slightly better movement skills, perhaps he can serve as versatile depth. He still has upside, but he’s running out of time to prove himself.

The stranger part of this move is the fact that Washington moved on from undrafted free agent Chidi Okeke to add Bisnowaty. Okeke had athletic ability, a nice frame, and upside, and it seemed that he could be the team’s next developmental project on the offensive line. Here’s what I said about Okeke in a recent undrafted free agent profile.

"Okeke has the frame needed to be a solid NFL tackle. If he can bulk up and demonstrate sound technique, that may be enough for the team to keep him on board. Given how well the team was able to develop Nsekhe, it’s possible that they could do similar work with Okeke and turn him into a solid swing tackle."

Bisnowaty is somewhat similar to Okeke in that they lack strength and have nice frames, but Okeke is more athletic and has more upside. That said, perhaps the ‘Skins just wanted to add a player with NFL experience at the position. If that’s the case, then adding Bisnowaty does make some sense, but still, he only has one appearance under his belt in two years.

Either way, this is an interesting move for the Redskins. We’ll soon see if Bisnowaty can prove himself and if Okeke can find work elsewhere in the NFL.