Making the Call on Washington Redskins' Top Free Agents

Quarterback Kirk Cousins' future is the biggest dilemma facing the Washington Redskins entering 2017 NFL free agency, but deciding his fate is far from the only tough choice general manager Scot McCloughan must make.

Keeping Cousins for the long haul could stabilize the most important position on the team, but if he stays, No. 8 will need weapons. Those may be hard to come by with veteran wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon ticketed for the opening market.

Jackson and Garcon are kingmakers for even a barely competent pro quarterback. Garcon is the tough-as-nails intermediate pass magnet you can trust to bring the tough catches in. Jackson's burning speed lets every QB he plays with indulge his desire for the glory of the big play.

It's probably too much to expect to keep two premier wideouts out of the clutches of other teams, but McCloughan will know the cupboard is a little bare beyond Nos. 11 and 88.

Defensively, the last thing an already threadbare front seven needs is to lose Chris Baker, arguably the best lineman on the roster by some distance. Meanwhile, McCloughan would be smart to hand a short-term deal to a favorite from his days in the Bay Area.

Read on for keep or ditch calls on Washington's top pending free agents.

Kirk Cousins, QB

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There is only one place to start, just like there's only one question for McCloughan and the Redskins to answer when negotiating with Cousins and his entourage, namely: How much is having a competent player at football's most important position worth in today's NFL?

If McCloughan is honest, the answer should be a heck of a lot. Cousins holds all the cards in these negotiations, and Washington's GM knows it.

There's no other way to spin this one—not in an era with a shortage of young and capable, pro-ready quarterbacks emerging from the collegiate ranks. Sure, there are plenty of spread throwers and more read-option, run-first quarterbacks coming through than days on the calendar.

Yet the Redskins need only look at the last time they bet big on a raw but ultra-athletic runner-passer for a harrowing glimpse of how trusting a quarterback ill-suited to the nuances of the pro game can set a franchise back.

The truth is the guy with the Roman numerals after his name's inability to get it done is why Cousins got this job in the first place. While he's been far from perfect, the 2012 fourth-round pick has, for the most part, taken his opportunity and run with it. Or more specifically, he's thrown with it.

One season after rewriting the franchise passing records, Cousins made the Pro Bowl after another stellar statistical output. He finished 83 shy of 5,000 yards for the season to go with 25 touchdowns. There were still some throws into coverage to send a shudder down the spine, but Cousins has proved he's a quarterback with whom the Redskins can win with.

If numbers speak loudest to you, then consider these from Joel Corry of CBSSports.com:

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Over the past two seasons, Cousins has been one of the NFL's most productive quarterbacks statistically. He has completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 9,083 yards with 54 touchdowns and 23 interceptions to post a 99.3 passer rating. Cousins has the NFL's third-best completion percentage and is fourth in the NFL in passing yards, sixth in passer rating and 12th in touchdown passes since the start of the 2015 season. Surprisingly, Cousins and Tom Brady are the only two quarterbacks to win Player of the Month honors in each of the past two seasons.

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To underline it, Cousins is the best this team is going to get for 2017, better than anything in this draft class and boasts more upside than any available free agent. If you want to see the brittle Tony Romo swap Dallas Cowboys colors for the Burgundy and Gold, then go right ahead and bash Cousins. But you'd be saying goodbye to the chance of competing for the postseason.

It should never have got this far. McCloughan should have paid up last offseason instead of letting Cousins play his best football under the franchise tag. One of McCloughan's former teams, the San Francisco 49ers, helmed by ex-Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, is sniffing around, per Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post.

The Redskins' reward for caution is likely seeing the price spiral. Tough. Boohoo.

In today's era, if you have a quarterback who can tie his shoes without tumbling to the dirt, you pay him.

Verdict: Re-sign, and hurry up about it.

DeSean Jackson, WR

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Jackson is a tricky call to make, not least because he's lost none of his aura as arguably football's most talented and devastating deep threat. The nine-year pro may be 30, but he still takes the top off defenses for fun.

Jackson enjoyed his second 1,000-yard receiving season out of three with Washington in 2016. He also averaged 17.9 yards per catch and scored touchdowns of 44, 67 and 80 yards. This is a premier weapon every D-coordinator in the league fears.

Yet the flip side of the coin is Jackson has rarely looked like the happiest figure since swapping the Philadelphia Eagles for Washington in 2014. In fact, it doesn't take much to upset the speedster, as the Redskins learned when they left Jackson's name off an Instagram post, per Dan Graf of Fox Sports.

Jackson is generally happy as long as he's getting the ball. That's not really news, since most receivers are the same. However, the way Jackson likes to receive the ball, namely on vertical routes, can be a double-edged sword for a Redskins offense built more on high-percentage, short throws than the boom-or-bust nature of the long ball.

ESPN.com's John Keim has noted how Jackson could draw a salary of "$10-plus million" in 2017. It's a gaudy figure, especially when, as Keim pointed out, McCloughan used a first-round pick on Josh Doctson last year.

There's also interest in Jackson from old club Philadelphia, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, speaking to Anthony Gargano of 97.5 The Fanatic. The last thing the Redskins should want is to enter into a bidding war for Jackson, one that could threaten their ability to retain the quarterback this franchise needs more.

Verdict: Let walk.

Pierre Garcon, WR

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If it comes to cases, the Redskins should keep Garcon in town over giving Jackson a new deal. Obviously, Garcon isn't as explosive as D-Jax, but his value is more intangible and widespread throughout the roster.

For one thing, the franchise's single-season receptions record-holder has the right kind of fire to keep his teammates on their toes. Garcon is as antsy as Jackson when he doesn't get the ball, and he's rarely shy about showing it.

