Pre-Free Agency Salary-Cap Update for Washington Redskins
While we didn't see much roster turnover after the Washington Redskins' dismal 2013 season, new general manager Scot McCloughan has already begun to lay the groundwork for the team to overhaul its roster once free agency opens March 10.
By namely cutting ties with Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen, Washington has now gone from having roughly $15 million in cap space at the start of the year to approximately $25 million, according to OverTheCap.com.
It should be noted, though, that the contracts of recent signees Tom Compton, Duke Ihenacho and Ricky Jean Francois are not yet on the team's books.
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In light of this, the Redskins would be wise to cut bait with some overpaid veterans currently on their roster to clear even more space.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some potential cap casualties.
A member of Washington's beleaguered offensive line, Chris Chester is the most logical candidate up front to be moved. Not only do the Redskins have a prospect in Spencer Long with whom to potentially replace him—he can't be any worse, right?—but they have a financial motive to bid adieu to the underachieving Chester.
Despite the fact he's slated to earn a base salary of $3.5 million in 2015, his cap number stands at $4.8 million. With his ouster, the team would save $4 million in cap space.
While you could apply some of this same rationale as cause for the team to release Shawn Lauvao instead, his $3 million in dead money should buy him another year in D.C..
His ability doesn't warrant him being here, but between his diminished role and his $9.7 million cap figure in 2015, Pierre Garcon's future in Washington is, at best, clouded.
The team's offense isn't driven by its passing game. The Redskins quarterbacks only threw 18 passing touchdowns last season. And yet, the team has $25 million tied up in its receivers.
See a problem with this picture?
DeSean Jackson, Andre Roberts and Garcon account for $22.7 million of this figure. So if a change is to occur, this trio will have to be broken up.
Knowing that Jackson and Roberts carry $11.2 million and $3 million in dead money, respectively, Garcon would be the odd man out. The team would save $5.3 million in a Garcon trade and $7.5 million if he was designated as a post-June 1 cut.
With Robert Griffin III facing a make-or-break season in 2015, the odds are against the team cutting one of his favorite receivers loose. But because money is a driving force in the NFL, you can't rule it out either.
CB Tracy Porter
It's been said that, for an NFL player, the best ability is availability. Tracy Porter never got the memo. He was limited to just three games in 2014. Looking at his career as a whole, Washington can't say it didn't see this coming.
Porter has missed at least two games in all but one of his seven NFL seasons.
Between DeAngelo Hall restructuring his contract and the development of David Amerson and Bashaud Breeland, the team has little incentive to pay Porter the $2.2 million salary he's due to make in 2015.
Possible Free-Agent Targets
While there are a wave of smaller cuts the team could make to clear even more space—moving players like Logan Paulsen or Kedric Golston—with 14 pending free agents, the onus will now shift to Washington finding quality players to spend its newfound money on.
Safety Devin McCourty counts as one such player. Ryan Clark retired and Brandon Meriweather is a free agent this offseason, and even with them, the Redskins had the worst pass defense in the league last season, according to Football Outsiders.
Still in the prime of his career, McCourty could make a real impact in Washington's secondary if he was brought aboard. The New England Patriots fielded Football Outsiders' 12th-ranked pass defense in 2014 with him as the last line of defense. And before you chalk up this ranking to Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, know that New England sported the 14th-ranked pass defense the year prior.
McCourty could be pricey, but with the draft thin at safety and the stopgap route not working previously, the team should be willing to pay his price of admission.
Looking to another of the Redskins' chief needs, the interior of the offensive line should also be addressed.
Kory Lichtensteiger adjusted well to his position change over to center last season, but the reality is he's undersized and the team doesn't have a true center on the roster. Whether it's to challenge or back up Lichtensteiger, the addition of a center like Miami's Samson Satele would bolster this unit.
As for the guard position, if the team isn't comfortable with Long stepping into a starting role, it should target a player like Denver's Orlando Franklin.
Mike Iupati may be a bigger name and have a San Francisco connection with McCloughan—even though he wasn't drafted by him—but he doesn't have Franklin's versatility. Franklin can shift between guard and tackle and not miss a beat.
According to Pro Football Focus, Franklin allowed one sack in 608 passing snaps last season at guard. Playing at tackle the year prior, he was rated as the NFL's best pass-blocking tackle. With both Morgan Moses and Long unknowns at this point, Franklin makes too much sense in D.C..
All told, while you can expect the Redskins to be in the mix for some of the top free agents, the strength of McCloughan's first free-agent class will be in numbers, not star power. This team isn't a quick fix away from contention, and with that, the focus in free agency will be on finding players that can change the losing culture in Washington.
All salary-cap and free-agency information is courtesy of OverTheCap.com.
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