Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, February 6, 15 days before the NFL Combine.
Redskins cut Johnson but don’t look for more soon
We reported yesterday that the Redskins cut cornerback D. J. Johnson, who was not sharp in a late-season stint as the nickel back last year. This brought on some questions about whether any other releases were imminent.
The answer is probably no.
The Redskins coaches took off a lot of the time during the two-week Super Bowl lead up and they are just getting back to work this week. They will continue evaluating the current roster and deciding who will go and who will stay.
There is no particular urgency for the Redskins to release any players. The Lions had to get rid of Titus Young because he was a disruption and they released defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch because he was due a $2 million roster bonus in the coming days and they knew they weren’t going to pay it.
The Redskins have no players in any such situations. They can take the rest of February to evaluate and decide how they are going to tackle their $4 million cap overage. Look for them to start to make moves during the first part of March leading up to the March 12 start of the league year.
Banks is a free agent
I specifically got questions
about Brandon Banks and whether the Redskins are going to release him. The
answer is no. They can’t release him because he is not under contract.
Banks will be a restricted free agent meaning that if the Redskins choose to make him a tender offer of $1.323 million they can match any contract offer another team might make to him. Since Banks was undrafted, there would be no draft pick compensation if the Redskins chose not to match.
It seems unlikely that the Redskins would offer that much to a player who was inactive for the last five games of the season. They could offer him a contract paying him $715,000, which is the minimum for a fourth-year player.
Or they could not offer him anything and let him hit the free agent market. That seems to be the most likely course given the late-season inactivity and the fact that special teams coach Danny Smith, who Mike Shanahan said would “stand on the table” advocating for Banks to make the roster, is now working for the Steelers.
In case you missed it
- Josh Morgan: Big contract, big expectations
- Takeaways helped 2012 turnaround
- Redskins cut CB D. J. Johnson
Days until: NFL Combine 15; Start of 2013 league year 34; Training camp 169
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