Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Need to Know: Another RB in the mix?

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, May 17, three days before Redskins OTA’s start.

Hightower makes no sense

There was a report yesterday that the Redskins have had “exploratory talks” about bringing back running back Tim Hightower.

Hightower was the Redskins’ top running back in 2011 until he tore his ACL in the fifth game of the season. The Redskins brought him back last year but he wasn’t fully recovered from his injury and he was released in the final roster cut. He did not play anywhere last year.

So how does he fit with the Redskins in 2013? Well, he doesn’t.

Nobody would have complained had they stood pat with their running back corps of 1600-yard rusher Alfred Morris and backups Roy Helu Jr., Evan Royster and Keiland Williams. But Mike Shanahan likes to collect running backs so the Redskins drafted Chris Thompson in the fifth round and Jawan Jamison in the seventh last month.

On the 53-man roster there room for three running backs, maybe four if one can serve as a backup fullback. Morris, of course, is going nowhere so that means that at least one and probably two backs who Shanahan drafted in the past three drafts will have to be let go.

It wouldn’t make any sense to add Hightower to the mix. They could have done that prior to the draft and taken another player instead of one of the two backs. Perhaps they might consider giving Hightower an opportunity to showcase himself so that he might be able to get a shot with another team. The team likes him a lot and might be inclined to do him a favor.

But they are going to be pressed to find enough reps for the five backs who are competing for the two or three spots. And Morris needs to get some action in practice and in preseason games himself.

It would not surprise me to learn that the reports of the Redskins’ interest in Hightower emanated from the player’s camp for the purpose of creating some competition for his services.

That being said, I never say never when it comes to Shanahan and running backs. But a Hightower-Redskins reunion seems to be a long shot.

This Week @ The Park

 

Had fun doing this with Ray Smith and Brian Tinsman. I can’t embed the video but here is the show in two parts:

• This Week @ The Park, Part 1
• This Week @ The Park, Part 2

In case you missed it

• Thursday Tweetbag: Answering your Redskins questions
• Jamison in the fold
• Defensive injury concerns for OTA’s
• Redskins sign Jamison
• RG3 No. 83?

Days until: OTA’s 3; Minicamp 25; Redskins @ Packers 121

Need to Know: Why haven't the Redskins signed any draft picks?

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, May 11, nine days before Redskins OTA’s start.

Signing draft picks

News is beginning to come in that teams are signing their draft picks. Scrolling down Pro Football Talk I see that on Friday the Bills signed four picks, the 49ers inked some late-rounders, the Texans signed four of their draftees, and the Lions have all of their draft class under contract, including Ziggy Ansah, the fifth overall pick in the draft.

So, why haven’t the Redskins signed any of their draft picks? Is it a problem that they have none of their seven new players under contract? Can they afford to sign them?

If you’re a regular reader here you know the answer to the last question. This post I wrote a month ago shows that because of the Rule of 51, the Redskins will need about $200,000 in cap space to sign their draft picks. As of Friday afternoon they had some $1.9 million available so they have plenty of cap space.

The other non-problem is the possibility of a holdout. Since the Redskins didn’t have a first-round pick the chances of prolonged negotiations were slim even under the old system as players picked after the first rarely held out. But the new CBA sets up what is essentially a slotted system.

Last year, Jerel Worthy, the defensive tackle the Packers took with the 51^st overall pick, got a four-year contract worth a total of $3,948, 203 with a signing bonus of $1,311,420. Since the cap went up a couple of percent since then, David Amerson will get slightly more than that. That’s it, take it or go work someplace else.

So with the money to work with and wrangling over dollars and terms a thing of the past, why the delay? Could be a few things. For one thing, the rookies aren’t at Redskins Park. There are 26 teams having their rookie camps this weekend (the Redskins had theirs a week ago) so the draft picks are in town and able to sign the contracts. The Redskins rookies can’t go to the team facility until next week.

Perhaps the players’ agents are too busy dealing with the Lions, Bills, and the others to get to the Redskins just yet. Maybe the legal types on the team’s payroll have yet to look over the contracts.

It could be any number of things, none of which matter. Just as in the past, if a rookie has not signed a contract he can sign still participate in OTA’s and minicamp. It doesn’t make any difference until training camp starts, which is two and a half months from now. You can rest assured that all of the draft picks will have signed their contracts well in advance of July 25.

