For Redskins, does keeping Josh Doctson actually make sense?

Everyone else seems savvy on the futility of Josh Doctson’s 2019 season… except the Redskins.

I’ve always maintained a somewhat sympathetic view for Josh Doctson. I don’t want to call him a bust because his underwhelming career with the Washington Redskins has not entirely been his doing. The term is blunt. But perhaps, so is the monotony of Doctson’s career.

To be a bust, one is not required to be the sole cause of their own downfall. Doctson came into the NFL as an elite athlete with an incredible analytical profile. He’s shown flashes of his vertical potential in isolated moments. The Seahawks game. The Raiders game. Pockets of greatness that never came to become one great legacy.

Instead, Doctson’s development was stunted by a lingering injury. The team never was able to commit to him, Doctson was never able to commit to consistency, and Ike Hilliard failed to hone his traits over time. Subsequently, Doctson has limped to where he is now: At the front end of a lame duck campaign with the Redskins. Given the expectations he once had, it seems as if he is a bust.

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In three seasons with the Redskins, Doctson has logged 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns on 81 catches; the equivalent of one season for the best first-round receivers. Doctson never became that, and in one more year with Washington, it’s unlikely that he ever will.

Thus, a question needs to be asked. A question the Redskins have seemingly avoided to this point: What purpose does keeping Doctson in 2019 serve?

Doctson has upside still, but he’s almost 27 years old, and three years with the organization haven’t made enough progress. Doctson has plainly stated his knowledge of his future, and its uncertainty, and after the team declined to exercise his fifth-year option, the writing has all but been on the wall.

Why then, should the Redskins use a spot on Doctson, when it’s clear that his long-term future with the team does not extend past 2019? Why keep Doctson when there are young receivers with comparable upside like Robert Davis, Cam Sims, and Darvin Kidsy making bids to claim a roster spot each week in preseason?

It may be hard to move Doctson right now; he’s a complimentary receiver in almost any other offense, and a one-year rental at that. Teams are already preparing to cut down their rosters after thorough evaluations. Adding another player on a contract year, and giving up assets to do so, is a tough ask at this stage. But a team with a thin receiving core could be willing to spend a late-round pick on him to try and glean some more of his athletic potential.

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It’s not a guarantee. But given the situation with the receiving core, it feels like the Redskins should at least try, and if they can’t, a serious discussion needs to be had about his viability in 2019. Doctson is a starter on the depth chart, but he doesn’t have as much long-term upside with the Redskins as the No. 6 and No. 7 options. Rosters should not be built on indifference.

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