5 Cuts That Could Create Cap Space for the Washington Redskins

One of new general manager Scot McCloughan's primary tasks must be creating more cap space for a Washington Redskins team with multiple holes to fill on the roster.

McCloughan enters his first offseason in charge with $13,178,139 worth of room under this year's projected cap, according to OverTheCap.com. Fortunately, he can cull five obviously bloated contracts.

Not surprisingly, the group calls the secondary, along with both the offensive and defensive trenches, home. That's understandable considering all three positions are the weakest areas on the team. In this context, it makes little sense to continue paying veteran players who haven't been performing at key positions.

The following are Washington's most likely cap casualties.

Stephen Bowen, DE

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Stephen Bowen is still a highly capable 3-4 end. He's a natural two-gap player who can fill gaps and occupy double-teams to be a force against the run.

But for all his obvious value, Bowen fits the profile of a classic cap casualty. He's 30, had plenty of injury issues and will count for a lot against this year's cap.

Bowen will be 31 before the draft and has missed 14 games during the last two seasons. That hardly recommends letting the former Dallas Cowboys starter count for $8.020 million, per Spotrac.com.

Yet even taking all that into account, Bowen's case may not be so clear cut. After all, fellow end Jarvis Jenkins is set to hit free agency. There are also the potential changes to the defensive schemes to consider.

Since hiring ex-San Diego Chargers linebackers coach Joe Barry to succeed Jim Haslett, head coach Jay Gruden has suggested a shift in philosophy. Gruden has indicated the switch will be most obvious up front, per Mike Jones of The Washington Post:

"

You know, we’re gonna mess with the way we do the 3-4, you know? There will be some different ideas that we have, as far as it’s not a two-gap 3-4. It might be more of a shoot-the-gap-type of 3-4, a get-up-the-field-and-rush-them 3-4, you know what I mean?

"

Bowen might have useful experience in this type of scheme. He played 1-gap techniques during his time with the Cowboys under the tutelage of Wade Phillips.

However, the one-time Hofstra ace is very much a part of the Haslett-Mike Shanahan era. Barry may wish to bring his own players in.

Those players are likely to be of the younger variety. In San Diego, Barry saw the value of youthful, quicker linemen along the front, in the form of Corey Liuget and Kendall Reyes.

Bet on Barry, Gruden and McCloughan getting younger up front. Dumping Bowen's inflated salary will aid that process.

Tracy Porter, CB

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It's fair to say the Redskins didn't see the benefit of signing Tracy Porter last offseason. The team thought it was getting an opportunistic veteran cornerback who can play the slot and blitz effectively.

Sadly, the 28-year-old appeared in just three games all season, only making one start. Now McCloughan must decide if he can justify carrying the second year of Porter's contract.

It's a tricky call. For one thing, last season's 24th-ranked pass defense needs help everywhere. Porter can provide it, assuming he stays healthy.

One of the major problems in this talent-depleted secondary has been the absence of a quality third corner. That's obviously a must in a modern NFL that's still largely pass-happy. Porter has some core skills for this important role.

But he also has a base salary worth $2.25 million, as well as an overall $3.8 million cap hit, per Spotrac.com. If McCloughan is intent on a youth movement, he could pin the secondary's hopes on 2014 starters David Amerson and Bashaud Breeland while looking for slot help in this year's draft.

Chris Chester, G

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Chris Chester is the strongest candidate for the ax on the current roster. He's over 30, carries a major cap hit, doesn't fit potential scheme changes and has performed poorly for the last two seasons.

The 32-year-old is typical of the linemen previous head coach Shanahan recruited. He coveted slighter, more mobile linemen to make his preferred zone blocking and stretch runs work.

But at just 6'3" and 303 pounds, Chester doesn't fit the mold of what Gruden and McCloughan want in the trenches in 2015. The head coach prefers "power plays" and "gap-blocking plays," while McCloughan believes "you need big guys up front," per CSN Washington writer Rich Tandler.

Chester doesn't meet those requirements. Nor does he seem like an ideal fit for new line coach Bill Callahan, who coached a power scheme in Dallas before coming to D.C.

