Report: Redskins to sign edge rusher Noah Spence on Wednesday
The Washington Redskins are adding to the pass rush rotation. They have signed free agent Noah Spence, formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
To kick off the 2019 NFL season, the Redskins pass rush has been disappointing. Expected to be a big strength for the team, they have struggled to generate much pressure to rattle opposing quarterbacks. Granted, they did face a couple of really good offensive lines in the Eagles and Cowboys, but it was still discouraging, to say the least.
Now, the Redskins are making a move to add some edge rush depth. And it’s an intriguing move for sure.
According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, the Redskins are planning to sign Spence on Wednesday. Here’s what Laine said about the situation on Twitter.
Source tells me that the Redskins are planning to sign former Bucs outside linebacker Noah Spence tomorrow. Spence worked out for them last week. He also worked out for the Bears today, along with the Bills two weeks ago.
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 18, 2019
Spence is certainly a player with upside, and he did get a chance to work out for the Redskins last week. Evidently, they liked his skill set enough to give him a chance. So, he will be joining the roster.
Spence was a former second-round pick of the Buccaneers played three seasons with the team before being cut this offseason amid the switch to Todd Bowles‘ defense. Spence had 5.5 sacks as a rookie but in 18 games since then, he has only logged a single sack. Perhaps a change of scenery will do him well.
The addition of Spence, 25, certainly has upside. But the interesting thing to watch will be the corresponding move to adding Spence. It’s hard to imagine that they’d cut an edge rusher — Cassanova McKinzy is the fourth rusher and his speed rush abilities make him a valuable commodity on the roster — so they may look to trim the roster elsewhere.
Will the team go back to carrying just five receivers? Are they cutting a recent addition like Tanner Vallejo or T.Y. McGill? Or is another player going on Injured Reserve? We’ll find out tomorrow, but it’s something to watch.
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Signing Spence is a nice move either way, but there will be more to this story moving forward. We’ll have updates as soon as we know what the corresponding roster move will be and how it will impact the Redskins’ edge rush rotation.