Redskins sign six-year veteran wide receiver Cody Latimer
The Washington Redskins have signed Cody Latimer. The six-year veteran will provide experience in the team’s young receiving corps.
One of the clear goals of the Washington Redskins offseason was to add some veteran depth to their receiver corps. They have some good young talents in Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims, and Kelvin Harmon, among others, but the thing that they were lacking was a proven veteran who could provide depth or another starting option for the team.
After the Redskins missed out on Amari Cooper, they decided to take the bargain-bin approach at most positions in free agency. And that should include their latest signing in the receiving corps.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Redskins have agreed to a deal with Cody Latimer. The veteran had previously been a member of the Denver Broncos and New York Giants.
#Redskins have agreed to terms on a deal with former #Giants and #Broncos WR Cody Latimer, sources say. Former second-rounder joins Ron Rivera’s new team.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 26, 2020
Latimer is a fine get. He’s an experienced veteran who has been in the league for six years but is still relatively young. He’ll turn 28 in October and should be a solid depth piece for the Redskins.
Latimer was a second-round pick out of Indiana in the 2014 NFL Draft, but he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing. He had his best season last year with the Giants starting 10 of the 15 games he played and catching 24 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. All of those numbers set or matched career highs.
The most intriguing skill that Latimer has is his strong 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame. He has great physicality and strength and is good at making contested catches. That said, he can also serve as a bit of a downfield playmaker; he has averaged 14.4 yards per catch over the course of the past three seasons despite only having a long reception of 43 yards over that span.
It’s possible that the Redskins see some untapped potential in Latimer. But either way, he’s a rock-solid option for a backup receiver spot and he did average 23.8 yards per return on 26 kick returns last season. So, that’s added value that he can contribute on special teams.
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Signing Latimer won’t preclude the team from adding another young receiver in a receiver-rich draft class. But he will provide a veteran presence in that receivers room and will challenge some other back-end roster options like Cam Sims, Darvin Kidsy, and Emanuel Hall for a spot on the team. And it’s possible that Latimer will find a role in the ‘Skins offense in 2020.