Ryan Kerrigan has one year to go on his deal with the Redskins, but he’s hoping to stick around for longer. The edge rusher told the team website that he wants to finish his career in Washington.
“I obviously hope to be here for the duration of my football career, however long that is,” said Kerrigan. “I’ve gotten to talk to [head] coach [Ron] Rivera a couple of times over the phone, [but] haven’t really been able to meet him in person yet because of the whole lockdown and whatnot. Hopefully, I’m here for the long haul. I want to be here. They know where I stand and I want to be here.”
From the sound of it, the two sides have yet to discuss an extension. For now, Kerrigan is set to earn $11.5MM in base salary for 2020, though that sum is completely non-guaranteed. A longer deal would allow the Redskins to smooth over the $11.687MM cap hit while giving Kerrigan the additional years he’s seeking.
Kerrigan stands as the Redskins’ second-longest tenured player on the roster. The nine-year pro is 1.5 sacks away from topping Dexter Manley as the franchise’s all-time leader in the category. He’s also coming off of a down year, which may complicate things. In 2019, Kerrigan had just 5.5 sacks, the lowest single-season tally of his career.
“What I did last year was definitely not what I ever want to put on film again,” Kerrigan said. “I got away from some fundamental things that really prevented me from being productive like I usually am.”
There was some talk that the Redskins would cut Kerrigan this offseason, but Rivera said in February that the veteran is staying put.
I’ve always wondered what if we hadn’t traded down and taken JJ Watt instead. But at least Kerrigan turned into a great player for us. It’s incredible that he’s on the verge of breaking the team record in sacks. Just a solid player on and off the field. I hope he retires as a Redskin. It’ll certainly be interesting what happens considering how much the team has recently invested in the DL.
8 straight years of never missing a game, JJ might be great but he does have some injuries in his past.
Wow, not one? I didn’t realize that
Why would you want to stay with that awful organization
One of the most underrated players in the NFL. Mainly because he never got to play in high profile games. Too bad his career was spent with the most dysfunctional franchise in the NFL post-Al Davis.
Dysfunctional is a nice word. Too nice for how poorly this owner has totally wrecked this franchise. Kerrigan has been a fan favorite for many many years and I have nothing but praise for him. Outstanding career sir! Hope you stay to the end!