Top five guards for Redskins to target in 2020 free agency
Carolina Panthers. Greg Van Roten. 5. player. 87. . Left Guard
Throughout free agency, the Redskins are likely going to consider players that played for Ron Rivera‘s team, the Carolina Panthers. And among them will be Greg Van Roten.
Van Roten bounced around the NFL in the early days of his career. After going undrafted out of Penn in 2012, he signed with the Green Bay Packers and remained with them for two seasons. After that, he went to the Seattle Seahawks, the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, and the Jacksonville Jaguars before landing with the Panthers in 2017.
In his first year with Carolina, Van Roten was mostly an interior backup. But after proving himself in that role, he was entrusted with the starting left guard role following the departure of Andrew Norwell. In 2018, Van Roten was solid and played every snap for the Panthers. Last year, he continued to be a good starter before suffering a season-ending toe injury.
Van Roten would represent a plug-and-play option at the left guard position in the event that the team couldn’t retain Flowers. He would serve as an excellent replacement and would represent a more experience interior option than the former first-round pick.
That said, Van Roten turns 30 in February, so it seems that his upside may be capped. He may still improve a bit, but he’s unlikely to get much better. That’s not a bad thing as he is a solid starter, but the Redskins may want to invest in more upside if they’re adding a guard in free agency.
Van Roten certainly wouldn’t be a bad option. And if he has a good relationship with Rivera, or offensive line coach John Matsko, it’s possible he could come to Washington. But of the options on this list, he is probably the least intriguing at the moment.