Redskins Reality Checks: Pre-draft roadmap for team to follow

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 23: Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera waits on the sideline during their game against the Washington Redskins at Bank of America Stadium on October 23, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 23: Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera waits on the sideline during their game against the Washington Redskins at Bank of America Stadium on October 23, 2011 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 01: Tre Boston #33 of the Carolina Panthers tackles Steven Sims #15 of the Washington Redskins during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 01: Tre Boston #33 of the Carolina Panthers tackles Steven Sims #15 of the Washington Redskins during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Key personnel decisions

11. Re-sign Ereck Flowers

Ereck Flowers is no Brandon Scherff, but he proved he can be a solid guard in the NFL. I’d give him a three-year, $22 million contract with $10 million guaranteed. This would cost the team about $10 million in cap space in order to give them the flexibility to get out of this deal after two years if Flowers doesn’t pan out. The team is then left with $45M in space.

12. Cut Montae Nicholson and sign Tre Boston

Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders /

Washington Commanders

Nicholson is clearly not the type of person that fits Rivera’s preferred culture. He’s also an inconsistent and undisciplined player on the field…oh, and he’s injury-prone. So he should be cut, saving the team about $2 million in cap space to include in their deal to acquire Tre Boston.

Boston played for Rivera last year and continues to outplay his contracts. He’s a true free safety who could pair very nicely with Landon Collins. Boston’s market (see what I did there?) should be somewhere in the range of three years for approximately $18M, and that is money well spent for a team desperate to figure out the free safety position. His 2020 cap hit would be about $6 million, leaving the team with $39 million.

13 – Sign Bradley Roby and James Bradberry

Bradberry is likely to sign a deal somewhere in the range of four years, $45 million. He’s young enough to be around when the Rivera Rebuild is complete and the team is hopefully competing for championships.

Roby came up under Jack Del Rio in Denver. Continuing the theme of signing players who I expect to contribute when the Redskins are competitive again, Roby will cost a bit more than Bradberry, and I’d sign him to a one-year longer deal. Five years, $60 million would allow Rivera and Del Rio to have interchangeable corners to slot ahead of the team’s current young options.

Together, these players would cost about $20 million against the cap this year, leaving $19 million in remaining space.