Within the last two days, we’ve heard reports that the Redskins are discussing new long-term contracts for free-agents-to-be DeAngelo Hall and Perry Riley. GM Bruce Allen confirmed as much today, telling Zac Boyer of the Washington Times that the team has engaged in negotiations with reps for those two players, as well as linebacker Brian Orakpo. According to Allen, the Redskins coaching staff is still evaluating the team’s free agents, so exact figures likely won’t be exchanged with those players and their agents until the end of the month.
Here’s more on the Redskins:
- Within Boyer’s piece, Allen also indicated that Kirk Cousins hadn’t requested a trade and that the team plans to have its second-string quarterback back next season: “There’s no change from our perspective on Kirk. That’s it. We’re comfortable with Kirk.” For what it’s worth, the weekend report on Cousins suggested he was open to a trade, not that he’d asked for one.
- Allen also spoke to Boyer about the limitations that the 2012 and 2013 cap penalties still place on the Redskins: “We have the same [cap] number everybody else does this year, which is different, but if you look at the cap room around the league, that’s because everybody carried room over from the previous year, so we don’t have that. We have a lot of free agents. We have a lot of holes on the team that we need to fill, and the key is to look at our guys first and then we’ll look around, but having an understanding of what’s also in the draft.”
- ESPN.com’s John Keim examines a few ways the Redskins could clear even more cap space, and takes an in-depth look at the club’s cornerback situation.
- Replying to Keim’s cornerback piece, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter) that Aqib Talib looks like a logical free agent target for Washington, given Talib’s connection to Allen, who drafted him in Tampa Bay, and Redskins DB coach Raheem Morris, who coached him in Tampa.