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Riggo’s Rag Redskins Mailbag: Veterans vs. youth, left tackle battle, more

By Jacob Camenker

MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: Peyton Barber #25 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs with the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Raymond James Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29: Peyton Barber #25 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs with the ball against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Raymond James Stadium on December 29, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Why sign Peyton Barber for two years?

12th man: Why did the Redskins sign Peyton Barber to a two-year contract just a couple of months ago? I haven’t found anyone who predicts he’ll make the team. If the Redskins just wanted an RB to serve as an insurance policy for Guice and Love, why didn’t they just sign Barber or another running back to a one-year contract?

JC: So, you’ve hit on the point of why Barber was signed; he’s mostly there to provide injury protection for Guice and/or Love in case one or both get banged up.

But the two-year deal question is worth asking. After all, Barber hasn’t proven to be much more than a marginal rotational option between the tackles. And his total yards per carry has dropped in each of his four NFL seasons. So, why ink him for two years if he’s just going to be an insurance policy?

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As I see it, there are a few reasons that the team could’ve chosen to do that. First off, Ron Rivera may like Barber more than we know. He did play against Barber twice a year in the NFC South, so maybe he likes Barber to be a short-yardage specialist or envisions him having some other type of role with the team. That seems unlikely, but it’s possible.

More likely is that the Redskins just want to have an option to keep Barber beyond this season on the off-chance that he both makes the roster and performs well. The deal Barber signed is a two-year contract worth $3 million total, so it’s pretty cheap on the grand scale of things. So, if he does come in and surprise as a rotational player, they can keep him at below-market value.

But the most likely reason behind this move? It boils down to the fact that the Redskins have the resources to invest in Barber and could afford to give him a deal slightly above the veteran minimum for a couple of seasons.

The Redskins currently have the second-most cap space for this season ($35.5 million) and rank sixth in the NFL with $74 million for 2021, per OverTheCap.com. Barber’s cap hit this year is about $1.4 million and is $1.6 million in 2021, and that deal is included in their current cap space projections.

Even if Barber doesn’t make the roster in 2020, the team will eat just $600K in dead cap space. If he doesn’t make it in 2021, the team can cut him while absorbing $300K in dead cap. Neither number is particularly bad, so perhaps Rivera felt comfortable investing in him given the team’s previous concern with health at the running back position.

So, in short, Barber’s deal has little impact on the Redskins’ ability to spend for the rest of this offseason or the next. He provides depth and competition to the roster, and those are two things that Rivera is hoping to find this offseason. The two-year deal is a little odd at first glance, but given that they’re not committing much to him, the difference between a one or two-year deal isn’t that huge.

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