What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

***Official*** Washington Redskins 2014 Offseason Thread (1 Viewer)

NFL suspended free agent TE Fred Davis indefinitely for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

D'oh, idiots will be idiots...Mr. Davis' career has gone up in smoke...

 
I remember thinking how good it would be with Davis beating LB's down the middle and Griffin hitting him for big gains. That'll never be happening.

Goodbye Fred. We're replacing you with an actor from Lost.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
According to Mike Mayock the draft this year looks good for positions of need for the Skins.

For teams like the Washington Redskins, it’s a great opportunity to load up on talent at positions of need. Mayock says that while wide receiver is the deepest position in the draft, you can go three to four rounds deep for quality offensive tackles and defensive backs.
Click to expand...
 
The Washington Redskins have made relatively little progress so far toward a potential contract agreement that would keep linebacker Perry Riley Jr. off the free agent market, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

According to both of those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by the team to comment publicly on the talks, the Redskins want to keep Riley, and the two sides remain in discussions but are not particularly close to a deal at this point. Riley, barring a deal with the Redskins, would be eligible for unrestricted free agency March 11.
Click to expand...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2014/02/19/perry-riley-and-redskins-have-made-little-progress-so-far-in-contract-talks/

 
I think Riley's going to get a harsh reality check. Let him test the market and bring any offers back to us. It would suck to replace both ILB's in one offseason, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Riley is merely above average.

 
ConnSKINS26 said:
I think Riley's going to get a harsh reality check. Let him test the market and bring any offers back to us. It would suck to replace both ILB's in one offseason, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Riley is merely above average.
Click to expand...
Agreed. He's way overvaluing himself, probably based on some "You guys want me to replace London" type of logic. He may get a great offer from someone. If so, let him go.

 
I don't really have an opinion on whether Riley's overvaluing himself. I don't know what he's asking or what the Redskins are offering.

 
ConnSKINS26 said:
I think Riley's going to get a harsh reality check. Let him test the market and bring any offers back to us. It would suck to replace both ILB's in one offseason, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Riley is merely above average.
Click to expand...
Agreed. He's a solid guy for us, but he's not irreplacable either. I think PFF grading him out pretty low among 3-4 ILBs. I'd like to see him come back, but it has to be a reasonable deal for the team. We have alot of holes we need to address and spending a bunch on an average ILB is not the way to fix that.

 
MattFancy said:
ConnSKINS26 said:
I think Riley's going to get a harsh reality check. Let him test the market and bring any offers back to us. It would suck to replace both ILB's in one offseason, but let's not lose sight of the fact that Riley is merely above average.
Click to expand...
Agreed. He's a solid guy for us, but he's not irreplacable either. I think PFF grading him out pretty low among 3-4 ILBs. I'd like to see him come back, but it has to be a reasonable deal for the team. We have alot of holes we need to address and spending a bunch on an average ILB is not the way to fix that.
Click to expand...
Agreed! It would be nice to keep him, but he is replaceable...he also is not Fletch's replacement because Riley is more of a cover ILB and than the thumper (Brandon Spikes). His impact is not worth overpaying, unfortunately.

 
On an other note, the salary cap is being increased from $123 Mill to $130 Mill! Man o man are they teasing Daniel Snyder or what? Hey Dan, here's $7 more million for you to play with...now go out and have some fun, muwhahaha...

 
Marvelous said:
fatness said:
dgreen said:
Probably some large, non-guaranteed roster bonus in year four that inflates it to "nearly $5m/year". No way he sees anywhere near $20m out of this deal and I'd be very disappointed if there's a large cap hit to let him go in the last year or two.
Click to expand...
I don't think there will be any big cap hit. And I look at the contract this way:

1. They just re-signed their best CB for reasonable money, instead of letting him walk (as they did with Carlos Rogers).

2. They've got a CB for 1-3 years and a S for 1-3 years in Hall.

Very glad they re-signed him. He's missed very few games, was their best defender last year, and is good on run support also.
Click to expand...
For the contract structure, I think the Redskins should do the opposite of what they did early in Snyder's reign. With lots of cap space available and needing more than a year to rebuild (if they can really say and believe that), the Redskins should not back load contracts and have huge pro-rated signing bonuses. They should get a lot of the cap hit up front rather than defer it. They can still guarantee salary when needed, just don't defer the cap hits to later years.

