2024 Free Agents - who are we keeping?

[Knightingale]

Look folks, Peters can't cut all 53 players and replace them with 10 plus draft picks and 30 undrafted free agents and 10 veteran free agents

There is enough to do at quarterback, offensive line, tight end, rush end, linebacker and safety (since Curl looks to be moving on).

Unless we are planning on going 0-17 with a new quarterback the way Jimmy did in Dallas in 1989 we have to keep SOME productive players on the roster in 2024.

Whether Terry McLaurin is still a top receiver or whether he is a notch below that let's let 2024 with a new regime evaluate that during the season and make a move NEXT offseason if need be.

Ditto for Payne and a few others.

This is why I’ve been saying I think there isn’t gonna be a huge spending spree this year. There’s just too much to do in one year. Too many players to turn over.

To burn through all your financial flexibility in one off season seems reckless to me, and I think the new people in charge are taking a far more measured approach to overhauling the team with a view to long term sustainability.
Just because we have $90M in cap room, doesn’t mean we need to use it in one fell swoop.

Especially so because I think there’s a lot of players on this team who will be hard to truly evaluate until we see them in action this year. Especially on Defence where Whitt looks to be trying to establish a very definite tone. He as much as admitted that his style isn’t going to be for everyone. After this next season they’ll have a pretty clear indication of who buys in and who doesn’t.

Offense was a mess last year. But it’s clear we need upgrades all over the place. Online is now a huge priority with Leno and Gates gone. We need bodies and the FA pool isn’t very exciting. We’ll draft, maybe get in some short contract FAs to get us to next years pool. I think it’ll take a couple of years at least to really rebuild that properly, and that’s assuming our draft picks hit.

As for other positions, I think we’ll see moderate spending on names that aren’t flashy, but start to build a base for this team moving forward. We’ll draft sensibly, and then see over the course of the season what we truly have with the players we can’t turn over this year, with an eye on next years free agent pool.

It wouldn’t surprise me if they bring Curtis back, I think he’s been arguably our most consistent WR the last couple of years. Maybe it’s just my perception, but he just seems more multifaceted than Terry sometimes. And I love me some Terry! But there were games when Terry would just go missing for whatever reason. Curtis always seemed to be there.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, what I was trying to say was that unlike some I don't think Peters is going to go into a deep dive to evaluate McLaurin for the purpose of trading him at the draft.

I think they have a list of players they think are capable performers that can be contributors in 2024 and these players are going to be kept.

If ultimately guys like McLaurin are moved it will be AFTER 2024 when Quinn and Peters get 17 games to evaluate them in real time with a different scheme.

 

[Chris]

The facility in Ashburn is so tight that beat reporters are reduced to interpreting player sm emojis.

 

[Bulldog]

A team coming off 4-13 unfortunately doesn't really need to spend $15M on a safety.

That's a great add to a team that is 12-5 and needs that one extra impact player on defense.

Washington won't be in that position for a couple of years.

 

[Chris]

Hell, maybe Kam was just jonesing a Popeye’s two-piece.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

A team coming off 4-13 unfortunately doesn't really need to spend $15M on a safety.

That's a great add to a team that is 12-5 and needs that one extra impact player on defense.

Washington won't be in that position for a couple of years.

Not necessarily true. If you identify a player who is good and can be a foundational piece, you pay to keep them. You can’t just let talent walk because of a rebuild. You have to acquire talent through the rebuild. I always think back to Gibbs and company letting Ryan Clark and Antonio Pierce walk. They wanted flashier players with big contracts, where they could have just held on to the guys they had who were better. It’s about talent and you have to pay to keep your talented players.

 

[Bulldog]

Yes, but is a safety on this team worth $15M?

Ultimately, positions have value under the cap. Some more than others.

I would think QB, LT, #1 WR, rush DE, cover corner rank as the positions where teams success and failure tend to rest and where the talent is the most fought over, leading to the highest salaries.

Right now this team may not have a player at ANY of these positions.

So, if I am the owner or GM I might very well decide to pass on paying a very good running back like a Saquon Barkley or a safety like Kam Curl a top 5 salary at positions that are more plentiful overall in the middle rounds of the draft or free agency.

If I am a 12-5 or 11-6 playoff contender who is 1 or 2 players away from advancing in the playoffs to the Super Bowl then the addition of a player like Curl might be an important piece to add.

 

[burgold]

Part of me thinks that the big problem with this team's construction over the years is that they tried to fix the marquis positions and absolutely ignored everything else.

