3 free agents Washington must call after Chase Young injury

1. Vic Beasley

It wasn’t that long ago that Vic Beasley was regarded as one of the up-and-coming pass rushers in the NFL.

The former Clemson standout was drafted No. 8 overall by the Falcons in 2015 and burst on to the scene as a sophomore during Atlanta’s run to the Super Bowl by posting 11 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, which led the league, 16 QB hits and six forced fumbles, which tied for the league lead.

Unfortunately for Beasley (and the Falcons), he was never quite able to replicate that All-Pro season. He managed a grand total of 18 sacks and 25 QB hits from 2017 to 2019 and Atlanta opted against re-signing him after his contract expired.

Beasley spent time with the Titans and Raiders in 2020 and failed to record a sack in 10 games, albeit with a 28.5% snap share. That brings us to current events, where Beasley is a free agent and, to the best of our knowledge, hasn’t sniffed finding a new home despite a rash of injuries to edge rushers around the NFL.

With all that being said, desperate times call for desperate measures, and right now Washington’s DE rotation consists of James Smith-Williams, Shaka Toney, Casey Toohill, who impressed on Sunday, and Bunmi Rotimi.

Beasley might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if he’s in decent shape and looking for a path back into the league, we’d take him in a heartbeat. After all, not many available players have 37.5 sacks to their name from 2015-2019.