Here’s why Washington retaining Bobby McCain would be a smart move

With the Washington Football Team eliminated from playoff contention, the front office is clearly striving to get a head start on the offseason.

While they’re unable to sign free agents from other clubs until the start of the new league year, there’s no rule stating they can’t lock up their own free agents-to-be, and they are wasting no time in that regard.

On Wednesday, Washington and Charles Leno agreed to a three-year, $37.5 million extension. The stalwart left tackle has been an incredible signing for the franchise and this deal locks him up through the 2024 season.

Who knows? If Leno’s consistency and durability hold up until then, he could position himself to sign another deal by that time.

But let’s not think too far ahead.

With the Leno news came word that Washington was interested in retaining fellow free agents JD McKissic and Bobby McCain.

While McKissic is universally beloved by the fan base, we’ve noticed some fans question why they’d keep McCain instead of pursuing a star free safety on the open market. All told, it’s a fair reservation.

However, we’re here to tell you why it’d be a smart move.

The Washington Football Team is smart for wanting to retain free agent safety Bobby McCain.

For starters, McCain’s play has greatly improved over the second half of the campaign. In fact, he broke out of his early-season slump right around the time Landon Collins moved out of his full-time role as a starting safety.

For the season, McCain ranks sixth on the team in tackles (63), tied for first in interceptions (two) and fourth in pass breakups (six). Per Pro Football Focus, the seventh-year pro owns a 64.6 coverage grade, a 63.0 run defense grade and a 76.0 tackling grade (higher than Kam Curl) over the last five games.

Again, those numbers won’t set the world on fire, but McCain has clearly been on an upward trajectory. At 28 years old, he’s smack in the middle of his prime and his output will likely improve after a full offseason with the club.

In sum, McCain has played well enough to earn another contract, but not great enough to sign a deal that would handicap Washington financially.

That brings us to our next point: money. With Curl on a rookie deal and McCain presumably signing a cost-effective contract, Washington will have ample salary cap flexibility to address other, more important, positions of need.

Like quarterback.

While we hear fans that would like a top-flight safety, you can’t pay every position on the defense top-of-the-market money. As of this writing, Collins, William Jackson, Kendall Fuller and Jonathan Allen make up four of Washington’s top-seven cap hits (a combined $50.8 million) for next season.

Adding another high-end safety would severely limit the team’s budget. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, folks, and McCain has proven to be more than serviceable over the course of the season after a slow start.

We’d all agree that continuity is king in the NFL, right?

Well, with Fuller and Jackson under contract through 2023, Washington could have their starting secondary locked up for the next two years, depending on how long McCain signs for. Not many teams can say that.

Don’t get greedy. This would be a smart move.