5 biggest free agent mistakes for the Redskins in the past five seasons
2016: S David Bruton
The Redskins tried to fix their safety situation in many different ways following the untimely death of Sean Taylor. David Bruton was one of their potential fixes, and he was also one of the worst and shortest-lived.
Bruton signed with the Redskins as a free agency in 2016. He inked a modest three-year, $9.15 million contract with the team after a solid season with the Denver Broncos. Bruton had been a top backup for the Broncos for seven years after being a fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2009.
The Redskins immediately put too many expectations on Bruton, choosing to rely on him as one of their starters. They marched out along with DeAngelo Hall as their top safeties, and Bruton struggled immensely.
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While Bruton proved to be a good tackler in Washington, making 27 stops in his first four starts with the team, he had plenty of issues in coverage. He simply couldn’t keep pace in a starting role and the Redskins found that out quickly.
After just four games with the team, Bruton suffered a concussion and was placed on Injured Reserve. The Redskins would later waive him from IR and he wouldn’t play a down in the NFL. Bruton ended up earning $3.4 million from the Redskins for just the four games, per Spotrac.com.
This signing served as a cautionary tale for the ‘Skins about the safety position, and they learned their lesson. In the next offseason, they would sign D.J. Swearinger and draft Montae Nicholson in hopes of drastically improving the back end of their defense.