In the past, top cornerbacks went for $8M per year. Last year, the market for CBs dropped dramatically. I am not sure where the market will come out this year, but $4-4.5M per year for a good CB does not seem unreasonable.
Click to expand...
That is how the Eagles operate. They take most of the cap hit in the first two years of a contract, so they are not hamstrung by contracts if the Free agent they signed does not work out. The whole "dream team" effort did not pan out, but the Eagles were still sitting pretty in regards to the cap two years later.

 
DeAngelo Hall met with both Robert Griffin III and Jay Gruden before he signed his new deal with the Redskins. His comments on those two men to ESPN 980 this week are worth a quick read.

Griffin “was probably my biggest recruiter trying to get me to come back,” Hall said. “Definitely love that kid. What he loves is just Jay’s willingness to let him kind of be him, you know what I mean? There’s not going to be any restrictions on him, there’s not gonna be no read-option offense. This is gonna be an offense that’s gonna be wide-open.

“That’s the first thing Jay told me,” Hall went on: “I know you like to cover this route, but I’ll tell you what, in training camp you’re gonna get every route known to man. This offense is gonna run ‘em all. He was just saying hey, I’m throwing everything I can at RG, and heck, if he can’t pick something up we’ll back down. But right now the kid is in here every day, he’s learning and he’s picking it up very well.”
Click to expand...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/02/21/jay-gruden-promises-every-route-known-to-man/

 
Cooley has been breaking down game film of upcoming free agents on the afternoon show, and saying which ones he thinks are and are not worth signing (with cost being a factor). Some of them are already posted on his website, with more to come. Today on the air he did offensive linemen, and said that will soon be on his website as well.

http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/

 
fatness said:
Cooley has been breaking down game film of upcoming free agents on the afternoon show, and saying which ones he thinks are and are not worth signing (with cost being a factor). Some of them are already posted on his website, with more to come. Today on the air he did offensive linemen, and said that will soon be on his website as well.

http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/
Click to expand...
I heard part of yesterday's show. Cooley's number 1 target for the Redskins is Alex Mack, C, Cleveland Browns. He absolutely loves this guy. and said he is the Greg Hardy at his position (saying the top free agent by far). Thought is would get around $6M a year, but then said he would look up what top end centers make. I did not hear the results of that.

Cooley went on to say Chester is a good guard, Lichtensteiger is solid and Polumbus gets the job done. So Cooley thinks center is the biggest need and there is a great player available in free agency that won't cost a ridiculous amount.

 
I can't believe anyone thinks Chester is a good guard. His performance this past year blew up more Redskin offensive plays than any other Skins offensive lineman.

 
I just heard Charlie Casserly on the Redskins at 1. He thought the Redskins would after offensive linemen aggressively. He said the body types Gruden had in Cincinnati is much different than the bodies he has in DC. And the Redskins have big needs at guard and right tackle.

Casserly's thoughts are probably closer to the consensus that Cooley's.

Casserly also said they only have on ILB on the roster, and it may be a practice squad player.

 
Rick Snider

But — and here’s the whole point of the five-day combine for Washington — the team needs four new linemen. Without a first-round pick, there was no need to watch quarterback Johnny Manziel or defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. The Redskins scouted offensive linemen Taylor Lewan of Michigan and Zack Martin of Notre Dame and will scheme over the next two months how they can trade back into the first round to get a premier tackle like those two.

Also, they looked at guards Gabe Jackson of Mississippi State and Cyril Richardson of Baylor, trying to decide which they like more for second- or third-round options. And, it didn’t hurt looking at centers like Travis Swanson of Arkansas and Gabe Ikard of Oklahoma.
Click to expand...
 
