2024 Free Agents - who are we keeping?

[Boone]

Which of these 2024 Washington UFAs do you want to see the Front Office retain?

 

[burgold]

I think the thing that stood out to me is how few boxes I felt compelled to click. Now, there were some where I decided against, but I do like the player or wouldn't mind them back, but even then the overall x is so small.

 

[Boone]

Yeah, I think a couple things to keep in mind as people look at the list.

Obviously, no matter who the team 'wants', they won't re-sign all those guys as some will jump to other teams for a better deal. There are some guys I picked that haven't been great here, but who I think could take it up several notches with better coaching. I'm also not trying to re-sign players whose best football is behind them... only exception I made is Curtis Samuel because his play continues to be at a high level - higher than the younger studs he is competing against. I think he's a #2 WR for at least another 3 seasons and I would try and re-sign him despite him having some road wear. I also picked a couple of 'high motor' guys. Casey Toohill isn't a top athlete at the NFL level, but he consistently outplays his supposed talent level and I think he would be the kind of depth guy that the new regime likes due to his effort and heart.

 

[Boone]

One reason we posted this poll - we will be doing a podcast on who to retain in free agency soon and wanted to know what the community thinks about these guys...

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Curl and Gibson are the only ones I felt "comfortable picking" and Gibson maybe because I just think there's more there. Curl I think we need back. One's I also clicked but are more eh, Fuller (veteran presence and when he's "on", he's good). Cornelius Lucas, we can't shuffle the entire O line and depth in one season. I thought about Samuel but there's speedy guys on the FA list every year, depends on $$ demand and we'll be running a different scheme next year, I believe Jahan can fill the role of speedy if needed as well.

 

[Neophyte]

I voted for guys I want kept outright and for several I'd like to get an off-season with a coaching staff that is putting in the work because I'm not sure we know what we have in them yet. Or maybe they could level up with the right coaching.

Oddly, I didn't feel compelled to vote for many due to their recent history. Samuel, Fuller, Toohill, Smith-Williams, and Curl were about it in that category.

 

[Boone]

I feel like Kendall Fuller's best days are well behind him. He's 29 and for me anyway, lacks the consistency you'd like to see if you are keeping him around as a 'vet' team leader type. Not to say he's not still a good corner, but for how much longer?

I would like to see us move on from him and Washington go hard after Jaylon Johnson. He is a slightly bigger, better, and younger (just 24) CB who is probably the best available 2nd contract guy in this draft.

Possible I am short-changing Fuller and he looks like a top CB with different coaching and with a Joe Whitt/Dan Quinn scheme. But he's getting up there for a CB.

 

[Chris]

Agreed on Fuller. CB is a premier position dollar wise and I’m not in favor of an older and frequently dinged-up player at that position considering the investment and where the team is today.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

I understand the sentiment Boone and Chris but after what appears on whiffing huge in the draft last year at corner, not sure we can overhaul that entire unit in one offseason. Again this is assuming he'd be reasonable in his demands, maybe a 3 year deal with a decent guarantee but an out after year 1. If we lock up top tier CB at top money, are we really getting our value out of them in year 1 and 2 when I don't see us being competitive until year 3 at best.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I like this poll. Just like they won’t be able to sign them all, they will have to keep some of these guys that we don’t like, because you still have to fill out a roster. For me, if I’m looking at this poll, I say what guys can provide value over what you can get to replace them. I only voted for 3 guys, but all for very different reason.

Curl- I think they need to keep him. I think he can be an All Pro with this defensive coaching staff

Reaves - You need a special teams ace. As long as he is healthy from his knee injury, re-sign him.

Brissett - This comes with a caveat. If they draft a QB, then I wouldn’t chase him. But if they keep Howell, we all saw how valuable Brissett was to this team. Having him be there and the familiarity with Howell will make a huge difference. If they draft a QB, any veteran you bring in will most likely be because he knows the Kingsbury offense.

Other guys I would consider at low price deals:

Samuel - Guy is still a great weapon, but I think he will get more elsewhere

Fuller - Someone else will probably pay him more, but I’d take him back for cheap

Gibson - I’m not a fan of paying that RB second contract unless they are a stud workhorse. If he can’t find work elsewhere and wants to come back for cheap, then sign him.

Mayo - Special Teams only

 

[Chris]

I understand the sentiment Boone and Chris but after what appears on whiffing huge in the draft last year at corner, not sure we can overhaul that entire unit in one offseason. Again this is assuming he'd be reasonable in his demands, maybe a 3 year deal with a decent guarantee but an out after year 1. If we lock up top tier CB at top money, are we really getting our value out of them in year 1 and 2 when I don't see us being competitive until year 3 at best.