Also, while we are on the subject, the Redskins won’t have to release anybody when a draft pick signs his contract. Up until a couple of years ago there was an 80-player offseason roster limit and unsigned draft picks did not count towards the limit. If a team was at 80 when a draft pick signed his contract a player would have to be cut to make room for him.

Last year the league went to a 90-player limit and unsigned draft picks count towards the limit. So as of Friday the Redskins had 83 players under contract plus their seven draft picks for a total of 90. The status quo is maintained when a draft pick signs.

Orakpo getting back in shape after injury

(h/t @DCSkins21)

In case you missed it

• Point-Counterpoint: Which rookie safety will shine?
• Point spreads so soon? You bet!
• Rambo: “I can be the best”

Days until: OTA’s 9; Training camp 75; Redskins @ Cowboys 155

Need to know: Point spreads out for first 15 games

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, May 10, 91 days before the Redskins preseason opener against the Titans.

Point spreads already? You bet!

If you should find yourself in Las Vegas you might want to know that you can now bet in any of the Redskins’ games in Weeks 1-16 of the season. The bookies at Cantor Gaming have released point spreads for all of the NFL games in the first 16 weeks of the 2013 season.

In all, the Redskins are favored in eight of the 15 games, are underdogs in six and one, their Week 11 game in Philadelphia, is a pick ‘em.

The Redskins have their biggest spread as favorites, 4.5 points, in home games against the Eagles in Week 1 and vs. Kansas City in Week 14. The bookies think they will have the toughest time at Denver in Week 8 when they are six-point underdogs.

The Broncos are one of three teams who are favorites in 13 games. They are only underdogs when they visit the Patriots. The Seahawks and 49ers are the other two who will give points 13 times; they are only underdogs when they visit each other.

The Cardinals and Jaguars are not favored in any of their games. Around the NFC East, the Giants and Cowboys are favorites six times and the Eagles give points in five games.

The lines for the Redskins’ first 15 games:

• Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins (-4.5)
• Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers (-4.5)
• Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins (-2.5)
• Washington Redskins (-4) at Oakland Raiders
• Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (-1.5)
• Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins (-1.5)
• Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos (-6)
• San Diego Chargers at Washington Redskins (-3.5)
• Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings (-1.5)
• Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (PK)
• San Francisco 49ers (-1.5) at Washington Redskins
• New York Giants at Washington Redskins (-1.5)
• Kansas City Chiefs at Washington Redskins (-4.5)
• Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons (-3)
• Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins (-2.5)

Go here to see the lines for all NFL games Weeks 1-16.

Redskins offseason on and off the field

In case you missed it

• Chris Thompson expects to be ready for training camp
• Tweetbag: Mt. Rushmore, Reed’s role, and more
• What is Kevin Matthews’ role?
• We’re halfway through the offseason

Days until: Minicamp 32; Training camp 76; Eagles @ Redskins 122

Need to Know: We're halfway through the offseason

Here is what you need to know on this Thursday, May 9, 33 days before the start of Redskins minicamp.

Offseason at its halfway point

We’ve made it halfway.

We are finally at the midpoint of the Redskins’ offseason. The playoff loss to the Seahawks happened 123 days ago. The Monday night season opener is 123 days from today.

What has happened since the Redskins’ last game?

• Three days after the game, Robert Griffin III underwent reconstructive surgery to repair an injury to his right knee that he suffered during that playoff game.
• Griffin wins the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award and walks up to the stage to accept it, three and a half weeks after having surgery.
• The Redskins try to persuade the NFL to lower or remove the $18 million salary cap penalty they were hit with a year earlier. Ultimately the efforts are unsuccessful and the Redskins had to deal with a severely reduced spending cap for the second year in a row.
• They went on a free agency signing binge but, unlike years past, it was mostly their own players—Darrel Young, Logan Paulsen, Kory Lichtensteiger, among others. They had to release DeAngelo Hall due to the salary cap and they were unable to re-sign Lorenzo Alexander.
• After Fred Davis explored free agency for a few weeks, he came back to the Redskins on a one-year deal. Hall also returned for a considerably lower salary. In all, 21 of the Redskins 22 starters from 2012 are under contract for this coming season.
• In the draft, the Redskins get three defensive backs plus some potential weapons for the offense. They did not have a first-round pick due to the trade for Robert Griffin III.