The difference is Garcon's gripes always seem more team-centric. They appear to push those around him to give more, to do better.

There's also the not-so small matter that Garcon is the ideal receiver for Cousins. The 30-year-old is the ultimate quarterback-friendly target. He makes the contested catches, works the middle like a demon and has a running back's temperament after the catch.

It might sometimes appear as though Garcon doesn't get the ball enough, but he's still reeled in over 70 of Cousins' passes in each of the last two seasons, including 79 for 1,041 in 2016.

Just as important as his numbers, Garcon has a flexibility that allows him to line up everywhere and make plays. In other words, he's a dream roving mismatch for the right creative offensive mind.

Head coach Jay Gruden, who could call plays more often in 2017 now Sean McVay is residing in Los Angeles, knows Garcon's value. But Gruden's fondness for the deep ball, exemplified by A.J. Green's form when he ran the offense for the Cincinnati Bengals, could push the Redskins toward keeping Jackson over Garcon.

However, the smarter play would be to bring back the reliable tough nut who would act as an invaluable mentor to youngsters such as Doctson and third-year man Jamison Crowder.

Verdict: Re-Sign.

Chris Baker, DE

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A team relying on Cullen Jenkins, Ziggy Hood and Ricky Jean Francois last season is in no position to let a D-lineman as good as Baker walk. Jenkins and Hood are free agents and quite welcome to go through the exit door, but this team needs Baker.

At his best, the man-mountain is a consistently disruptive force in the trenches, even if he always leaves you with the impression he could do more. Baker was in on 47 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2016, also forcing a pair of fumbles.

To illustrate the latter point, ESPN numbers show how Baker was down on splash plays from his efforts in 2015, when he recorded six sacks, stuffed eight running plays and recovered two fumbles.

That drop in production is most likely why the Redskins have yet to talk about a new deal with Baker, as JP Finlay of CSN Mid-Atlantic recently revealed.

However, it's not unreasonable to state that Baker's numbers suffered because of the paucity of talent around him. He quickly became a marked man for opposing blocking schemes last season.

It's on McCloughan to surround No. 92 with better talent, something he should find easy to do given the number of quality interior linemen available in free agency. Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe and Johnathan Hankins of the New York Giants headline a group also featuring New England Patriots Super Bowl winner Alan Branch.

McCloughan must add at least one standout lineman in free agency, then Baker's significance up front would show up more often on the stat sheet.

Verdict: Re-sign, but boost the talent around him.

Vernon Davis, TE

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One free agent Washington officials have already talked to is the 33-year-old tight end Vernon Davis, per Keim. It's not too surprising early efforts have been made to bring Davis back, either.

After all, it's not as though the veteran wasn't productive in 2016. Davis made the 11th season of his career one of his most prolific, according to Jacob Troxell of Scout.com's Breaking Burgundy:

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His 74.6 catch percentage and 13.3 yards per reception were the first and tied for second-best marks in the 11-year man’s career. Davis’ 583 reception yards were his fifth-highest in a season. Additionally, Davis was one of only two players in 2016 that had 11 or more receptions of 20-plus yards and less than 50 receptions. The other was Rob Gronkowski, who missed most of the season due to injury.

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Those marks are ample proof Davis still has the chops to beat defenses in a variety of ways, specifically by adding a deep element to Washington's intermediate passing game. Yet it's the diversity he adds to the Redskins' scheme as a whole, both from a personnel and structural standpoint, that really speaks loudest about Davis' value.

More numbers from Troxell sum up the point best, especially in regard to one particular look: "They averaged 10.4 yards per pass attempt in two tight end sets. In no other formations did the Redskins average over 9.0 yards per pass attempt."

Being able to put both Davis and the dynamic Jordan Reed on the field together is this team's best way to create coverage mismatches by isolating defenders in uncomfortable positions. Similar to Garcon, Davis and Reed also make Cousins' job easier, giving him two big and reliable targets to aim for at multiple levels of the field.

It's not as if the tight end rotation isn't crowded, but not one of the other incumbents offers the talent level Davis brings to the party. Derek Carrier is not as physically overpowering, neither as a blocker nor a receiver. Meanwhile, Niles Paul doesn't boast the same complete skill set.

If McCloughan can swing a cap-friendly deal for the player he drafted, it would make perfect sense for the Redskins to bring Davis back.

Verdict: Re-sign.

Donte Whitner, S

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McCloughan was happy to pluck former 49ers safety Donte Whitner off the scrapheap last season after the Cleveland Browns had ditched him. And McCloughan should be just as glad to bring Whitner back for another season in D.C.

The 31-year-old may have ended 2016 on injured reserve because of a calf problem, but his experience and savvy can still be invaluable at what seems like a perennially wafer-thin position.

To be more accurate, the Redskins have plenty of bodies at the safety spot, but they are short on talent. Whitner may be up there in years, but he has enough left in the tank to start for this team. He's a better option than fellow free agents Duke Ihenacho and Josh Evans.

Whitner could also help speed up the development of second-year hybrid Su'a Cravens, who is slated to play safety more often after appearing in multiple positions as a rookie. Keeping Whitner wouldn't be the ideal remedy for age-old woes at safety, but it would at least offer a sense of stability at a position built on quicksand for too long.

Verdict: Re-sign on veteran's minimum.

It's no surprise the verdict is keep on most of Washington's top free agents. That's what's supposed to happen for a roster that finished within a whisker of back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since the early '90s.

Most of these calls are easy, even if putting them into practice will be anything but. Keeping Cousins is the trickiest needle to thread since the financial outlay could dent Washington's plans in other areas. Yet the cost of making sure the Redskins enter the 2017 season with a competent quarterback is worth the risk, even if it means losing some of the other names on this list.