Washington Redskins: Roster Changes Still Are Possible

The Washington Redskins’ roster is about 96 percent complete.

Of the 53 players who will be on the team’s opening-day roster, all but one or two of them currently are with the team.

Don’t look for post-June 1 cuts to add depth at cornerback or along the lines.

This just in — nearly all of the June 1 cuts already have take place.

How is that possible? It’s only mid-May.

Don’t worry, even a lot of guys who make a living writing about football aren’t up to speed on this.

Under the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team can release two players in the spring and designate them as June 1 cuts. While the cap number for that player stays on the team’s books until June 2, the player is free to pursue employment with other teams.

The team gets the benefit of having the accelerated cap hit for the release moved to the next season. In addition, they don’t have to include a player who is essentially a dead man walking as far as that team is concerned still participating in minicamps and OTA’s.

Brandon Lloyd, who was gone in early March, carried such a designation. The Redskins will eat the bulk of the guaranteed money that they foolishly doled out to Lloyd for 2009.

So, there may be a trickle of activity early next month, but it’s highly unlikely that a potential starter or even someone who represents quality depth will be coming available on June 2.

That doesn’t mean that there is no way for the Skins to bolster their roster. There still are a few of veteran free agents who have yet to find a home.

Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack is a 29-year-old guard who was a part-time starter for Jim Zorn’s old team, the Seahawks. Of course, the fact that there has been no apparent move to get Womack might tell you all you need to know about him.

Defensive tackle Rod Coleman could provide some situational pass rushing push up the middle. He posted double-digit sacks as recently as 2005, but he missed all but five games of the 2007 season.

Womack and Coleman, along with the other veterans still waiting for the phone to ring, are out of work for a reason. Usually that reason is that they want more money to play than anyone is willing to pay them. Their asking prices usually drop as training camp approaches.

The Redskins plucked linebacker Randall Godfrey from the ranks of the unemployed in July of last year and he proved to be a valuable contributor, starting when both Marcus Washington and Rocky McIntosh were out with injuries.

Another 2007 starter who wasn’t on the roster at this time last year was guard Pete Kendall. In May 2007, he was a very unhappy New York Jet. The Redskins traded a 2009 draft pick for him when it became apparent that Todd Wade couldn’t make the move from tackle to guard.

While there are plenty of disgruntled players out there, it doesn’t appear that any of them are both on the trading block and in a position of need for the Redskins. That could change, though, so keep an eye open.