Redskins 2015 Offseason the Most Important in Years

Despite the fact that many in National Football League have called this 2015 off-season “quiet” for the Washington Redskins, do not mistake “quiet” for either “subtle” or “understated”… two of the words that one English thesaurus will give a user in place of “quiet.” This particular time period — beginning after the last game of 2014 and through the 2015 draft — is probably the most important that this team has had since the one

before former running back Stephen Davis rushed for 1,405 yards (that was 1999 for those who don’t remember… recall what went on with the team that year?).

As this 2015 off-season has moved along, the Redskins’ front office has “quietly” handled its business, signing some talented but under-the-radar free agents to a football club that could use replacements at any and all roster positions save one or two.

No big-name players have been announced in press conferences as was the norm during the days of past Executive Vice President for Football Operations Vinny Cerrato. At the end of last season, both Head Coach Jay Gruden and President Bruce Allen said there was going to be change in this ball club and change there was been. A real, live football person was hired to build the team in the person of General Manager Scot McCloughan and in the short time he has been with the franchise, he has already begun to make his mark… again, quietly and without a lot of fanfare.

While the moves made have not been big, they have indeed been “big.” If Cerrato was still in charge of football operations, no doubt six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis would be in the burgundy & gold by now. The media would have been invited out Redskins Park where owner Dan Snyder, Cerrato and Revis would have been paraded into the interview room to sit side-by-side for the big announcement. The three Lombardi trophies would, of course, be present and photo opportunities would close out the event.

Not these days however. This season, when a player is signed, typically he or his agent might tweet out a statement or picture of him signing the contract. He might post one on Instagram. Afterwards, one might hear the player on one of the two major sports talk radio stations in the area. Apparently, this franchise has learned that, unless it is winning, fanfare over a free agent signing is just not acceptable.

What is very interesting is what has been said and done by both McCloughan and Gruden since the end of the season. Neither has asked for any attention but what they have said or not said — and done or not done — speaks volumes to those who are watching.

The pair, in a very short time span, has improved one of the three squads on the team immensely. The Redskins were in dire need of help in the defensive trenches and with five well-documented free agent signings, they are already better along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. The team has had no All-Pros in the secondary since the late (great) Sean Taylor and McCloughan has signed three defensive backs that show a lot of promise there: cornerback Chris Culliver, strong safety Jeron Johnson and free safety Dashon Goldson. There is more work to be done, but they are on the right path.

There is some concern amongst Redskins Nation that, aside from re-signing tackle Tom Compton, the GM has not addressed the offensive line. Fans need not worry. McCloughan obviously has gotten a handle on the team’s needs and will no doubt address it.

There were some really good free agent tackles and guards available this year but the Redskins front office obviously decided – and rightly so – that the defense was their priority and concentrated on upgrading it first.

Most of the premier free agent offensive linemen that were out there this off-season would have been expensive. For instance, former Kansas City Chiefs’ center Rodney Hudson signed a five-year, $44.5M deal with the Oakland Raiders. The former Denver Broncos lineman Orlando Franklin signed a five-year, $35.5M contract with the San Diego Chargers. And the Green Bay Packers paid $33.75 million over five years to re-sign their 2010 first-round draft pick, right tackle Bryan Bulaga. Apparently McCloughan and Allen were not going to shell out that kind of money on a free agent offensive lineman.

But that’s a good thing because that’s what Cerrato would have done in the past. Had he not attracted one of the aforementioned linemen, he might have signed a guy like 33-year-old and two-time Pro Bowler Chris Myers, Jr. This free agent from the Houston Texans might have landed here for an exorbitant amount of money just because he’s been to a couple of Pro Bowls even though he’s an older player. Myers is still a free agent.

McCloughan is not going to do something like that… he’s made that clear.

There are good O-line prospects in this year’s draft… many of them. While right tackle Brandon Scherff (University of Iowa) is the top-rated offensive lineman so far, the prevailing thought is that he is not worthy of a really early first-round pick. Scherff would fill a need of the Redskins but, unless the team is able to trade back from their No. 5 pick to somewhere between nine and 15 or 20 or if; for some reason, he falls back to the second round (the Redskins have the 38th overall pick there), the former Hawkeye will most likely be unavailable.

There are others however, that could be selected in the second and third rounds — a good thing if McCloughan is the talent evaluator he is said to be. While the Redskins should not avoid taking offensive linemen later in the draft as well, doing only that for as many years as they have is one of the reasons that group has been mediocre-to-poor so much of the time. Besides current Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, the last time Washington took an offensive lineman in the first or second round of the draft was when they drafted Chris Samuels in 2000. Samuels was a six-time Pro Bowler and well worth the third overall pick.

The team did draft Morgan Moses and Spencer Long last year in the third round. Moses showed promise last season when he replaced the injured Williams for a couple of games but sustained a lisfranc injury and was placed on injured reserve. He is hopeful for training camp.

Long is still developing but Gruden said recently that he was counting on the two of them to make a big jump in 2015. Josh LeRibeus was also drafted in the third round in 2012 but he has yet to show the promise they were hoping he held.

Enter Scot McCloughan and who has a history of drafting offensive linemen in the first four rounds of the draft. That doesn’t mean he won’t draft any later but, logic maintains that the earlier a player is drafted, the better he will be. And linemen are generally counted on for the long haul.

Right tackles Ereck Flowers (University of Miami) and La’el Collins (LSU) might still be around when Washington is up in the second round and; even D.J. Humphries (University of Florida) or Ty Sambrailo (Colorado State University) could be available. There are several offensive linemen graded really well in this year’s draft and it would be a real surprise if one of them didn’t end up wearing burgundy and gold by May 3. With Bill Callahan (Gruden’s new O-line coach) now on the staff and some good draft picks, hopefully that squad will improve.

Of course, McCloughan is known for drafting the best player available as opposed to drafting for need. Perhaps one of these young men will meet the “best player” requirement just at the right time.

There have been too many mistakes made by this ball club over the years. They range from not paying enough attention to the offensive line in the draft to not providing depth in the secondary to simply not drafting well overall and/or giving away too many selections for overpriced, over-rated players. What we have seen so far this year indicates that this will no longer be the case.

Given that there is finally a group of experienced football people that are hopefully (and so far, apparently) making the decisions, this upcoming off-season will shape both the perception of the team and its reality for years to come.

Hail.