Here is what will happen between now and the Sept. 9 opener:

• Offseason workouts continue over the next week and a half. Organized Team Activities (OTA’s) start on May 20. Starting then they can run plays offense vs. defense under the watchful eye of the coaching staff.
• The OTA’s end with minicamp, which runs June 10-13. That is the only mandatory phase of the offseason program.
• Training camp starts in Richmond on July 25^th. Two and a half weeks of camp, four preseason games, the roster cut down to 53 and we are there.

Four months is a long time to wait. But we’re over the hump and it’s downhill from here.

A look at rookie minicamp

In case you missed it

• RG3 raises $33K for charity, talks about his knee
• Redskins draft review: David Amerson
• Nixon looking for a fresh start
• Redskins ranked seventh

Days until: Minicamp 33; Training camp 77; Eagles @ Redskins 123

Need to Know: Cousins' view of RG3-Shanahan

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, May 4, 16 days before OTA's start at Redskins Park.

Cousins have best view of RG3-Shanahan

Adam Schefter of ESPN is connected all over the NFL but he is especially well connected with the Redskins. He was a Broncos beat writer when Mike Shanahan was the coach there and he authored a book with him. In the wake of the ESPN Magazine article about Robert Griffin III, Schefter threw in his two cents on how he believes things went down during the Seattle playoff game that ended with Robert Griffin III in need of reconstructive knee surgery. Or, more accurately, he backed up Kirk Cousins’ two cents on the situation.

Read the fine @rgiii piece from my friend @jrmoehringer. Best observation of what happened vs. Seattle came from Kirk Cousins. That is all.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 3, 2013

Here is the relevant portion of Moehringer’s article:

But Kirk Cousins, the Redskins' talented backup, who relieved Griffin in the Baltimore game and again in the Seattle game, recalls eavesdropping on an intense sideline conference between Griffin and Shanahan: "Robert, you're clearly limping, you're not at full strength, do you think you need to come out? And I'm not quoting anybody, I'm just paraphrasing. And Robert's attitude was: I'm okay. I understand there's a limp, but I'm going to be okay. I brought us this far, I want to finish this thing."

Cousins adds: "I think it was tough for Coach Shanahan to tell him no. And it was tough for Robert to back down. Both of them were in a tough spot, each guy's word against the other."

This apparently was the pivotal moment. Griffin could have said, coach, take me out, I’m hurting the team and I could further hurt myself. Shanahan could have said, sorry, kid, I don’t like what I see; you’re done for the day.

So it looks like Schefter is saying that, in the heat of the competition, both the player and the coach took the wrong turn at the critical juncture.  

This Week @ The Park

I had a good time taping "This Week @ The Park", an online-only discussion show about the Redskins. Unfortunately, the video can't be embedded so I will link it below.

It's a bit longer than most videos I post here are but it's Saturday so sit back, relax, and enjoy.

This Week @ The Park, Vol. 2 05.02.13

In case you missed it

• Thompson 'makes things happen'
  
• Point-Counterpoint: Battle of the backs
• Need to Know: Getting to the next level

Days until: Minicamp 16; Training camp 82; Eagles @ Redskins 128

Need to Know: The NFL calendar gets going

Here is what you need to know on this Monday, April 29, 87 days before the start of training camp.

Calendar gets moving

It seemed like the draft took forever to get here and now that it’s in the rear view mirror the pace of the NFL offseason calendar picks up considerably here.

Rookie minicamp starts this Friday. The Redskins draft picks, undrafted free agents, and any first-year players who spent the bulk of the previous season on the inactive list, injured reserve, or the practice squad will be there. Also participating will be a number of tryout players who hope to be offered a free agency contract at the end of the minicamp.

The minicamp runs Friday through Sunday. The media is allowed in on Monday so that will give us the first chance beyond a quick conference call to talk to the draft picks.

Then OTA’s start on May 20 and we will get in there on May 23. That will be the first time we will see these players run something resembling football plays since the playoff loss to the Seahawks.

Due to the knee injury he sustained in that game, Robert Griffin III will be a spectator during OTA’s and minicamp in June.

All of this means that the regular season is getting closer. But it’s probably not as close as you’d like it to be. We are still closer to the last game of the 2012 season (107 days ago) than we are from the Monday night opener against the Eagles (133 days from today).

