What the Redskins should do with their free agent offensive linemen
LT Donald Penn
Earlier in the offseason, the Redskins were in a bind at the tackle position. They were without Trent Williams, who was holding out from the team and didn’t seem likely to return. Additionally, Geron Christian was dealing with an injury and Ty Nsekhe had left during the offseason, leaving the team with minimal depth.
After about a week of watching Ereck Flowers’ disastrous play at tackle, the Redskins finally elected to do something about their tackle issues. They went out and signed Donald Penn, the veteran-most left tackle remaining on the market, to a one-year deal. And Penn provided the team with a boost at the position.
Penn has started every game for the team at left tackle this season. The 36-year-old hasn’t been perfect by any stretch of the imagination — he has allowed six sacks and has committed nine penalties this year — but he still has been better than the team’s alternatives at the position. And his experience and stability has been good for the line as they have constantly shuffled quarterbacks throughout the season.
Washington Commanders
Without Penn, the team would have been forced to start the extremely raw Christian who didn’t look ready for the limelight as a rookie or during his second preseason. Penn’s experience afforded the team more time to sit Christian and work with him, and that could pay off in the long run.
Moving forward though, it is fair to wonder if Penn really will have a place on the Redskins. After all, he turns 37 in April and doesn’t appear to have a lot left in the tank. It could depend on where they’re drafting, as they are currently in position to land a guy like Andrew Thomas in the top-five. But if they find themselves in range to take Chase Young, they could elect to re-sign Penn and develop a Day 2 pick as their future left tackle.
Or maybe the team believes Christian is ready for a starting role. Or at the very least, Christian could continue on as the swing tackle, which could spell trouble for Penn if the team takes a tackle early in the draft.
It’s hard to know what the Redskins will do with Penn. But perhaps signing him to another one-year deal would make sense. If they replace him in the draft, the two sides can always part ways. But if not, Penn would be a good, experienced (190 career games, 185 starts) depth piece to keep around. He’ll be an interesting player to keep an eye on this offseason for sure.