Bargains, high-cost options abound
Last year, the Washington Football Team took a conservative approach to free agency as coach Ron Rivera laid the foundation for a rebuild.
This year, with raised expectations, the question is how much more aggressive the team will be. The roster has holes — quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, etc. — but enough talent to contend for another NFC East title.
Washington should be in a strong position for free agency. Over the Cap projects it will have about $52 million in salary cap space, fourth-most in the NFL, once it officially releases quarterback Alex Smith. Some teams view free agency as inefficient — the competition for a limited number of high-caliber players often forces teams to overpay — but there could be hidden value this year.
Because the salary cap is lower as a result of the NFL’s revenue losses during the pandemic, teams may have to shed salaries of more quality veteran players than usual.
The legal negotiating period for unrestricted free agents begins March 15, and deals can become official March 17 at 4 p.m., the start of the new league year. Here are notable players Washington could target.
Costly options
As it seems increasingly unlikely that Dallas’s Dak Prescott will hit the open market, Washington must turn its search to the next tier of quarterbacks. This includes Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and Jacoby Brissett.
None of them is expected to cost more than $12 million or so per year, though — much less the roughly $39 million average Prescott is expected to command. Washington could also choose to stay out of the free-agent-quarterback market and instead pursue a veteran via trade or wait until the draft.
Either way, Washington is a strong candidate to pursue a high-priced receiver. It pushed hard for Amari Cooper last year before he re-signed with the Cowboys, and during the season Rivera said the team needed more from the position.
Chicago’s Allen Robinson, Tampa Bay’s Chris Godwin, Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster and Detroit’s Kenny Golladay are top talents capable of complementing Terry McLaurin, if they aren’t franchise-tagged or re-signed by their current teams. But none of them would come cheap. Salary-cap expert Jason Fitzgerald estimated each would cost between $17 million and $20 million per year.
Washington could pursue premium options at other
need positions, such as at tight end (Los Angeles Chargers’ Hunter Henry, Tennessee’s Jonnu Smith), cornerback (Seattle’s Shaquill Griffin, Arizona’s Patrick Peterson, Cincinnati’s William Jackson III) and linebacker (Buffalo’s Matt Milano, Tampa Bay’s Lavonte David, Tennessee’s Jayon Brown).
Value options
This is the range in which Washington shopped during most of last year’s free agency period. The team found some high-value returns, including tight end Logan Thomas and running back J.D. McKissic, but also missed on a few players, including linebacker Thomas Davis and safety Sean Davis.
Washington likely won’t look here for a quarterback because its two current options, Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke, are in this tier. But Washington could find good value at receiver, cornerback and linebacker due to the volume of players available. There are a few receivers, including Las Vegas’s Nelson Agholor and Josh Reynolds of the Los Angeles Rams, and a few cornerbacks, including the Chargers’ Michael Davis and Tennessee’s Desmond King, that could bring the speed the front office is seeking. King could also help shore up the slot corner position, which Washington wanted to improve last season.
There should be plenty of linebackers available at a bargain rate of around $6 million per year. Two potentially affordable linebackers known for being solid in coverage — which is a need for Washington — include Seattle veteran K.J. Wright and Indianapolis’s Anthony Walker.
Washington is also not set at left tackle. If the team doesn’t trust Cornelius Lucas or Geron Christian to sustain their levels of production from last season, it could pay Carolina’s Russell Okung or Pittsburgh’s Alejandro Villanueva on short-term deals to step in.
Two other players that could make sense are Carolina receiver Curtis Samuel and Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett. They’re both fast for their positions, and have the type of versatility Rivera values. Samuel played for Rivera in Carolina and is a good fit for offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s offense, and Everett could complement Thomas as a pass-catching weapon, as he has with Tyler Higbee in L.A. Neither would be cheap, but neither is expected to command salaries at the top of the market, either.
Re-sign candidates
Washington’s in-house list likely starts with Pro Bowl right guard Brandon Scherff. The team wants to strike a long-term deal with the 29-year-old, but the franchise tag remains an option, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Scherff could reset the guard market and re-sign for about $15 million per year.
Two defensive ends, Ryan Kerrigan and Ryan Anderson, are likely to depart, so the team’s next question mark is cornerback Ronald Darby. The 27-year-old started all 16 games and helped stabilize the outside for Washington’s pass coverage after the team signed him on a one-year flier. There’s “mutual interest” in a reunion, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The last free agent starter is kicker Dustin Hopkins. He’s one of the team’s longest-tenured players, but last season he made 86.4 percent of his kicks, tied for the lowest mark of his career, and ranked 25th out of 33 qualified kickers. Washington could, if it wants to move on, pursue Chicago’s Cairo Santos or Las Vegas’s Daniel Carlson, who were among the league’s best last season.
Other notable depth free agents — linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, cornerback Fabian Moreau, tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and right tackle David Sharpe — could be back for the right price. Linebacker Reuben Foster, a former firstround pick who missed the last two seasons, could return if the team believes he can regain the speed and mobility he lost with a devastating knee injury in 2019.