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Free agents Washington Football Team could sign now to improve team

By Jacob Camenker

CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 13: Cordy Glenn #77 of the Cincinnati Bengals takes the field for the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals defeated the Ravens 34-23. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 13: Cordy Glenn #77 of the Cincinnati Bengals takes the field for the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium on September 13, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals defeated the Ravens 34-23. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 14: Free safety Damarious Randall #23 of the Cleveland Browns during the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Steelers 21-7. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 14: Free safety Damarious Randall #23 of the Cleveland Browns during the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns defeated the Steelers 21-7. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

2. S Damarious Randall

Much was made of the improvement of Troy Apke over the course of the offseason. The Washington coaching staff seemed to be confident in him and as each day of camp went by, it seemed more and more likely that he would earn the starting job over free-agent acquisition Sean Davis.

That is exactly what happened. However, the on-field results haven’t exactly been great for Apke. In fact, they haven’t been good.

Apke has struggled immensely trying to take proper angles to make tackles and that has resulted in multiple keys misses at this early stage in the season. Additionally, he has been beaten deep on more than one occasion because of misreads on what routes he was supposed to be covering.

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Maybe Apke can improve, but it’s hard to have faith in him at this point. And Washington doesn’t have any great replacement options at the position, though rookie Kamren Curl has looked good in three-safety sets this year. That said, they may want to consider bringing in another rangy playmaker on the back end, and Damarious Randall fits the bill.

Randall was a former first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers. He has played at both cornerback and safety during his career and can play all over the secondary. He could easily play free safety in this Washington defense and he would offer a much higher floor than Apke given his 14 interceptions in 65 career games.

Randall isn’t a perfect player. He does get beaten deep at times, but the fact is that he is a solid tackler and does make plays on the ball fairly regularly. That would make him a potential upgrade and a solid running mate for Landon Collins. At the very least, testing him out for the rest of the season couldn’t hurt.

At just 28, Randall has some good years left in front of him, so perhaps Washington will consider bringing him on board. Again, they may be content to ride it out with Apke to see if he can improve with live game reps, but Randall would be a low-risk, high-reward signing if they do decide to add safety help.

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