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Free Agency, Mock Drafts, Camps, Roster Predictions, 2018

I'm going to pull what remaining hair I have left out if the team brings Niles Paul back. I like Vernon Davis - and in the short-term he's a great mentor, but Skins need to move *forward* at TE. That means Sprinkle and adding a big bad ugly TE who can catch AND be a dominating blocker in the next couple of drafts. Davis is going to age out very soon, and Jordan Reed - I have zero faith in him getting past his injury issues. I'd actually favor trading Reed now while he still has value. Sprinkle needs to see the field and get some significant opportunities so we can decide if he's part of our long-term plans.

I hope we can trade Reed on draft day.

"Can't make the club sittin' in the tub" was tailor made for him.
 
I'm going to pull what remaining hair I have left out if the team brings Niles Paul back. I like Vernon Davis - and in the short-term he's a great mentor, but Skins need to move *forward* at TE. That means Sprinkle and adding a big bad ugly TE who can catch AND be a dominating blocker in the next couple of drafts. Davis is going to age out very soon, and Jordan Reed - I have zero faith in him getting past his injury issues. I'd actually favor trading Reed now while he still has value. Sprinkle needs to see the field and get some significant opportunities so we can decide if he's part of our long-term plans.

Davis is not quite as talented as Gates and Gonzalez, but more than physically capable to be good as long as either of them...he proved this year he is more than capable. I would trade Reed, and draft a big body while they continue to develop Sprinkle. I just don't see Sprinkle as a long term answer at the position. He's done nothing to elicit such hope in his ability. I would not be opposed to drafting a TE in the 2nd or 3rd...oh wait!
 
I just don't see Sprinkle as a long term answer at the position. He's done nothing to elicit such hope in his ability. I would not be opposed to drafting a TE in the 2nd or 3rd...oh wait!

Based on what??? He was targeted 3 times in his rookie season. He did drop 1 of those so I can see your skepticism...lol. Of course, my position is, 1 of his 2 receptions was for a TD - so that means future HOF in my book!

Seriously - why the negativity? The guy is a great athlete, he's huge (6'5" 252 lbs), and he's got great hands.

I don't know if he'll ever be more than a Logan Paulsen plug-in guy, or if he's the next Vernon Davis. But you have to love his potential...at least I do :)
 
let's hope 1 of the coveted QB's is available at 13, triggering a bidding war for our pick. Be nice to trade down, but not too far, and pick up another couple/few early picks. Or another good veteran player too.

I'd love to get some more draft picks, for sure. Maybe that is part of their strategy here too

That's what McLou would do.
For certain.
McLou may be gone, but we can certainly keep a page from the McLou Book, as far as getting extra picks, when the situation presents itself. Although, I think McLou goes a little overboard with it, and was excessively in constant trade-down mode.
 
If you are going to be in the geezer business I would rather see what Arthur Jones and Phil Taylor have left after being injured in 2017.

This is something I've been wondering - whether to bring Taylor back.
Even before last year's trip to the IR, he was known for injury issues.
So, even if he has a great TC, and is healthy at the end of it, is he too big of an injury risk, to keep around ?


If Sprinkle is truly a special talent, full of potential, I can't help but wonder why at the end of last year, when we had nothing to play for, that he hardly saw any action on the field, to both develop him and evaluate himi. Instead, they activated some guy off the PS, who I think has been a "journeyman practice squadder" in Garner, which didn't make any sense to me.
 
I could definitely see a trade-down occurring. But the wild card is if some unexpected impact player falls to us at 13. With all of the QBs rumored to be taken before we pick, that's something that could happen. If a RB, WR, or DL that we grade as tops at their position is there, I think we'd be hard pressed not to pull the trigger... Gonna be fun to see what happens - I can't wait.

I may be alone here - but with the Cousins stuff in the rear view mirror, I have a lot of optimism and excitement for 2018.
 
The running game indeed needs to get going, tho I'm not sure we need a new rb. A big body'd TE would certainly help it along too. I'm not opposed to a mid or late round rb just don't wanna burn an early rounder for one.

Edit: We have Thompson and Perrine already on roster, health is another mattter tho.
 
I've been on the trade Reed train since last offseason. So, I really hope we do it. Love the guy when he's healthy. Which is what, 3 days a year?

Davis can take over Reed's role as our receiver first TE. But he blows chunks as a blocker. Absolutely worthless.
So, we keep developing Sprinkle, and hope he pans out. While adding a few more, either from the draft, UDFA, or busboy at La Fontaine Blu. I don't give shit. Long as he can knock the snot out of whichever unfortunate SOB that lines up across from him.

Like Boone, the end of the drama has me getting more pumped for the possibilities.
 
Prior to 2017, I was vocally telling people they were exaggerating his injury issues (up to this past season, he was still averaging 13 full games per season). My point was - 13 games with Jordan Reed healthy is better than 99% of NFL TE's fulltime. And I was right about that.

But this year - his constant unavailability, for injuries to his hamstring and toes - it totally changed my mind. In a season where we desperately need he and Chris Thompson especially to produce to counter the loss of Garcon and Jackson, he couldn't do it. The impact of Reed's fragile health cannot be understated. A healthy (or gutty) Reed in 2017 and the Redskins are almost certainly a playoff team. Another playoff appearance might even have changed the conversation in relation to Cousins re-signing. His absence was a huge negative.

