Washington Football Team: Three free agent linebackers to target

3. LB Denzel Perryman

A player who flew under the radar last season is middle linebacker Denzel Perryman. He’s coming off a career year last season during which he showed his versatility and was the third-highest graded linebacker according to Pro Football Focus.

His rank in coverage was the lowest out of the three mentioned today, at 74.1, but he received the highest defensive grade, run defensive grade as well as a pass-rushing grade at 83.3, 86.3, and 75.6 respectively out of these three players.

Perryman missed three games this season, but he started in six contests and played in 13 total games. Injuries held him back a bit in terms of his playing time, but he certainly made the most out of each opportunity he was given.

He had 48 tackles, three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one pass defended in just six starts this season. Perryman was used as a rotational inside linebacker, playing between 35 and 93 percent of the total defensive snaps on a per-game basis this season.

As mentioned earlier, injuries have been the biggest issue for Perryman as he’s missed games in every season. According to PFF, this has been his best season as a pro to date, but they’re still were some stretches of ineffectiveness.

Nonetheless, the 28-year-old has shown he can play the run and rush the passer from the ILB spot. Given the injury history, a deal with the former second-round pick would look like this: Two years, $7 million.

With a deal that pays him a little more than Jon Bostic, you get a better run defender than Bostic according to PFF, as well as a better player in coverage as well.

This is a low-risk signing with high-reward potential. Washington should take full advantage here take a shot at getting their middle linebacker of the future and someone who can prove to be more versatile than what they currently have.