Skins May Sit Out 1st Day of Free Agency
posted 9:33 pm Thu February 28, 2008 - Washington
What's that? The owner won't be on the phone at 12:01 a.m. Friday - when the NFL's open market begins - coaxing a player with a big contract? With a plane already en route to pick him up?
"I think the first few days of free agency, the money's going to be crazy," executive vice president for football operations Vinny Cerrato said Thursday. "We've evaluated everything, and I don't see us doing much."
Snyder's aggressive free agency approach has become a rite of winter since he bought the team in 1999. Some years the Redskins have dominated the market with signings and trades, such as the four-day span in 2004 when some $50 million in bonuses were dished out to six new players.Even when there's been a more measured approach, Snyder was quick to move. London Fletcher and Fred Smoot were relatively modest signings last year, but they were both inked within the first 48 hours.
Now comes the totally new watch & wait approach, and there are plenty of reasons behind it:
- With many teams re-signing and franchising their own players, the market is thinner. The players that are available will command high prices from teams that have a lot of room under the salary cap.
"You're going to see some contracts where you're going to go, 'Wow!"' Cerrato said.
- The Redskins were a playoff team last season and therefore don't need an overhaul. Cornerback is a priority because Carlos Rogers is recovering from a knee injury. A third receiver, preferably one with size, is needed for new coach Jim Zorn's West Coast offense. And, like just about every team, the Redskins could use some depth along both the offensive and defensive lines.
Many of those needs, Cerrato said, can be filled after the initial wave of big-name signings is done.
- The Redskins don't have a ton of cap space, although that hasn't been much of a barrier in the past because of their creativity in negotiating contracts. The team was considerably over the cap at the end of the season, but the front office took care of that problem by reworking the deals of Randy Thomas, Chris Cooley, Antwaan Randle El, Andre Carter, Jon Jansen, Chris Samuels and Santana Moss.
- The Redskins aren't going to lose a starter to free agency. Everyone on the roster who would be expected to start next season is already under contract. The team is interested in re-signing kick returner Rock Cartwright and quarterback Todd Collins - who would back up Jason Campbell - but both are going to test the market first.
- Snyder and Co. have learned that going overboard in free agency doesn't automatically yield positive results. While some of the splashy acquisitions have worked out well (Fletcher, Smoot, Clinton Portis, Cornelius Griffin, Phillip Daniels, Shawn Springs, to name a few), there have also been spectacular money-wasting flops (Adam Archuleta, Brandon Lloyd, Deion Sanders).
"The biggest thing we've learned, whether it be free agency or trade, is that the guy needs to play out his whole contract and burn off the whole thing," Cerrato said. "To get a guy and pay him a ton of money and he plays only one year, that doesn't make any sense."
Because of the supply and demand of the free agent market, the Redskins could seek the players they need through trades. Also, the team is expected to put more emphasis on the draft, which became an afterthought for a few years as picks were freely traded for players such as Lloyd and T.J. Duckett.
This will be the first Redskins free agency for rookie head coach Zorn, whose life has been a whirlwind since he was hired Feb. 9. He's had to hire assistant coaches, meet with players, start designing a playbook and attend the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. His predecessor, Joe Gibbs, also served as team president and was heavily involved in the free agency decisions, but Zorn is still finding his footing.
"He's very busy," Cerrato said. "It's probably a good year for him to come in - because we're not going to be active in free agency here early."
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