We've drafted and acquired plenty of wide receivers, edge rushing defensive ends, (ignored OT or dealt with it on the cheap), and corners. Some of them were the wrong players, but we put the effort in (William Jackson, Forbes, Sweat, Chase, Samuels, Dotson, McLauren, etc.) On the other hand, while people say that linebacker is less important these days I can't help but notice how many of the teams that went deep into the playoffs did so partly because of great and prominent linebacker play.

And yet, we rarely mention linebacker as a need. It is possible that we have one linebacker worth playing on this roster and that guy almost none of us want to offer a fifth year extention to. On top of it, that guy just plead guilty in court and while he avoided jail time his knuckle headedness was not just seen on the road but over and over again on the field.

So maybe we need to pay a little more attention to the nonsexy positions.

 

[Bulldog]

Curl wants a top 5-6 salary, while I think he's a good player he's not a game changer.

So, would I pay him a second contract to stay at 25 if it was even on the outer bounds of reasonable? Perhaps.

But it seems clear that to play HERE he wants the max.

Now, if it is San Francisco or Kansas City calling Curl may give them a discount to some degree to win.

It's that premium Washington still has to pay as a rebuilding team (and the 'Snyder' tax for former malfeasance) for younger free agents that I don't want to pay, unless it is a premium position where the player is vital to the team's future success.

Ultimately, I am a value investor. Especially so as we are building this thing from the ground up and need to secure these other positions.

The fact the idiot that owned this team previously and his mostly incompetent personnel people failed to find and/or keep quality players across the board doesn't move the needle for me when it comes to the non-premium positions.

 

[Chris]

John Keim gave his opinions today on some of the teams FAs, these were based on what he termed as both some educated guesses and some informed guesses.

1. Kam Curl- there has been dialog between the team and the agent. It’s all going to be dependent on the salary demands.

2. Cody Barton- the team has shown tepid interest

3. Curtis Samuel- has a hard time seeing him returning.

4. Kendall Fuller- 🤷🏻‍♂️ Solid player. 29 yo and struggles with knee issues.

5. Antonio Gibson- hard time seeing him returning. No momentum at all.

6. Casey Toohill/ James Smith Williams- can see at least 1 returning, not surprised if both. Backup roles.

7. Cornelius Lucas- 🤷🏻‍♂️

8. Joey Slye- 🤷🏻‍♂️ he’s a kicker, they need to have a kicker. Good at kickoffs.

9. Jabril Cox- No. Dallas was OK with letting him go.

10. Jacoby Brissett- doesn’t see him returning

 

[Neophyte]

Keim's take pretty much tracks with my feelings on most of these guys.

Not saying it's what I'd like to see but it is what I've thought is likely to happen.

 

[Bulldog]

Cody Barton is no better than a replacement level player in the NFL.

He benefited from being evaluated by a team whose free agent class in 2023 was among the worst in recent memory.

Nick Gates - bust
Andrew Wylie - bust
Cody Barton - bust

The only player that showed well of that initial group signed in early free agency was Jacoby Brissett.

You can add in Jamison Crowder who at 32 was signed during the season to help with punt returns and ended up making a contribution on offense.

But that's about it.

I remember Jimmy Johnson cutting a mess of players in Dallas his first two years in a row. It was as simple as not having players with enough talent to warrant keeping them around.

The players were so lacking it was easier to just bring in UDFAs and trade down for more late picks to fill in the back end of the roster.

Dallas did well enough to find guys like Tony Tolbert, a pro bowl end, in the 7th round and a host of top backups and contributors on ST.

 

[Neophyte]

 

[Bulldog]

Makes sense for Texans.

Titans I am not so sure. Adams thinks she has a playoff team with deep run aspirations and that's why she fired Vrabel.

I think the talent there is thinner than that.

Investing in a 30 year old corner is for contenders.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Gibson deal

 

[Chris]

Were any of Washington’s FAs signed besides AG?

 

[Neophyte]

Brissett was also signed by the Patriots.

 

[Bulldog]

He could start for them in 2024 if the Pats draft a quarterback like McCarthy or Nix that needs some time to develop.

Patriots sure are lovin' those ex-Rivera Commanders

I still think if the Jets were smart they would have traded for Brissett before the deadline last season when Zack Wilson was crapping his shorts. New York IMO would have made the playoffs with Jacoby under center.

Brissett and Minshew are the best backup quarterbacks out there because they can come in and start and win games.

Most of these other backups come in and hand the ball off or throw bubble screens.

 

[Chris]

I voted for Samuel, Reaves, Hudson, Curl, and JSW.

Shout out to Reaves for keeping me from being shut out. So far. 🤣

 

[Bulldog]

Curtis Samuel has talked to the 49ers, Rams and a couple other teams but he still doesn't have a deal. Wonder what he is asking for.

I bet it is high #2 wideout money. Teams are looking at this draft as being very good for WR talent and saying no to that type of contract.