Washington Football: Analyzing even more receiving options

Washington football receiver situation

A little perspective: The ten receivers currently active for WFT have combined NFL totals of 130 catches, 1,537 yards, and 13 touchdowns. That’s combined career totals. As a comparison, Dallas’ Amari Cooper has about three times those numbers all by himself. The Giants have two receivers — Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard — who top those numbers. And Philadelphia, whose fans are very concerned about their receiving corps, have three players who top those numbers.

So let’s dispatch with the traditional options. There are no free agents worth bringing in at this point. It’s not as if there’s some gem out there that everybody mysteriously forgot. You can’t scan the wires and say, “OMG, no one has signed Emmanuel Sanders. Let’s put in a call.” Nor Ricky Sanders. Nor Colonel Sanders, though word is he has an awesome three-cone time — probably comes from all those years chasing chickens.

WFT is not signing Antonio Brown or Josh Gordon. Both are unreliable. Brown is a locker room cancer, who has turned on teammates in the past. Gordon is not a problem teammate, and I have argued that many of his suspensions wouldn’t have been enforced, were he entering the league now, with the current, more relaxed marijuana rules. But Gordon has had drug issues his entire adult life and has not been able to stay on the field.

Gordon is currently suspended. If and when he is reinstated, he has expressed a strong desire to remain with Seattle, and the Seahawks have said they want him back. Just how much money do you think it would take to convince him to come to the 3-13 WFT, and say farewell to Russell Wilson, Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, and the Super Bowl-contending Seahawks? Certainly not a price WFT is going to pay.

There are no other free agents worth bringing in. You could make a case for someone like Demaryius Thomas or Jermaine Kearse — veterans who could set an example for the younger guys. But if you have seen them play in the past two years, it is pretty clear that they are trending down very quickly. The one potentially explosive playmaker still floating around — Taylor Gabriel — is a slot and gadget receiver, and WFT has enough bodies there (Sims Jr., Quinn, Johnson, Kidsy) that they do not need to spend any resources for that type of player.

It really comes down to what you are trying to add. With three receivers down, WFT may simply need a few warm bodies, but the older veterans that are currently available are not going to produce. Chris Hogan is 30 and caught eight balls last year. Dontrelle Inman is 31 and caught 12. There is a reason these guys are still available.

Ideally, one of the young guys already on the roster will step up, in the way that Steven Sims Jr. did last year. It could happen, though the abbreviated training camp makes it less likely. And a trade is always a possibility.