Report: There’s ‘still hope’ Redskins could sign offensive tackle Donald Penn
Though the Redskins agreed to sign offensive tackle Corey Robinson on Friday, they haven’t ruled out signing Donald Penn as well.
On Friday afternoon, the Redskins hosted some veteran offensive tackles for a workout after training camp practice. This was a sensible move given that Trent Williams is holding out with no end in sight while second-year player Geron Christian has only worked sparingly as he returns from a knee injury.
The Redskins did elect to sign a player following Friday’s workout. However, it ended up being journeyman tackle Corey Robinson and not Donald Penn, the former Raiders left tackle that many fans had their eye on.
While the team didn’t sign Penn yesterday, he is remaining in Richmond, according to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay and there is some hope that the two sides could strike a deal.
Veteran left tackle Donald Penn is still in Richmond and there is still hope that a contract gets signed with the Redskins, per source.
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) July 27, 2019
Adding Penn would certainly be a solid move. Though the 36-year-old is coming off a season-ending groin injury, he has mostly been a good starting left tackle during his career and made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2016 and 2017. He is the perfect insurance option to keep around in case Williams doesn’t report back to the team.
Additionally, Penn would give the team better leverage in negotiations with Williams. As of right now, the team has no viable option at left tackle with Williams holding out.
Human turnstile Ereck Flowers was manning the tackle position in Williams’ place on the first day of training camp, and that’s a big issue considering that the team initially planned on moving him to guard this offseason.
And while Robinson has great size at 6-foot-8, 342 pounds, he hasn’t blocked well on the edge so far during his career. He may be more of a fourth tackle candidate in the mold of Ty Nsekhe and could blossom if given time to refine his technique with Bill Callahan. So, signing Penn would at least give them a guy who has started 174 games mostly at left tackle. And even if he’s on the decline, he would still be an upgrade.
dark. Next. Nine position battles to watch at Redskins camp
We’ll see if anything comes of the Redskins’ interest in Penn. Signing him would certainly be a sensible move. It’s just a question of whether or not they will actually be able to agree on a deal and whether or not they see a future for Penn with the squad even if Williams returns.