With the exception of tight end Vernon Davis, the Redskins haven’t yet had any discussions with their pending free agents regarding new contracts, according to John Keim of ESPN.com. Aside from Davis, the team’s list of unsigned players includes quarterback Kirk Cousins, wide receivers Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, and defensive end Chris Baker, among others. As Keim notes, though, the team’s decision not to engage with any of its potentially soon-to-be available players isn’t necessarily cause for concern, writing that “there’s no urgency yet and multiple agents weren’t surprised no one has been contacted.” Nevertheless, it would behoove the Redskins to retain at least one of Garcon or Jackson, opines Keim, who argues that better options in free agency will be few in number. Garcon and Jackson were the only Redskins targets to exceed 1,000 receiving yards last season, and losing the pair would leave them with Jamison Crowder and Josh Doctson – who endured a lost rookie year because of an Achilles injury – as their top two wideouts.
More from Washington:
- Some fans are worried that the Redskins haven’t had talks with their key free agents, but Mike Jones of The Washington Post echoes Keim’s sentiment and points out that they historically haven’t done a lot of heavy negotiating this early in the year. Overall, Jones gets the sense that Garcon has a better chance of returning than Jackson, who has been open wanting to explore free agency and could return to the Eagles.
- While the Redskins currently have no shortage of cap space (upward of $60MM), they’d lose a significant chunk of it by bringing back Cousins with either the $24MM franchise tag or a long-term deal. Thus, several of the team’s veterans are in danger of ending up as cap casualties, observes Keim, who points to safety DeAngelo Hall, center Kory Lichtensteiger, tight end Niles Paul, guard Shawn Lauvao and defensive end Ricky Jean-Francois as players whose roster spots are in jeopardy.
- The Redskins hired Torrian Gray as their new defensive backs coach Wednesday, per Stephen Czarda of the team’s website. This will be the first NFL coaching stint for Gray, who had been assisting at the college level since 2000 and spent last season on Florida’s staff. Gray’s already familiar with Redskins cornerback Kendall Fuller, having coached him at Virginia Tech from 2013-15.
Zach Links contributed to this post.