A look at Day 3 at the draft

In case you missed it

• Grading the Redskins draft
• Tandler’s six pack of Redskins draft observations
• A playmaker’s draft

Days until: OTA’s start 21; Training camp 87; Redskins @ Cowboys 167

Tandler on Twitter

@keithhodges311 Drafted 3 OL last year, 1 year before. All starters under contract through at least through 2014. Why draft one?

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) April 28, 2013

Need to Know: Trading for the sake of trading

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, April 25, 136 days before the Redskins open their season on Monday night against the Eagles.

Be careful when dealing

It is good to learn from your own mistakes. It is better to learn from the mistakes of others.

When the Cowboys were on the clock with the 18^th pick in the draft on Thursday, they faced a situation where there was nobody on the board they particularly wanted to draft. There had been a run on all of the top six offensive linemen, who were gone by the 11^th pick. Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro had gone to the Saints a few picks before the Cowboys went on the clock.

So instead of taking the best available player Jerry Jones did what he has done 15 times in the 20 drafts since he canned Jimmy Johnson and became the teams de facto general manager—he traded the Cowboys’ first-round pick.

Despite the fact that they struck a deal with a team that literally had more draft picks than it could use in the 49ers, Dallas was only able to extract the 12^th pick of the third round, the 74^th overall, for moving back 13 spots. On a night where most trades fell within the parameters of the draft trade value chart, the Cowboys left the equivalent of a fourth-round pick on the table.

Not getting full value for moving back is one thing. But when you do it and end up getting a player like Wisconsin center Travis Frederick, well, you’ve got some explaining to do.

Frederick might turn out to be a solid player but here is all you need to know. There were probably at least a couple of dozen players who were convinced they would go in the first round and didn’t. Frederick, on the other hand, wasn’t expecting his name to be called on Thursday.

“I was little surprised,” he told the Dallas media. “I thought I was going to fit in the second round. But Dallas showed a lot of interest. I definitely know they needed help inside. I think I’m going to fit in pretty well down there.”

The Cowboys do have that additional third-round pick so there still is a chance to get some additional impact out of the deal. But assuming that there still is some explaining to do, it will be Jerry Jones explaining things to Jerry Jones. That conversation is unlikely to be productive.

The lesson the Redskins and other teams can learn or reinforce here is don’t make a deal just for the sake of making a deal. Sometimes even though you might not love the group of players who are available when your turn comes up it is better just to take one of them rather than taking a discounted price for the pick.

A look at draft strategy

In case you missed it

• First round rewind
• Redskins don’t pick a player but have a good first round
• One year ago . . .
• Shanahan glad to have QB position solved
• Who will the Redskins pick at 51?
• A Redskins fan’s guide to the first round

Days until: Rookie minicamp 7; OTA’s 24; Training camp 90

Need to Know: Will RG3 play at less than '100 percent'?

Here is what you need to know on this Thursday, April 24, one day before the Redskins begin to participate in the NFL draft.

When is 100 percent not 100 percent?

After the questions revolving around the draft were exhausted at Mike Shanahan’s press conference on Wednesday the talk turned to, you guessed it, Robert Griffin III and his recovery from knee surgery. While answering a question on the decision to allow him to keep playing against the Seahawks while he was obviously hobbled and what had been learned from that, Shanahan said the following:

“At the end of this year, when we go into next year, one thing we want to make sure of is Robert never plays if he’s not 100 percent, so if he does tell me something, I’m not going to believe him this year compared to last year…That was a joke. That was a joke, I think [laughter]. But anyway, we’ll have fun with that.”

I tweeted out the main part of the quote and the immediate responses were that Griffin wouldn’t play very much if he had to be 100 percent healthy in order to take the field. Even after a few preseason games most players collect bumps, bruises and strains that would cause him to be classified as being less than 100 percent. By the time December rolls around the fortunate ones are at about 80 percent of full capacity.

So, clearly, Shanahan can’t really mean that RG3 will be sidelined if his body suffers some of the normal wear and tear of a football season. Otherwise he’d have to declare Kirk Cousins the starter right now.

So what does it mean? It looks like Shanahan is referring primarily to Griffin’s knee. At the first sign of trouble with that right knee—and probably the left one for that matter—RG3 will be sidelined until the issue is cleared up. It also is safe to assume that the same caution will apply to Griffin’s other vital body parts—his throwing shoulder and elbow, his neck, etc.

Many fans and observers will be skeptical about Shanahan’s words here. It is one thing to say them in spring and another to live by them with the playoffs on the line in winter.

