Five players Washington Football Team could cut to open up cap space
2. RB Peyton Barber
Last season, Peyton Barber was effective as a short-yardgae and goal-line back for the Washington Football Team. However, he offered nothing beyond that skill set.
On the season, Barber averaged a paltry 2.7 yards per carry. That ranked 269th in the NFL among the 372 players to carry the ball last season. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Barber’s performance found him ranked on par with fullback Anthony Sherman and just above fullback Michael Burton.
Only 10 running backs averaged fewer yards per carry than Barber. Of the sub-3.0 ypc average players, Barber had the most carries far and away at 93. And had Barber qualified for the league leaderboard in rate stats — he needed just seven more carries to get there — his ypc average would have ranked dead last.
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That doesn’t exactly paint a rosy picture of Barber’s 2020 performance. Yes, he did well at times near the goal-line. Yes, he had some nice burst at times near the end of the season, but for the most part, he was ineffective. Washington could certainly do better than Barber as a primary between-the-tackles backup behind Antonio Gibson.
Washington probably will look for another depth player to add to the backfield this offseason. That could come at the expense of Barber. His deal isn’t ridiculous, but the team could save $1.3 million with just $300K in dead cap space if they cut him. That could open up more flexibility for the team depending on how active they are in free agency.
Either way, Barber probably won’t play a big role for this team. Washington could easily add a cheaper back with more upside via the draft or in free agency, so Barber is a prime candidate to be cut if the WFT needs to open up more space.