But not only does Chester rate as a poor scheme fit, but he also doesn't fit the mold of the younger roster McCloughan wants to construct. He's indicated a preference for players the right side of 30 who are not already entrenched in another coach's schemes, per ESPN Redskins reporter John Keim:

"

So all of a sudden now, you train them how you want to train them. See, in Washington, we’re going to draft these guys and we are going to draft them and mold them as Redskins. We’re not going to have to go out to other organizations and bring in 32- and 33-year-olds who have different plans.

"

Chester has been molded in Shanahan's zone system. He's also been one of the main culprits of failing pass protection that surrendered 58 sacks in 2014.

When you consider all of that alongside his projected $4.8 million cap hit, per Spotrac.com, keeping Chester around makes little sense.

Barry Cofield Jr., NT

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Barry Cofield Jr.'s case is similar to Bowen's. When fully healthy, he's still an effective trench warrior. But just like Bowen, Cofield carries a hefty cap figure this offseason and is also coming off an injury-plagued season.

Perhaps more important, the ex-New York Giants Super Bowl winner's position on this defense is no longer obvious. Washington signed Cofield in 2011 to give this team the powerful nose tackle it needed to make the 3-4 work.

Cofield has had his moments, plenty of them at times, but the move hardly rates as an unqualified success. Injuries have been part of the problem. The soon-to-be 31-year-old missed eight games in 2014.

When he returned, he made just three full starts. Significantly, many of his appearances came at defensive end, an indication that coaches lost confidence in his ability to anchor the front over center.

Cofield isn't the biggest focal point for a 3-4. While his core pass-rush skills could have value in a 1-gap system, age and injury have eroded those skills.

Cofield also isn't a prolific enough rusher to pay $4.55 million in 2015, per Spotrac.com.

The Redskins could opt to draft a young playmaker for the most important position along the front seven. Danny Shelton would be a prime candidate.

Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler noted how Shelton was considered the "most impressive player at any position during the Senior Bowl" and also indicated he'd be tempting if McCloughan trades back from the fifth overall slot.

Or perhaps Washington will look for a more natural 3-4 nose tackle in free agency. Dan Williams fits the mold, with Tandler dubbing the Arizona Cardinals starter as "built for the nose tackle position" in another Real Redskins report.

Plenty of options are available at this key position. By cutting ties with Cofield, McCloughan can save some money and still recruit a potential upgrade.

DeAngelo Hall, CB

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Few would dispute DeAngelo Hall is the best cornerback on this team. That should make him worth his weight in gold on a defense routinely ripped apart by the pass.

Barry highlighted Hall as one of the unit's "good players," during a recent interview with San Diego's 1360 Xtra (h/t Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post)

But Hall will also be 32 midway through the 2015 season. Yet the bigger concern is how well the veteran can recover from tearing the same Achilles twice last season.

That's a tough injury for any player to overcome, and the challenge naturally becomes that much harder the older an athlete gets.

As effective as Hall can be, the team does have some leeway in this area, thanks to the emergence of 2014 fourth-round draft pick Breeland.

He was definitely the team's best cover man as a rookie and is a reason for optimism regarding the future of this defense. The former Clemson star also plays the same side of the field as Hall does.

Bringing Hall back into the fold could mean shifting Breeland from where he's most comfortable and has the best chance to develop. Of course, it could also mean freeing him up to play the slot or challenge Amerson, who struggled at times during his second season.

However, the smarter move might be to let Hall go and prompt a long overdue, full-scale refresh of the secondary.

It's not like there aren't good options in free agency. In fact, corners such as Byron Maxwell, Darius Butler and Brandon Flowers are all set for the market, per NFLTradeRumors.co.

Paying $4 million to a player over 30 who's coming off a pair of surgeries is a risky move for any team.

Each of the proposed cuts on this list would free up ample cap space. They would give McCloughan room to use his free-agency dollars on marquee reinforcements along the offensive line and in the secondary.

Given how free agents at those positions usually command big money, McCloughan will need to make sure the coffers are well-stocked before he tests the market.

Each of these players offers veteran experience. Some, such as Bowen, Cofield and Hall, are even solid pros. But none have been true standouts.

McCloughan can justify releasing them in order to refresh the roster and increase the resources needed for his rebuild.