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Breaking down the Redskins pending free agents for 2021

By Jonathan Eig

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 22: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Football Team looks on before the game against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 22, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 22: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Football Team looks on before the game against the New York Giants at FedExField on December 22, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 08: Ryan Anderson #52 of the Washington Redskins lines up for a play in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on December 08, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 08: Ryan Anderson #52 of the Washington Redskins lines up for a play in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on December 08, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The Question Marks

These are talented players who have yet to make their mark in DC.

LB Ryan Anderson. Of all the players facing free agency, no one may have more at stake than Ryan Anderson. He has been a serviceable backup throughout his first three years, but that is not what you expect when you take a guy in the second round. He will probably get a good look at strong-side LB in the new defense, and his size could allow him to slide to the edge, or even into the middle LB slot at times. But he needs to show the fierce hitting that made him such a highly-touted prospect coming out of Alabama.

Anderson did show glimpses of it late last season. He needs to show a lot more than glimpses. He is one of two players on this list who I think could become trade fodder at some point before the end of the season.

LB Reuben Foster. Wait, another linebacker from the 2017 Alabama class who is a major question mark? Pure coincidence, I’m sure. Whereas anything Ryan Anderson gives the team this year is gravy, the Redskins really could use Foster stepping up. He would fill a major hole at middle linebacker, where Jon Bostic has been reliable. But Foster could be spectacular. The only thing is, he cannot stay on the field, and I’m doubtful that will change.

I don’t think Foster will be on the roster this year, but if he is, and if he stays healthy, he could be here a long time. And that could in turn impact decisions about who to go after next off-season. There is a lot riding on Reuben Foster’s ability to stay on the field, for both the player and the team.

DT Caleb Brantley. I think Brantley is a very good player, but it is hard to shine when the likes of Allen, Payne, and Ioannidis are standing in front of you. That’s a lot of big men. Brantley is most likely playing for a contract with another team in 2021, and barring injury, he will get one. There is always a chance that the Redskins will decide that the three premium interior linemen ahead of him are too expensive, and if that is the case, they may try to be the ones to snatch up Brantley themselves. But that’s not likely at this point.

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