If they are not going to be competitive until year 3 (I don’t disagree) that is even more reason not to sign him.

Perhaps real DB coaches can make a difference with Forbes rather than the HS coach did? I wouldn’t be surprised as the most consistent criticism I have seen of him is technical.

I am also expecting a CB to be drafted and added to a secondary that already includes young players that I fully expect to take a positive step up. (Martin, Forrest, Butler, and maybe BSJ.) 3 of which are dawgs and 1 a skilled post-play celebrant.

 

[burgold]

I suppose the one advantage to trying to re-sign Fuller is that our secondary was so bad last year that I have to imagine the market price for any of our DBs has to be pretty low. I’d imagine almost all of them might be better off with a “prove it” one year contract over a long term deal. I mean even Kurl who we love was pretty bad last year.

 

[Knightingale]

I looked at it with an eye to:
a) Who has kind of impressed me this year and I feel would be a plus to the team moving forward
b) Where we have big holes in the team that need to be addressed, and while they might not be the best options we'll need to fill the gap at least temporarily.

With that in mind:

Curtis Samuel - Probably out best and most consistent receiver behind Terry (and sometimes out performs him too!) I think in a world where we're bringing in a new QB we'll need Curtis.

Kendall Fuller - In an awful secondary, he was perhaps the most consistent presence. No, he's not elite, but when we're going to be rebuilding this area of the field likely with a bunch of rookies and with Forbes still showing growing pains, I think we need a dependable presence back there.

Jeremy Reaves - This guy is the kind of character you want on the team. Plus he's a Special Teams ace.

Khaleke Hudson - The LB corps needs rebuilding. It has for a long while. I'd like to see what Quinn and Whitt can do with Hudson.

Jamison Crowder - HE provided a bit of a spark last year, and I think we could do with another dependable set of hands on the team.

Kam Curl - Nuff said. I think he's been one of our defensive lynch pins over the last few years on a defense that has struggled with coaching. What could he be if coached properly?

Smith Williams and Toohill - I think these guys are simply for depth as that area of the field is badly depleted.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I voted Samuel, Curl & Slye.....

 

[burgold]

I'm feeling conflicted about re-signing some of our depth players including the ones I voted we re-sign. On the one hand, you can't sign a new team in one off season and our second string does have some talent, but on the other hand, we've been complaining about how thin the talent is on this team so is re-signing a player not good enough to supplant a bum a good idea? We all want solid back ups, but I think we also want back ups with the potential not only to step up during and emergency, but to be good enough to bump the starter out of the lineup.

Among our depth free agents, who do we see as a future starter (or, if not, at least a star on special teams)

 

[Neophyte]

I view it this way, burgold, just because we resign a guy now doesn't mean that those guys make the 53 in Sept. We need bodies and competition. If the coaches think a guy brings that competition, give him a shot.

 

[Chris]

There will be players that will be better than we might think working under the new (potential) attitude and approach. There will also be some that won’t. For me, that is the interesting and important part of the process.

Who do the new bosses see as guys who will fill their desires and their needs? All NFL players have talent but not all NFL players are players.

 

[Primus Porcus]

There will be players that will be better than we might think working under the new (potential) attitude and approach. There will also be some that won’t. For me, that is the interesting and important part of the process.

Who do the new bosses see as guys who will fill their desires and their needs? All NFL players have talent but not all NFL players are players.

100%

Another reason I'm a little hesitant to look at that $85M cap room number and start spending a ton. There's going to be guys on this team that are determined to not be part of the future of this team and the brass will be looking to move on, creating more roster spots.

 

[Chris]

Our cap room reminds me of the commercial where the boomer orders a salad and is told it’s $17 and he replies that he’s only paying for his. 🤣

That money is not going anywhere as far as most seem to think.

 

[Knightingale]

I don’t think we’ll see the bigger turnover till maybe next year. 2024/25 will be a huge evaluation year.

I’m not sure last year was a truly fair representation of the talent level because I think the coaching was extremely suspect, especially down the stretch.

I think they’ll keep some of the reliable vets in place to provide some form of stability, as they evaluate the youth movement (players like Forbes etc) and draft in a new wave of rookies.

This time next year I see us being in a much better position to understand (assuming the DQ plan goes accordingly) where our core players stand and where we need to spend that cash.