The Washington Football Team could stand to add some competition to certain positions on their team. Here are some free agent targets they could consider.
At this point in the 2020 NFL season, the Washington Football Team is actually in good shape from a record standpoint. They won their opener against the Eagles before falling to the Cardinals in Week 2 to post a 1-1 start to begin the season.
Starting the season with a .500 record is solid since Washington isn’t expected to be a true playoff contender. And beating a divisional rival is good news.
That said, the team still has a lot of improvements to make moving forward. Again, nobody is expecting them to be a playoff contender this year, but they will need to find solutions for some of their problem spots if they want to have a chance to compete in 2021.
Washington is testing out some of their young talent in 2020, and that’s a smart move. But if certain players don’t work out, the team needs to have some opportunities available both to see if they can emerge as contributors and to make sure the ineffective players aren’t having a negative impact on their ability to impact other players fighting for future roles. Otherwise, the team will have a tough time fully evaluating certain players.
Because of this, Washington could — keyword, COULD — take a look at the free agent market to try to add some potential contributors. At this point, the market is mostly picked clean, but there are some veterans available as well as a couple of younger players that could upgrade some of Washington’s weaknesses.
With that said, here’s a look at five players Washington could at least consider adding to their roster to shore up depth at some of those problem spots.
5. CB Prince Amukamara
Washington has some solid young corners in Jimmy Moreland and Fabian Moreau. They also will be getting Kendall Fuller back from an injury very soon. But the team could still stand to add some depth at the cornerback position.
So far this year, Ronald Darby hasn’t played well at all. The former Eagles corner was a good low-risk signing for the team, but he has been torched twice this year for massive games. One notably came on a third-and-22 against his former team while another allowed Christian Kirk to make a huge play down the field in Week 2.
If Washington grows tired of Darby’s inability to effectively cover players, they may turn to another veteran cornerback to help out. Aaron Colvin could be an answer on the practice squad, but taking a chance on Prince Amukamara could be worthwhile.
Amukamara has been in the NFL for nine seasons and has long been an effective starter on the outside. He hasn’t always been able to stay healthy, but he was a key cog in the strong Giants secondaries of the early/mid-2010s and helped lock down a corner spot on the Bears’ elite defense a couple of years ago.
Long term, the gains from signing Amukamara probably aren’t much, which is why he doesn’t rank higher on this list. Still, he could be an improvement for the team’s depth and may serve as a valuable mentor to the young corner talent that Washington has.
Either way, he would give the team an insurance option in case Darby continues to have issues in coverage. That’s why Washington should at least consider adding a guy like Amukamara though there are certainly bigger holes for them to try to fill than the cornerback spot.
4. WR Corey Coleman
The wide receiver market has mostly been picked clean of young talent. There are some older veterans available including Demaryius Thomas and Taylor Gabriel, but it may make more sense for Washington to target a younger player after adding a veteran in Dontrelle Inman to the fold.
Enter Corey Coleman. The former first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns hasn’t quite panned out as the team expected just four seasons into his career, but at age 26, there’s still a chance that he could bounce back if given the opportunity.
During his career, Coleman has played in just 27 games. He has nursed various injuries throughout his career including a torn ACL that caused him to miss the entire 2019 season. Those injuries are certainly a concern, but Coleman has been productive during his career.
Coleman has averaged 12.9 yards per catch during his career and in his best season with the Browns, he caught 33 passes for 413 yards and three touchdowns. He can be a playmaker and a deep threat, so he could fit in nicely as a situational player in Washington.
The reason that Coleman doesn’t check in higher on this list is that Washington does have some young talent at the receiver position that they could want to test out. Antonio Gandy-Golden was a fourth-round pick this year and has played only sparingly while Isaiah Wright and Cam Sims are on the active roster as well. All could eventually get more playing time if Washington becomes frustrated with Inman.
Still, Coleman is worth considering. He would add a speed element that the team is missing and has enough upside to improve. If Washington wants to add a receiver, there are few options that make more sense than Corey Coleman.
3. TE Jeff Heuerman
Through two games this season, Logan Thomas has received 17 targets from Dwayne Haskins. That’s tied for the most on the Washington Football Team with Terry McLaurin.
Despite his heavy target share, Thomas hasn’t been all that productive. He has eight catches for 63 yards and a score, but he had a tough Week 2 against the Cardinals and dropped several catchable balls in that game. Thomas can still be a functional starter, but having better depth behind him than Marcus Baugh and Jeremy Sprinkle would be helpful.
That’s where Jeff Heuerman comes in. The former Broncos tight end was released by the team shortly after training camp started and has remained a free agent since early August. However, Heuerman has been a solid backup tight end throughout his career nad his absence from a roster is more about bad timing than his ability as a player.
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, NFL teams had to cut their rosters to 80 men by mid-August, so teams weren’t able to try out as many players as they normally would have during the preseason time. As such, Heuerman went unsigned, but the well-rounded player could still make an impact as a backup.
For the past three seasons, Heuerman has averaged 22 catches, 220 yards, and two TDs per 16 games played. He has been a solid blocker and reliable when healthy. At just 27, there’s still hope that he could improve a little bit more, and at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, he should continue to be a good blocker if nothing else.
Heuerman would be an upgrade for Washington. He could back up Thomas and replace him if the more athletic pass catcher continues to have issues grabbing the ball. Heuerman would also be a good mentor to have around for another Ohio State product, Marcus Baugh, and could help the surprise top backup at the position to improve his skill set.
Heuerman may not be the most exciting name, but he has potential. If the team is looking for more of a short-term Band-Aid to give Dwayne Haskins a quality target, signing 36-year-old Delanie Walker for the rest of the season could be another option. But that move would have no longer-term upside.
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.
1. OT Cordy Glenn
If Washington is going to make any move on this list, it should be to sign Cordy Glenn. The former Bills and Bengals tackle is still on the market but he really shouldn’t be.
Glenn has long been one of the more solid left tackles in the NFL. He’s not elite, but his presence on the field has always had a positive impact on his team.
In 2019, Glenn played only six games for the Bengals, and his return catalyzed their win against the Jets. That was one of two victories that the Bengals had on the year. And in 2018, Glenn missed three games in which the Bengals went 0-3. With him on the field, the Bengals were 6-7.
So, Glenn clearly has an impact on winning. He also has a humungous 6-foot-6, 345-pound frame and 95 games of starting experience under his belt. At the very least, he could prove to be an invaluable veteran presence and backup for a team that could use some help at the left tackle position. And at his best, he could be a fine stopgap for the rest of the season.
Giving Geron Christian a chance to prove himself is understandable. But if he continues to struggle, Washington will need to have a replacement option available. That could be Saahdiq Charles, but why not have a known commodity on the bench just in case that doesn’t work out either?
It’s also possible that Glenn could kick inside to guard and find success. He has shorter arms than the average tackle, so he could replace the injured Brandon Scherff or Wes Martin if need be.
There’s not much to dislike about adding Glenn. He’s versatile, he’s productive, and he’s experienced. He fills what could be a big need for Washington and could better protect Dwayne Haskins on the left side than what the team currently has. And that may be the most important thing if Washington were to consider a move like this.
We’ll see if Washington opts to do anything moving forward. These moves all make sense from a needs perspective, but with Washington not going anywhere, they may be content to ride out the rest of the season while seeing if any of the players they currently have can step into their biggest vacancies.