Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie gives Redskins much-needed veteran corner presence
The Washington Redskins have a lot of youth at the cornerback position. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie provides them with a veteran presence that they sorely need.
The cornerback position is one of the most intriguing ones on the Redskins roster. While the team lacks top-end options at the position, they have a few solid starters in Josh Norman, Quinton Dunbar, and Fabian Moreau. The latter two have a lot of upside and thanks to their relative youth, they could make big strides this year.
Behind those three, second-year player Greg Stroman and rookie seventh-round pick Jimmy Moreland highlight and exciting bunch. Stroman saw a good chunk of action as a rookie and while he didn’t always hold up in coverage, he showed strides and has the makings of a great top backup at the least. Meanwhile, Moreland was a ballhawk in college and made some splash plays in rookie minicamp. So, the undersized nickel option could emerge as a playmaker.
Elsewhere, the 6-foot-3 Adonis Alexander has excellent size and the tools to be a contributor. He just needs to show what he can do in his second season. And Danny Johnson, yet another second-year player, is a great kick returner who struggled in limited action on defense as a rookie. But, the special teams ability and his youth give him upside moving forward.
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And then, there’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The veteran DRC has played for five teams during his NFL career and most recently, he spent half of last season with the Raiders before retiring. And while many may be content to write him off the roster thanks to the young talent the team has, Rodgers-Cromartie provides something important to the team. Experience.
It’s clear that the Redskins have wanted to add experience to their secondary over the course of the past two years. They talked with DRC last offseason before signing Orlando Scandrick, another veteran, to the roster. Scandrick was simply outplayed by the younger players last year which led him to be cut. But DRC is a better and more versatile player overall, so he may have a better chance of beating out those young players.
Still, experience could help Washington out. Most of the Redskins corner have three or fewer years of NFL experience. The only three that have more are Norman, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Dunbar. And of that group, Dunbar has only been playing corner since coming into the NFL in 2015. Prior to that, he was a receiver in college.
Both Norman and Rodgers-Cromartie have played in the Super Bowl. Neither was able to win a title — DRC’s Broncos lost to the Seahawks while Norman’s Panthers lost to the Broncos — but they have experience as No. 1 corners and have won in the playoffs. At the very least, having a duo of experienced veterans around could do a lot to jumpstart the development some of the team’s young talent.
Rodgers-Cromartie is by no means a roster lock, but his ability to play anywhere in the secondary and his experience could provide something unique to the Redskins roster. He will have a chance to make the team as a backup, but he will have to stave off competition for some younger players in training camp in order to do that. It will be interesting to see if Rodgers-Cromartie can make the team or if he becomes the next Scandrick.