Washington Football Team: Examining how close the team is to a title

A realistic assessment of the Washington Football Team’s potential

A realistic assessment of the Washington Football Team roster is essential as the team prepares for free agency and the draft. The most obvious issue relates to how much Washington should be prepared to give up for an upgrade at quarterback.

I would not give up multiple first-round draft picks for any quarterback unless he fundamentally transforms your entire organization in the way that Tom Brady did for Tampa. If they are truly available, Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson both fit that description. But I don’t think either is actually available.

I am not terribly disappointed that Washington did not successfully trade for Matthew Stafford, though he would have been a major upgrade at quarterback. His price, to me, was too high. With Stafford off the table, this question becomes most relevant when considering other quality veterans like Matt Ryan or Derek Carr. Both would also be upgrades, but neither would be transformative.

If you give up multiple first-round draft picks, and/or other similar assets, you are one Brandon Scherff injury away from wasting a year with an aging quarterback. You do not win now, and you at least partially mortgage your future. One Kendall Fuller injury moves you from having Carr win games 24-17 to having him lose 28-24.

This team needs to build a stronger roster before investing in a good – but not transformative – quarterback.

Since I’ve now said “transformative” more than I said “razor-thin,” I should probably explain what I mean. A transformative quarterback means that your current free agents consider a home-team discount to stick around and play with a future Hall-of-Famer. It means that other free agents tell their agents to call you because they want to come.

Everyone works a little harder. You have a leader who shows teammates when to go ballistic and when to relax. He instills newfound belief. A transformative quarterback wills his team to victories.

If you can find such a player, then I say you go for it, cost be damned. But there aren’t many such players floating around, and you do not need one to raise the Lombardi Trophy. Just ask Nick Foles.

But if you are going to roll with a solid, above-average quarterback, you had better have a balanced, deep, and talented roster to support him. The Washington Football Team does not have that as of today.

However, with six picks in the top 150 of the 2021 draft, and with a good amount of salary-cap space available, Washington can head into 2022 with a much better overall roster and be solidly positioned to make a run at both a quarterback and a championship.