Marty Hurney would not be the best option for Redskins GM

Hurney’s free agent history

Over the course of the years, one of Hurney’s weaknesses has come in free agency. He hasn’t necessarily been bad at identifying talent on the market. The bigger issue is that he spends very, very freely and often overpays to land the services of top-tier free agents.

Does that sound familiar? It should. Because it’s something that has been a characteristic of the team under Dan Snyder’s watch.

Whether it was shelling out big bucks for Albert Haynesworth, Adam Archuleta, Antwaan Randle-El, or Deion Sanders, the team simply overpaid for so many players over the years. Overspending in free agency hasn’t been a problem recently for the Redskins but if they add a guy like Hurney to the front office, it could quickly become one.

Late in his first stint with the Panthers, Hurney was notorious for paying big-money deals that ended up crippling the team’s financial flexibility. Among his biggest mistakes were the following:

• Choosing to pay running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart a combined $80 million (roughly $34 million guaranteed) in consecutive offseasons (2011 and 2012)
• Signing linebackers Jon Beason and Thomas Davis to deals worth a combined $87.8 million in the 2011 offseason despite both having extensive injury histories

Investing so much in those two positions plus the $76 million he had invested in Charles Johnson made it difficult for the team to make other moves to shore up their needs and bring them to contender status. It’s also worth noting that Both Beason and Davis had injury problems at the time these deals were made. Davis panned out but Beason didn’t as much.

Since returning to the team in 2017, Hurney’s spending has been more controlled. The four-year, $17 million he shelled out for kicker Graham Gano was probably the most questionable deal, as non-elite kickers shouldn’t be paid that much. But Gano was coming off a Pro Bowl season, so paying him wasn’t the worst decision.

Perhaps Hurney has learned from his mistakes, but his previous penchant for overspending is worrisome especially when coupled with Snyder’s deep pockets and willing to invest in big names and quick-fix solutions.