Redskins free agency head-to-head: Byron Jones vs. James Bradberry
By Ian Cummings
The Redskins cornerback position can be summed up by one simple “shrugging” emoji.
At every tier of the Washington Redskins cornerback group, there is uncertainty. At the top, Quinton Dunbar is a quality starter coming off a superb 2019 season, but his durability concerns, combined with his unresolved contract situation, make him an unstable commodity.
Ironically enough, Dunbar might be the most stable piece at the Redskins cornerback position. Behind him, Josh Norman is now gone, having been released last week to clear over $12 million in cap space. Fabian Moreau showed some promise on the boundary in 2019, but couldn’t find consistency, and now submits his starting spot to the mercy of Ron Rivera. After Moreau, the position quality takes another massive dip, with 2019 seventh-round pick Jimmy Moreland, 2018 seventh-round pick Greg Stroman, and undrafted free agent Danny Johnson heading a large, uninspiring depth pool.
Some of the deep sleepers in Washington’s secondary have intriguing traits, but there’s no ignoring the blatantly obvious: The Redskins need a lot of help at cornerback, and they should be willing to pay a high price to get it. Early reports have suggested they are willing; yesterday, James Bradberry was directly tied to Ron Rivera’s Redskins by Julie Donaldson, and Byron Jones has also been a popular match.
Bradberry and Jones are both projected to get big paydays in 2020 free agency. Both cornerbacks have the resumes to command top dollar. But which one is a better fit for the Redskins? In a perfect world, the Redskins could get both and have it all work out. But this isn’t a perfect world. More likely than not, Washington pays for one, and not the other. Which one deserves the cash more?