With 2014 Season Over, Time for Redskins to Evaluate for 2015 and Beyond

When the Washington Redskins fell to 3-6 nine weeks into the 2012 NFL season, then-head coach Mike Shanahan appeared to be waving a white flag by stating that they'd begin evaluating players for following season. He later clarified that he wasn't giving up on the campaign at hand, but a strange message had already been sent. 

Naturally, the Redskins didn't lose again for the remainder of the year, winning the NFC East for the first time since 1999. 

So by no means can we technically count out the 2-5 'Skins in 2014, but the circumstances aren't exactly similar.

See, at that point in 2012, the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were also stuck on three wins and the New York Giants were the only team that needed to collapse in order for Washington to get back in it. Plus, they had a healthy Robert Griffin III dominating defenses and rookie running back Alfred Morris was on a tear. 

This year, they're already four games back of both Dallas and Philadelphia, and that gap will widen substantially if they can't beat the red-hot Cowboys with a third-string quarterback on the road in Week 8. Griffin is hurt, Morris is struggling and DeAngelo Hall and Brian Orakpo aren't around either. 

For all intents and purposes, this season is over. 

But that doesn't mean the next nine games aren't extremely important, especially with Griffin expected to return from an ankle injury in the coming weeks.

It's time for head coach Jay Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen to do exactly what Shanahan suggested they'd be doing after that sixth loss in 2012. It's time to audit this entire roster in order to determine who should stay, who should go and what major changes will become necessary in the new year. 

In that regard, they should be asking themselves five questions...

1. Is Robert Griffin III the franchise quarterback this team needs?

It's hard to believe we're asking that question consider he was the Offensive Rookie of the Year just two years ago, but it's nothing new at this point. Griffin struggled in a major way during his sophomore season, but he was still fresh off of reconstructive knee surgery so he sort of had an excuse. 

But he didn't look any better during the 2014 preseason and at the start of the regular season before suffering yet another lower-leg injury, this time to his ankle. So now there's evidence that he's injury prone as well as evidence that he isn't the same player he was as a rookie. 

	Rookie season	Ever since
Games	15	15
Comp.%	65.6	61.5
TD-INT	20-5	16-12
YPA	8.1	7.1
Passer rating	102.4	83.5
Rush TD	7	0
Rush Yds/game	54.3	34.2

Hits have taken a significant toll, and it might be extremely tough for Griffin to transform into a quarterback who doesn't constantly expose himself to potential injury. Combine that with questionable decision-making and sloppy mechanics and you have a hell of a mystery on your hands. 

The Redskins invested so deeply in Griffin that it's hard to envision them giving up on him after this season, even if he really struggles during the second half of the year. But he'll have just one year remaining on his rookie contract, and the team will have to decide this spring whether to exercise its fifth-year option on that deal. 

Right now, a long-term extension would appear to be out of the question. So you either tack on that fifth season, let him play during a desperate contract year or explore the trade market. 

Unfortunately, a trade wouldn't get the Redskins any first-round picks back, if only because of Griffin's performance issues, but sometimes you have to cut your losses. And while a trade scenario remains far-fetched, crazier things have happened in this quarterback-starved league. 

As soon as Griffin is able to return, his audition should begin. And while this team is a bit of a mess, he'll have no excuses. Gruden has already said Griffin won't play until he's 100 percent, and he's got plenty of offensive weapons to work with. 

2. Can Trent Murphy permanently replace Brian Orakpo?

Orakpo once again has a torn pectoral muscle and is out for the year. Considering his injury history as well as his lack of production when healthy, there's a decent chance he's played his last game in burgundy.

The 28-year-old is slated to become a free agent in the offseason, but the 'Skins would probably be better off finding a replacement for a guy who will have missed 24 of a possible 48 games over a three-season span, especially considering Orakpo had just half a sack in seven games this year. 

	First 3 seasons	Next 3 seasons
Games	47	24
Sacks	28.5	11.5
Pressures	146	75

Now, the Redskins will have a close, nine-game look at their top 2014 draft pick, Trent Murphy. The second-round pass-rusher out of Stanford has generally been relegated to nickel duties while backing up Orakpo and fellow outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan. He's yet to record a sack and has just nine tackles on 181 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). 

"Trent has got to step up, he has got to play better, he has got to play more physical at the point of attack," Gruden said, according to ESPN.com's John Keim. "We're playing against the No. 1 rushing offense, so he is going to have to be very good at the point of attack. He's going to have his work cut out for him. He's going to have to grow up very fast."