Getting your RT in the draft and the Gs and C through FA is probably the best $-wise, since I assume RTs typically earn more. Get a good one (like a Jon Jansen type) in the draft and you have him at a good price for a few years.

 
D'Qwell Jackson

In Jackson’s case, though, he clearly provides something the Redskins need: A veteran presence at inside linebacker who can still play. They already have one defensive coach who knows what Jackson can, and can’t do, in outside linebackers coach Brian Baker. He served as Cleveland’s outside linebacker’s coach a year ago. Also, coach Jay Gruden had to scheme twice a year against Cleveland’s defense for the past three seasons. I’d be surprised if the Redskins aren’t interested for these reasons (and if they’re not, that’s also telling).
Click to expand...
Still, in watching a few of his games, it’s not as if Jackson can’t play. I didn’t see missed tackles. I didn’t see botched coverage assignments. I saw a lot of those last season watching the Redskins. But I also didn’t see any game-changing plays (five forced fumbles in his career; eight interceptions). Still, he’d be an upgrade over last year’s linebacking play and would also be able to provide leadership. The latter can’t be underestimated with the loss of London Fletcher, especially for a defense that will undergo numerous personnel changes. Even if Perry Riley is re-signed, which is not a lock, he’s not a leader.
Click to expand...
 
On Redskins at 1, Chris Russell said the following:

Orakpo looking for $11M per year. Redskins think he's worth around $45M over 5 years. Redskins don't want to use the franchise tag and tie up that much cap space in Orakpo. Orakpo probably could get $11M per year on the open market.

Chris Baker signing is close. He would be a starting DE.

Perry Riley is not close to signing. Sounded like he wants $25M for 5 years.

My thoughts:

I think it is a no brainer to franchise Orakpo. If someone is interested, the compensation can be negotiated down from 2 first round picks. If Orakpo is truly worth $55M for 5 years, someone will probably also be willing to give up a low first or high second round pick for him. I also think any contract with Orakpo should not defer the cap hits. We are rebuilding. Why defer cap hits a few years when hopefully you are tweaking the roster for a playoff or Super Bowl team. That makes no sense.

 
Marvelous said:
On Redskins at 1, Chris Russell said the following:

Orakpo looking for $11M per year. Redskins think he's worth around $45M over 5 years. Redskins don't want to use the franchise tag and tie up that much cap space in Orakpo. Orakpo probably could get $11M per year on the open market.

Chris Baker signing is close. He would be a starting DE.

Perry Riley is not close to signing. Sounded like he wants $25M for 5 years.

My thoughts:

I think it is a no brainer to franchise Orakpo. If someone is interested, the compensation can be negotiated down from 2 first round picks. If Orakpo is truly worth $55M for 5 years, someone will probably also be willing to give up a low first or high second round pick for him. I also think any contract with Orakpo should not defer the cap hits. We are rebuilding. Why defer cap hits a few years when hopefully you are tweaking the roster for a playoff or Super Bowl team. That makes no sense.
Click to expand...
Agree on Orakpo. I like him and want to see him back here, but I'm not sure I'd pay him that much money. He's been very good for us, but not great. I mean our defense was decent down the stretch in 2012 without him.

I don't think I'd want Riley back at that much money. He was decent for us, but again, not irreplacable.

Like that Baker is coming back. He seems like a guy alot of people like and it's always good to re-sign your own.

 
From PFT, here are details of the Riley Cooper contract:

Of the amount, $10 million is guaranteed. Specifically, Cooper gets a $4 million signing bonus, $4 million in base salary guaranteed for skill, injury, and salary cap ($1 million is fully guaranteed in 2014 and $3 million is fully guaranteed in 2015). Of his total salary of $4 million in 2015, $1 million is guaranteed for injury only. Also, $1 million of his 2016 salary is currently guaranteed for injury only. The injury guarantees convert to a fully guaranteed amounts in March of 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Click to expand...
It's about $25M over 5 years, $10M guaranteed, and only $4M is spread out of 5 years, so $3.2M of the cap hits is deferred to later years. And the Eagle are in a position to build for winning now.