I'm about done with Reed. If we could find a trade partner, I'd jump at that. But he may not have nearly the value we think he does just based on his injury history alone.
 
Reed is a hard choice.
Hard to trade him for anything of value, for the same reason we don't want him. Would anyone really want to take a chance on someone that injury prone, on anything more than a low draft pick, unless they're really desperate ? Wouldn't it have been nice if KC accepted him, instead of KF ?
Cutting him would likely be highly controversial.
Wonder how realistic it would be, to talk him into a pay cut ?
 
Well, the one thing this organization is not afraid of is controversy.
 
I could see New England making a trade for Reed and having him as a compliment to Gronk. BB would probably send the anticipated 4th round comp pick they have in such a scenario.

Not saying any of this will happen. If a trade does occur, it will be interesting to see if the new team gives the Redskins a one or two million dollar help on the cap hit.
 
Regarding Reed, yea, it appears the team may be headed into a different direction now, economically speaking.
With their frugal perspective on Cousins' negotiations, maybe that reflects an overall change of approach on the whole team roster, where they start cleaning house of "excessive contracts" that hinder the team from signing talent at necessary positions.
 
One of the issues I have had with the Redskins over the years is how SLOW they are to get new players on the field.

Even though this team has often been mediocre at 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7 the front office and coaching staff act as if they have a 12-4 squad where all the starting and contributing slots are already taken when new guys come in the door.

My feeling is that on a 7-9 team there are a LOT of opportunities for guys to shine, whether depth players who are finally given a chance, current year draftees, free agents, etc.

Remember how long we held onto Corey Lichtensteiger at center despite being undersized and beaten to death over 6 NFL seasons?

Ditto for Shawn Lauvao, who was originally released by a 4-12 Browns team that didn't have a place for him.

We FINALLY got rid of Perry Riley and David Amerson and after a brief flurry of plays in Oakland, sank back down into the mediocrity for which they were known here.

But during those years here they were kept on the field and given jobs because of their 'potential'.

It was especially galling to see Amerson talk about how he wasn't give a real chance in Washington - that after we saw him blow coverages all over the place and take risks to go for the interception and let receivers catch balls for long gains, etc.

What a joke. But we enabled them.

Pro Football Focus rated David Amerson 69th in the NFL in 2016 at cornerback.

Here we treated him like he was another Champ Bailey in the making.

And don't even get me started on Niles Paul, whose impact on this team over 5 seasons has been minimal yet he comes back every year.
 
I don't think the Skins made this move because Smith was 'hot' in 2017 (although he certainly was). Why steer clear of comparisons? Here are some more numbers for you:

Average Pass Attempts Per Start: Smith 30 Cousins 37
Interception %: Smith 2.1 Cousins 2.6
Touchdown %: Smith 4.0 Cousins 4.7
Average Yds Per Completion: Smith 6.9 Cousins 7.7
Average Pass Yards Per Game: Smith 204 Cousins 261

So if you give Smith another 7 passes per game, you're probably looking at a pretty close passing yard average. Smith throws significantly fewer interceptions, but hasn't thrown as many TDs. I think the above stats essentially show one thing. Smith has played on teams with solid rushing attacks that were far more balanced than Cousins has. I think we're going to see Smith match Cousins production #'s if Gruden continues with a more pass happy approach. The argument that Smith HAS TO HAVE all of these weapons and a great rushing attack to be productive, not sure I am buying it.
Good analysis, I had meant to do it myself but got way too busy today. I even had the Pro football reference pages up at some point. Always do like to see the numbers.

Overall, I think Smith could be better than Cousins. I actually think they are a bit similar in many ways, although the career trajectories have been different. Cousins feels like he came from a gunslinger mentality and got a bit more disciplined, and Smith feels like he was getting a bit more confident/gutsy last year.

At the end of the day, big parts of my unease are from these factors - remember I do like Alex Smith:
- Alex is older; I am expecting a decline. Hoping it won't happen too soon.
- I am only a believer in trading draft picks to get the "missing piece" - and for us, no player is that piece. If you aren't getting the missing piece, trading draft picks (or young talent for that matter), just doesn't seem like a recipe for long-term success, and the problem with gunning for short-term success, is contracts run out just when you think you've got it together
- Trading that pick and Fuller sent a signal to me that I've seen over the years; the team is, in my opinion, just way too focused on offense. We'll see if this plays out in the draft and FA. I was happy with finally paying attention to safety last year after how many years? So late though... so late... at what has become a critical position in the pass-happy league of today.
- we will find out about this one soon enough.
- Andy Reid and Jay Gruden are very similar in systems. I think Burgundy Burner pointed this out, and yes, it's definitely the case. Andy Reid, with certain situations, has been a perennial playoff guy. Yes he made the Super Bowl too with the Eagles once. I do think making the playoffs year after year is great, no doubt. But some teams, even if they make the playoffs, just aren't built to win there. The Redskins with Jay Gruden's scheme that I've seen... with Alex Smith and the mentality that I smell from the FO right now.. aren't going to be built to win in the playoffs. People want to say Tom Brady, Bortles, Keenum, Foles. I see 3 great defenses on that list, and as for TB - he eventually helped them up but his D had to make consistent stops to make that possible (with some ref help maybe). I also see some timely running on those teams too.

