The Redskins need him to make an impact at linebacker. They knew it would be tough for that to happen with a prolonged holdout. So it wasn’t just Brian Orakpo who celebrated his new contract. It was the Redskins’ organization.
Orakpo signed a five-year deal with a $12.1 million signing bonus, a deal reached late Thursday night. He was on the field for today’s morning pracitce, though he only went through some individual drills before taking his shoulder pads off and watching the final hour.
”Any pick that misses a lot of time will struggle in his first year,” said Redskins executive vice president Vinny Cerrato.
Orakpo only missed the first two practices on the opening day of camp. And because he’s transitioning to a new position — he played end at the University of Texas, but will play mostly strongside linebacker in the NFL — it’s imperative that he gets as much work in as possible.
”I was very happy, but mostly relieved that we got it done,” Orakpo said. ”I don’t like missing workouts, but there’s a business side to this whole ordeal.”
His teammates dubbed him ”Big Money” when he walked into the locker room today. He arrived early this morning from Texas. He had been working out with his former college teammates, participating in seven-on-seven drills to hone his techniques at linebacker. When he got the call about the deal, he was at a birthday dinner eating sushi with his fiance. Orakpo turns 23 today.
Orakpo said defensive coordinator Greg Blache’s comments Thursday — he stressed the importance of being in camp for a rookie — had no bearing on the urgency of the deal. Nor did Orakpo take offense to them.
”That’s coach for you,” Orakpo said. ”He’ll tell you what’s up. He’s not a guy to hold his tongue. … We were laughing and joking [this morning].”
Now comes the hard part: living up to the deal. Orakpo also will play right end in pass situations. He was drafted 13th overall because of his pass-rush abilities. And he knows what he must do in Washington.
”Create havoc and be productive,” he said. ”Just fly around, young legs, fresh legs, and do what I do best.”