 
As far as Orakpo goes, I like what Cooley said in the blog Fatness posted - if you are going to pay $11-12M for Orakpo (assuming that's what he will get), I'd rather just go the extra step and pay more for Greg Hardy. That blog also had a great explanation on how the common perception of what you need in a 3-4 OLB isn't that accurate.

 
Cooley did ILB's today and I got interrupted listening to the end of it. He doesn't like D'Qwell Jackson. He said the group of free agent ILB's is poor but the Redskins will likely sign 1 or 2 of them because right now they have no one.

 
fatness said:
Cooley did ILB's today and I got interrupted listening to the end of it. He doesn't like D'Qwell Jackson. He said the group of free agent ILB's is poor but the Redskins will likely sign 1 or 2 of them because right now they have no one.
Click to expand...
That is unfortunate. The Redskins are a little desperate for ILBs. Keenan Robinson is the only one on the roster, and he is coming off a major injury. It means they will either overpay for mediocre talent or go with really inexperienced players and hope for the best. I actually would prefer the latter, although it was painful to watch Rambo at safety in the beginning of last year.

 
It was also painful to watch Rambo at safety at the end of the season. Maybe he'll progress, though. I know John Keim thinks he's quite bad.

Is Dansby a free agent ILB? I think I remember Cooley saying he was older but would be a good fit at a reasonable price.

 
fatness said:
It was also painful to watch Rambo at safety at the end of the season. Maybe he'll progress, though. I know John Keim thinks he's quite bad.

Is Dansby a free agent ILB? I think I remember Cooley saying he was older but would be a good fit at a reasonable price.
Click to expand...
Yeah he was on a one year deal with Arizona.

 
Ted Mullins said:
fatness said:
Chris Baker signed for what Cooley and Galdi called it "starter pay".
Click to expand...
I saw that $3M of the $12M for the Baker contract is incentives and I think another $3M was signing bonus, it seems like the consensus on the deal has shifted to pretty favorable.
Click to expand...
Where did you see details of Baker's contract? I could not find any. PFT is pretty good at reporting these things when they become public.

 
Unfortunately I can't get to it to copy/paste here on my work computer but it was on Tom Pelissero's twitter - think it's just @TomPelissero and he's the NFL guy for USA Today.

Agree that is strange to not see it anywhere yet, hoping it is right.

 
It was on usatoday.com within the last day..

1 day ago - Redskins re-sign defensive lineman Chris Baker to 3-year, $12M contract. Redskins re-sign defensive lineman Chris Baker to 3-year, $12M contract
Click to expand...
 
This is more helpful about Baker's contract.

Signed a three-year, $12-million deal with $4 million guaranteed. That sounds like starter-type money (albeit not a high level one), but it’s certainly not guaranteed starter money. He has $1 million in incentives that are not likely to be earned -- based on play time, sack totals and Pro Bowl appearances -- each of the three years and his cap number is only $2 million this year and tops out at $4 million in the final year of the contract. The deal averages $3 million per season. It allows the Redskins to keep a young, improving lineman who can help them at multiple spots: end, nose tackle and nickel rusher. Even if he doesn’t start he will play a lot.
Click to expand...
 
fatness said:
This is more helpful about Baker's contract.

Signed a three-year, $12-million deal with $4 million guaranteed. That sounds like starter-type money (albeit not a high level one), but it’s certainly not guaranteed starter money. He has $1 million in incentives that are not likely to be earned -- based on play time, sack totals and Pro Bowl appearances -- each of the three years and his cap number is only $2 million this year and tops out at $4 million in the final year of the contract. The deal averages $3 million per season. It allows the Redskins to keep a young, improving lineman who can help them at multiple spots: end, nose tackle and nickel rusher. Even if he doesn’t start he will play a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
This is good information. It does not spell it all out, but Baker got a $3M signing bonus that spreads out over 3 years. He has a $1M salary this year that is guaranteed. Next year, $2M, then $3M the last year. He has $1M per year in unlikely to be reached incentives.