There is a lot of balance on those teams, and I don't see that in the Redskins, and this trade doesn't make me feel we're heading that way. We'll see what they manage to do in FA and the draft, I'll be paying close attention for sure.

*I do share the relief in moving on from the dead weight of Cousins, year after year after year. I was groaning when I heard some speculate we could have him another year.


Said this earlier - it's the teams that perenially are in the playoffs that have a CHANCE to get to the big game and maybe win one. A team like ours can't look at a player and make 'will he win us multiple Super Bowls?' part of the assessment. I couldn't disagree more with what you are saying here. It's ALL about making the playoffs year after year. You do that, and you give yourself a chance. Teams have shown that if you get to the playoffs, you can get to the Super Bowl and even win one with an above average QB. I think a QB like Alex Smith is absolutely good enough to get us to the playoffs consistently. And if we do that, good things can happen.

Out of curiosity, do you watch the Caps at all? Do you know what has happened to them over the last 12 years? Nats? Not that it's applicable to football, but maybe it sours me on making the playoffs all of the time (which I NEVER thought I'd say back then). And look, I say that same thing many times (make the playoffs year after year, then we got a chance). You are also right, in football, this is true. Do I think that we'll make the playoffs year after year with Smith? I do not think so (I'm not sure though; as structured today, I'd confidently say no). I think it's possible, I like Smith, but I don't think the FO will be able to pull that off (putting a good enough team around him).

Call it an instinct if you don't feel I'm making my case well. I just feel like the balance of Smith's talent with his salary cap hit on this deal, and a feeling that the FO can't match up well with the big boys based on what I see... it leads me to think we are going to be in a similar range of mediocrity while we have Smith. This is an awesome trade if we have all of our ducks in a row OR if Smith is younger and the contract terms are minimum 3 years. I'd be excited then. We have a lot of holes, Smith is older, and we traded young talent and a draft pick (which typically takes time to recover from).

I'll try to keep an open mind, we'll see what they do in the draft and FA. I would have honestly preferred to have Colt start, or get one of the QBs who may be available cheaper (like Tyrod just for kicks, don't think he'd lead us anywhere necessarily but I also think he'd be cheap and fun). In the meantime, build up the other parts of this team while keeping an eye out for a QB to finish. With a Colt or a Tyrod style QB... you could make the playoffs there too. No they aren't as good as Alex (not close), but the price tag would be cheaper, and you'd still have other players (3rd rounder, KF) to help key parts of the team. We (you and I) just don't value Alex (vs his salary and age) the same.
 
How much of KF's success was due to KF, and how much of his success was due to Torrian Gray.
Maybe, just maybe, Gray is a Cornerback-Building-Machine.

Think about this.
Fuller was drafted in 2016 and had a rough rookie campaign.
Gray was hired before the 2017 season, the same single season, that Fuller broke out and rose to the top.

Coincidence ?
 
I'm a little skeptical Kendall Fuller is the next Darrell Green based on one pretty good year. Breeland had a great season, but what we've seen from him since has mostly been inconsistency. I do think the loss of a young talented improving DB is unfortunate. But it's not an insurmountable loss or an irresponsible move like a lot of fans are wringing their hands over. I'm sure Gray did a great job with him after his shaky start. Hopefully he can do the same thing for Moreau or whoever we decide to replace Fuller with...
 
I'm not sayin he's the next Darrell Green and I'm not one of those people complaining about how detrimental the trade was.
I'm just sayin give credit where credit is due. Fuller was special in many ways, and maybe Gray is too.
This article leaves little doubt to how good he was, with an excellent and un-biased breakdown.

https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2018...-review-how-could-the-redskins-trade-this-guy

In conclusion, one of the many great things to say about him, unlike many past players, is that it was evident Fuller truly loved playing for the Redskins. And his teammates loved playing with him.
That was evidenced by how greatly heartbroken he sounded when he learned he would have to leave the team, and his teammates felt the same way.
Since he had such a great rapport here, I am just going to sit and dream that when he becomes a FA, that he comes back home to DC....after all, remember also, he is a truly local guy, living in the DC area his entire life.
So when does his KC contract expire ? :)
 
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I wasn't directing that at you Fear, just describing what many on Twitter and elsewhere are saying...

I think everything you just said rings true. But again, he has had one good season. One. Doesn't mean he isn't a future perennial Pro Bowler. Maybe he is. But it's a pretty small sample size.

Bram Weinstein said it best imho... you have to give something to get something. More importantly, if the something you are trying to get is an experienced Pro Bowl level QB, you're going ot have to give something very good.

Fuller is very good.

Bottom line - as NFL players say over and over and over again (except when their buddy gets traded), 'it's a business'. The Redskins had to make a business decision and they did it decisively. Time will tell if they got a good deal or not.
 

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