Trade up or down?

In case you missed it

• Breaking down the Redskins draft
• Redskins injury update
• Weighing risk vs. reward in the NFL draft
• RG3 won’t play at less than 100 percent
• CSN final mock draft
• CSN draft board: Safety
• Redskins draft outlook: Defense
• Could a QB on the board spur a trade down?

Days until: Redskins on the clock in NFL draft 1; OTA’s 25; Training camp 91

Need to Know: Could a QB spur a trade down?

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, April 24, one day before the NFL draft.

QB on board the ideal scenario?

Our friends and Pro Football Talk did a post on the Redskins’ draft needs. While there was nothing earth shattering reported, there was an interesting thought dropped in the last paragraph.

Oh, for a team to be in love with a quarterback when the Redskins are on the clock in the second round. Here’s a team that could use another couple picks.

The idea is that a team is more likely to overpay for a pick if there is a quarterback that it wants on the board. The thought of Landry Jones or maybe Matt Barkley sliding down the board to where one of them is there when Washington is on the clock is a good one for the team. The Redskins could move down and score some extra selections, more and/or better picks than it would if there was, say, an offensive tackle a team wanted.

It’s a great scenario but what are the chances of this happening? Not very good.

It doesn’t look like any of the 11 teams drafting behind the Redskins in the second round are in need of a quarterback, or at least not so much in need that they would be willing to overpay to move up and get one. That’s because, like the Redskins, they all are playoff teams and such teams usually have their houses in order at the most important position on the field.

If you want to go a little ways into the third round, the top five teams there are the Chiefs, Jaguars, Lions, Raiders, and Eagles. I think we can eliminate any deal that would give the Eagles their quarterback of the future. Kansas City and Detroit are set. Nobody seems to know what Jacksonville and Oakland are up to at quarterback so they would have to be considered potential candidates to move up for a QB. And both of them do have early fourth-round picks, which are in the top 100, to offer as part of a package.

So there are a couple of possibilities but they could either address QB earlier or not at all. There is always a possibility that one of the teams in the latter part of the second round will trade up and that pick could belong to a quarterback-needy team who will want to deal up. A lot can happen and things just could fall in the Redskins’ favor. But the odds seem to be against it.

What positions are in need?

In case you missed it

• CSN draft board: Cornerback
• Redskins draft outlook: Offense
• The sound of silence from Redskins Park

Days until: NFL draft 1; Rookie minicamp 9; Redskins @ Cowboys 172

Tandler on Twitter

.@burgundyblog Sorry, just can't justify bringing in Honey Badger to a team with 6 drug suspensions in last 16 months. Irresponsible.

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) April 23, 2013

Need to Know: The sound of silence from the Redskins

Here is what you need to know on this Tuesday, April 23, 2 days before the NFL draft.

Crickets

At this time three years ago, it was fairly well known that the Redskins would draft tackle Trent Williams out of Oklahoma with the fourth pick in the draft.

Two years ago, there was plenty of noise coming from the Redskins, including a rumor that they trade up from the 10^th overall spot in order to draft Blaine Gabbert. It was all smoke, of course, as the Redskins bypassed a chance to take Gabbert and traded down instead.

A year ago, there was the loud sound of cheering as the Redskins were set to draft their franchise quarterback in Robert Griffin III.

What are the sounds coming out of Redskins Park this week?

Crickets.

There haven’t been any names floated out there as rising or falling on the Redskins’ draft board. No word of any sleeper picks being tossed around. No talk of trading up or down. There aren’t even any credible lies being leaked out of Ashburn.

This could change tomorrow afternoon, when Mike Shanahan delivers his league mandated pre-draft press conference. Well, I mean the last part could change, the part about lies being disseminated. There is zero chance that Shanahan will veer into the truth at any point.

The big difference between this and previous Shanahan drafts here is that the team doesn’t have a first-round pick. This is largely uncharted water for Shanahan. Only once since 1996 has he not had a first-round pick (2005). Not much credible smoke can be spread around when 50 players wil be out of the draft pool before the Redskins draft.

Who to pick, who to avoid

In case you missed it

• CB Jammer visits the Redskins
• Supply and demand in the draft: Cornerback
• CSN Draft Board: Tight ends
• Bernstine looks to be ready for training camp
• The cost of moving up in the draft

Days until: NFL draft 2; OTA’s start 28; Eagles @ Redskins 139