It's rarely fun watching the Redskins play defense nowadays, but it should at least be interesting to see how much progress Murphy is able to make during the second half of what otherwise is a lost season. 

3. Does Jim Haslett deserve another shot?

The Redskins somehow rank seventh in the NFL in total defense, but don't be fooled by that deceiving, yardage-based metric.

They've allowed 26.1 points per game, ranking in the bottom 10 in football. They also rank in the bottom 10 with just six takeaways in seven games, and opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 103.6 against them. They're just above the middle of the pack with 16 sacks, but 10 of those came in one game against the Jacksonville Jaguars back in Week 2. 

The personnel is at the heart of the problem. They're without their top cornerback in Hall, their top edge-rusher in Orakpo and their top defensive lineman in Barry Cofield. They've also been missing veteran linebacker Perry Riley the last two weeks. 

And this was a D that struggled even when those guys were healthy last season. 

But does that mean we can continue to let Haslett off the hook? Since he took over as defensive coordinator in 2010, this defense has never ranked better than 21st in points allowed or 13th in yards allowed. During that span, only four teams have surrendered more points.

It was cool for Gruden to come in and keep Haslett around. Considering all the injuries and the cap constraints that were in place early in his tenure, he deserved one more chance to right the defensive ship. But if he can't make some progress with these guys over the next 10 weeks, you have to wonder if the 'Skins would be better off going in a completely new direction and adopting a brand-new scheme.

4. Can they cut ties with Perry Riley, Brandon Meriweather, Ryan Clark and Tyler Polumbus?

Even before Riley sprained his left MCL in Week 5, he was more of a liability than an asset at inside linebacker. PFF has him graded as the fifth-worst player among 63 qualifiers at that position. He's just a bland linebacker who has one forced fumble and one interception in five seasons. 

Second-year backup Will Compton hasn't been making monster plays in Riley's stead, but he's already looked more comfortable than Riley in pass coverage and has yet to make any mistakes. The Redskins know what they have in Riley, so it might be smart to find out whether Compton could be a better long-term option. 

They don't have a lot of options at safety beyond Meriweather and Clark, but those two are a combined 65 years old and neither is particularly reliable. Time to find out if rookie fourth-round pick Bashaud Breeland and/or surprise sophomore UDFA Trenton Robinson (who are 22 and 24, respectively) are better options. 

Polumbus is a straight-up disaster. I have no idea how he's remained in that starting right tackle role for this long, but it has to stop. He's given up a league-high eight sacks this year, according to PFF, and Washington finally appears to be realizing that it can't hurt to give someone else a shot. 

That explains why 2012 sixth-round pick Tom Compton played a career-high 24 snaps at right tackle in Week 7. 

Per Mike Jones of The Washington Post, Gruden admits the starting spot is up for grabs: 

"

We’re going to look at Tom this week, and Tyler had some unfortunate pass sets, gave up pressure, I think he had a holding call, a sack, and Tom did some good things. So I think moving forward we’ll give Tom more and more reps and let him compete. Then hopefully by Friday we’ll make a decision on who the tackle is. But, Tom’s been here for a while. I think he’s been playing both the left side and the right side, so I think the continuity is there whether Tom or Tyler is in there or [Morgan Moses] for that matter. But you do want to get the guy who’s playing the most reps, and we’ll try to do that as the week goes on.

"

5. Essentially, to rebuild or not to rebuild?

This team was flying so high only 22 months ago that it's amazing this has already become a valid debate. But they've been too bad for too long, losing 19 of their last 24 games while making too many mistakes and causing too few. 

And we're talking about the same old problems. The offensive line has committed 15 penalties, the secondary has committed eight. Only the New England Patriots have been flagged for more yardage. The defense continues to be abused by big plays and its aging veterans can't stay healthy. 

Is there any light at the end of this tunnel?

It might soon be time to accept that 2012 was an anomaly. And if that's the case, this franchise will have to consider once again starting from scratch. 

Silver lining? They'll have a first-round pick for the first time since they drafted Griffin in 2012, and it might even be a top-10 selection. If this becomes even a miniature rebuild, they'd probably be best served getting rid of all of those dinosaurs listed above and putting faith in their youngsters, while turning to the draft for the future. 

That might even apply to the quarterback position. Because if things continue to go awry over the next 10 weeks, the 'Skins might have to start thinking about guys like Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Connor Cook and Brett Hundley.

And back around the vicious circle we go. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon