Redskins: Five takeaways from Day One of legal tampering
By Ian Cummings
No. 4 – The new Redskins were still aggressive, though
Another reason the results aren’t necessarily indicative of the process: Just because the Redskins didn’t make any major signings, doesn’t mean they didn’t try. According to ESPN’s John Keim, the Redskins were close, but not close enough, in a few major developments on the day.
Washington offered Ereck Flowers $8.5 million annually to stay in D.C., but Flowers opted to take $10 million with his hometown team. Washington offered Amari Cooper a whopping $22 million a year, in hopes to pry him away from the Cowboys, but Cooper chose to stay in Dallas for the long haul. And, per Albert Breer, the Redskins also expressed interest in Stefon Diggs, but didn’t have the necessary draft capital to strike a deal for him.
The Redskins were relatively quiet yesterday, but they were still busy. These efforts appear smart, too. Flowers was a homegrown talent who’s young and ascending at guard. Cooper is a dynamic offensive weapon and an elite route runner who could’ve been a godsend for Dwayne Haskins. And Diggs, like Cooper, is a very good technician in the midst of his prime.
Sometimes, things just don’t work out. Had the Redskins gotten even two of these three deals to go down, their first day of free agency would’ve looked a lot different.