There is $2M in signing bonuses being deferred. It looks like a reasonable contract and most likely, one he will complete, so the deferred money isn't as big a deal.

 
Monday is a big day. They still haven't made up their mind about Orakpo.

According to several people familiar with the situation, the Redskins like Orakpo as a player and ideally would prefer to keep him. But there have been differing views within the organization, according to those sources, about the wisdom of either using the franchise player tag or pursing an expensive long-term contract with Orakpo when that money and salary cap space instead could be used to address other needs.

“I think there’s a lot of back and forth on it,” said one person with knowledge of the team’s deliberations. “I don’t think it’s clear cut.”

That person said Orakpo, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who had a team-leading 10 sacks last season, is “held in high regard” by club officials but “it wouldn’t be shocking” if the Redskins decide it would be too expensive to keep him and allow him to depart via free agency.

One member of the organization described it as “a really close call” as to whether to use the franchise tag on Orakpo. Another person with knowledge of the team’s planning said he suspected the Redskins might use the tag on Orakpo but that wasn’t certain.

Orakpo is eligible for unrestricted free agency March 11. The Redskins have until Monday to decide whether to use the franchise designation on him.

The two sides are said to have been in ongoing contract talks but the team had not made a formal contract proposal to Orakpo as of Friday, according to one person with ties to the organization.
Click to expand...
 
And from PFT.

The Redskins have a history of spending bigger money on free agents from other teams than on their own players, a practice that can send a bad message to a locker room full of young players hoping to be rewarded financially for their efforts.
Click to expand...
And I agree with that. They don't want to overpay Orakpo, I get that. But if he leaves they will almost certainly overpay his replacement.

 
I sure hope the days of overpaying players is over.

I still think it is a no brainer to franchise Orakpo. The Redskins reluctance to franchise him shows that they want to get the maximum number of players this year. That means contracts with large signing bonuses spread out the cap hits into later years and less flexibility in later year. I don't think that is the way to go here.

 
WGR 550 Buffalo reports Bills are unlikely to re-sign or tag J.Byrd. Rather 'Skins pay him than RAK & fill OLB w/ cheaper option. Considering Safety is a MAJOR hole for us and cheaper options can be productive at OLB, this to me is much more logical than giving RAK 10-12 mill. Also pointed out, 2 years ago we went on a 7 game winning streak without RAK and we also went on a 8 game losing streak last year with him. Point being, his impact is not ELITE caliber, so why pay him elite money?

 
dgreen said:
I wonder how much Rob Jackson will cost to sign.
Click to expand...
I don't think he can be counted on to be a starter. He was suspended for testing positive before, so I think he is possibly gone, but who knows if he is back on track and there are no more worries about what he does away from the field...

I can see them trying to get a bit young than RAK and spending less by trying to sign Jason Worilds (PIT) instead of RAK. I guess we'll see soon enough as tag designation have to be made by end of today and FA is days away.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
fatness said:
And from PFT.

The Redskins have a history of spending bigger money on free agents from other teams than on their own players, a practice that can send a bad message to a locker room full of young players hoping to be rewarded financially for their efforts.
Click to expand...
And I agree with that. They don't want to overpay Orakpo, I get that. But if he leaves they will almost certainly overpay his replacement.
Click to expand...
I've been down on bringing Orakpo back as I think he will be more expensive than he should be, but this is a fair point that I never considered.

Ed Werder tweeted this AM that Skins are prepared to use the franchise tag on Orakpo if they don't have a deal in place today.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Shark Pool Home League #4 (FBG Home Leagues)
2 3
Replies
149
Views
4K
OldMilwaukee
OldMilwaukee
JohnnyU
RIP Pat Fischer CB Redskins
Replies
2
Views
418
doeseatplace
doeseatplace
Chaka
Week 10 2025 who should I start thread **OFFICIALLY UNOFFICIAL**
3 4 5
Replies
212
Views
3K
My_Bench_Scores_More
My_Bench_Scores_More

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top