NFL

Washington Redskins: Offseason Overview

Deonta Saleem May 2, 2020

The Redskins’ offseason began December 29th, 2019, after their 47-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, today, they essentially look like a brand new franchise with a new lease on life. With free agency and the NFL Draft now over, here’s where the Redskins stand after their moves.

Additions

Ron Rivera was brought into D.C. to try and change the culture, and so far he is successful. Riverboat Ron got rid of players like Trent Williams and Quinton Dunbar, who had a lot of success here in D.C., but relationships soured, and it was time for them to go.

He kept around guys like VP of Player Personnel Kyle Smith, who has been at the hip with Ron about their vision for this franchise. They have come together, established a plan, stuck to that plan, and so far look very good doing it.

He brought in guys like defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and offensive coordinator Scott Turner. A new overall scheme for the football team is much needed, as they finished the 2019 season with the 31st-ranked offense and the 27th-ranked defense in football, so they can’t go anywhere but up at this point.

They were very patient and methodical with their approach in free agency, evaluated all the players, and only determined that WR Amari Cooper was the only one they would throw a long term, big-money deal at. Sure, they didn’t get him as expected, but he re-signed with the Dallas Cowboys, but they once again stayed true and trusted the plan.

They are also in the process of getting a long-term deal done with Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff.

Free Agency additions:

New: Kendall Fuller (4 years), Safety Sean Davis, CB Ronald Darby, ILB Thomas Davis, TE Richard Rodgers, TE Logan Thomas, RB Peyton Barber, RB JD Mckissic, WR Cody Latimer, LB Kevin Pierre-Louis, G Wes Schweitzer, T Cornelius Lucas

Re-signed: G Brandon Scherff (franchise tagged), ILB Jon Bostic, DL Caleb Brantley, DL Nate Orchard

Drafted/UDFA:

  • EDGE Chase Young, Ohio State (Round 1, Pick 2)
  • RB Antonio Gibson, Memphis (Round 3, Pick 66)
  • OT Saahdiq Charles, LSU (Round 4, Pick 108)
  • WR Antonio Gandy-Golden, Liberty (Round 4, Pick 142) (comp. pick)
  • OL Keith Ismael, San Diego State (Round 5, Pick 156)
  • LB Khaleke Hudson, Michigan (Round 5, Pick 162)
  • S Kamren Curl, Arkansas (Round 7, Pick 216)
  • DE James Smith-Williams, NC State (Round 7, Pick 229)
  • TE Thaddeus Moss, LSU (UDFA)
  • QB Steven Montez, Colorado (UDFA)
  • WR Isaiah Wright, Temple (UDFA)
  • WR Johnathan Johnson, Missouri (UDFA)

Losses

The Redskins fired every single coach on their staff besides special teams coordinator Nate Kaczor, RB coach Randy Jordan, and head strength and conditioning coach Chad Englehart. Former OC Kevin O’Connell landed in LA with the Rams, former DC Greg Manusky landed at the University of Kentucky as the defensive quality control assistant, OL coach Bill Callahan landed in Cleveland, and so on and so forth.

But the biggest subtraction was the firing of former VP Bruce Allen. This move alone deserves an A+, as he was just around longer than he needed to be. The fans having their “#FireBruceAllen” and the Trent Williams kerfuffle was a tipping point in him being let go after 10 years. There was even a recent rumor that recently traded All-Pro tackle Trent Williams could have been traded for a first-round pick at last year’s trade deadline, but Allen refused to trade Williams. The Redskins inevitably had to settle for a 5th round pick in this past draft and a 3rd in the 2021 draft.

Washington ended up trading CB Quinton Dunbar to the Seattle Seahawks for a 5th-round pick. The new front office also had to say goodbye to players like QBs Case Keenum and Colt McCoy, and G Ereck Flowers in free agency. They also released DBs Josh Norman and Montae Nicholson.

In order for the Redskins to be successful, they need to remain on the same page like they have been all offseason. This is the first offseason in a long time that the Redskins have been relatively drama-free. They traded two disgruntled players, showed that they will build around Dwayne Haskins, and shore up that defense to become one of the league’s most feared.

The Redskins still have a long way to go to become a respectable franchise within the NFL, but with the additions and the subtractions they’ve made, this could happen sooner rather than later. Even HC Ron Rivera said that he believes with the moves they’ve made, they could be in for a shorter rebuild than originally anticipated.