Zach Brown, Redskins Agree to Contract After 1 Season with Bills

Coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance, linebacker Zach Brown has cashed in by signing a deal with the Washington Redskins, the team announced on Monday. 

Brown spent the first four years of his career with the Tennessee Titans, who drafted him with the 52nd overall pick in 2012. He signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills last season, where he became a full-time starter for the first time since 2013.

The 27-year-old Brown made that opportunity with the Bills count by setting a career high with 149 combined tackles and two forced fumbles. He also recorded four sacks and four passes defensed.

In November, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus listed Brown among the top 10 breakout players of 2016 because of his all-around skill set.

"He has seen by far his highest percentage of defensive snaps played, up to 88.7 percent of Buffalo's snaps from a career high of 70.8 before this season, and he is grading well in every facet of the game PFF measures," he wrote. "Brown has already posted a career high in defensive stops and will soon exceed his career high in tackles. He has three sacks and seven total pressures from his work on the blitz and has made some solid stops in coverage."

Still very much in the prime of his career, Brown should be able to at least maintain his 2016 level of performance for the foreseeable future. 

Playing on the outside gives Brown an additional bit of value because he can line up as an edge-rusher to attack the quarterback or drop back into coverage where his speed plays well against running backs. 

The Bills were collectively a disappointment last season, but Brown was one of the few things that went right. It's a big loss for Buffalo but a huge gain for Washington's defense in 2017.