A rookie quarterback is coming, a cornerstone safety departed and a few other pieces were shuffled.
The Washington Redskins’ offseason moves look largely done. Will they be a better team this fall after the biggest personnel changes?
Probably not by much — unless the rookie passer comes up big.
It all looked so promising. The Redskins had tons of salary cap room to sign free agents, the No. 6 pick in the NFL Draft and were seriously pursuing quarterback Peyton Manning.
But Manning opted for Denver, ending Washington coach Mike Shanahan’s hope of a quick upgrade. The NFL stole $18 million of the Redskins’ cap room to end the pursuit of several players. And the playoff aspirations pretty much ended there, too.
Washington has ensured having a franchise quarterback — most likely Robert Griffin III — a major coup that could resonate for a decade or more. It just won’t double last season’s five victories.
Rookie quarterbacks have put up big numbers. Cam Newton had 21 touchdowns and 4,051 yards in his first season at Carolina, but it only led to six victories. A reasonable season for the Redskins’ next passer would be if he’s able to have more touchdowns than turnovers.
In recent years, rookie quarterbacks have led teams to the postseason like New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco. But those were on much better teams than Washington.
No, the offseason didn’t quite rebuild the Redskins as hoped. Losing free agent LaRon Landry didn’t help, though his injuries and overtraining in recent years diminishes his loss. Landry could have been great, but it just didn’t happen. Cutting fellow safety O.J. Atogwe after a disappointing 2011 leaves the position looking like a downgrade.
Free agent linebacker London Fletcher will probably re-sign with Washington. If someone else wanted the soon-to-be 37-year-old they would have already signed him. The Redskins are just reworking their cap room thanks to the NFL’s sucker punch to fit Fletcher under the salary structure.
Washington signed free agent receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan along with safety Brandon Meriweather. Overall, the Redskins have more depth at receiver and are starting to rebuild at safety, but this isn’t a grand class of newcomers. It’s more like a quiet offseason of fitting in a few pieces.
Unfortunately, the Redskins aren’t getting much more help in the draft outside of quarterback. After also trading their second-rounder to St. Louis as part of the blockbuster deal to move up to No. 2 overall, the Redskins don’t have another pick until the third round.
The draft is about depth. The third-round pick will probably be an offensive lineman or safety, who could see minutes this season. The remaining picks will simply be the best player available, and maybe one will manage to regularly contribute beyond special teams.
Regaining several healthy players — guard Kory Lichtensteiger, offensive tackle Jammal Brown and running back Tim Hightower — should help. Running backs Roy Helu and Evan Royster should also improve in their second years. Still, the offseason looks more about 2013 than this fall.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
