The Redskins and the Dolphins: A tale of two tanks
By Ian Cummings
The Redskins
After going 7-9 in 2018, the Redskins filled several newly-opened coaching vacancies, rotating in a new special teams coordinator and a new defensive backs coach, among other things. The primary positions remained the same, however. Jay Gruden remained the head coach. Greg Manusky remained the defensive coordinator. This, after the team lost seven of their last eight games in 2018. This, after five years of mediocrity and a steady buildup of volatility.
In January of 2019, Bruce Allen said this.
“We’re in the middle of the pack. We’ve been in the middle of the pack the last three seasons. It means you’re close.”
From 2016 to 2018, the Miami Dolphins went 23-25. The Washington Redskins went 22-25-1.
In the offseason of 2019, the Redskins made Landon Collins the highest-paid safety in the NFL. The move highlighted an otherwise quiet free agency, but they also signed former Giants offensive lineman Ereck Flowers and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. These moves negated third-round, sixth-round, and seventh-round compensatory picks that they would have been projected to receive from the departures of Preston Smith, Ty Nsekhe, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, respectively.
In the 2019 NFL Draft, the Redskins received high marks from draft media, amassing talent on Days 1, 2, and 3. Their class was punctuated by the acquisition of former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, and former Mississippi State edge rusher Montez Sweat. Other picks, such as Terry McLaurin and Cole Holcomb, also showed promise.
Washington traded up for Sweat, sacrificing a second-round pick in 2020. It was a move, and an offseason, resemblant of a team going all-in on immediate success. But the acquisition of Haskins, a rookie quarterback, suggested a potential conflict of interest in D.C. Why did a team that was starting over at the game’s most important position, think they could make the leap in 2019?
Despite questions surrounding the offense and the coaching staff, the Redskins pressed forward with the ultimate trophy in mind. Now, four weeks of the code-red season have passed, and the Redskins are with the Dolphins, at 0-4. Their margin of defeat has increased each week. The defense, once lauded as a potential top-ten unit, is statistically the worst in the league. The team’s coaching staff is in limbo, and the quarterback situation has completely collapsed.
The pack that Bruce Allen and the Redskins had grown so comfortable with has now left them behind.
The Redskins have one first-round pick in 2020. They don’t have a second-round pick. Their one asset that’s commanding value, Trent Williams, they refuse to trade. And they’re projected to be nineteenth in the NFL in cap space by the turn of the new league year.
It’s ugly right now. And no one saw it coming.