The Redskins in Free Agency: A Middling Success

Native Haitian and former Colt Pierre Garcon heads the Redskins' free agent class

In the second of a series of looks at each team's offseason moves, we at the Backup Quarterback Blog profile the Washington Redskins.  (Check out our first installment on the Bills, as well as our methodology, here.)  The Redskins made the most headlines for mortgaging the future to trade up for Robert Griffin III, whom they selected second overall in this year's draft.  Aside from draft picks and undrafted free agents, the Skins lost and/or released 12 players and signed 13.   As we delve into the details below, there's reason for mild optimism inside the Beltway.

The 12 players the Redskins released or lost in free agency:

	Player	Value	Position	New Team
1	Jabar Gaffney	41	WR	Patriots
2	OJ Atogwe	36	DB	Free Agent
3	Rocky McIntosh	34	LB	Free Agent
4	LaRon Landry	26	DB	Jets
5	Sean Locklear	22	OL	Giants
6	Mike Sellers	12	RB	Free Agent
7	Phillip Buchanon	9	DB	Free Agent
8	Donte’ Stallworth	8	WR	Patriots
9	John Beck	6	QB	Texans
10	Byron Westbrook	6	DB	Free Agent
11	Michael Hamiln	0	DB	Free Agent
12	Eric Olsen	0	OL	Saints
Total		200

And the 13 free agents they signed to replace them:

	Player	Value	Position	Old Team
1	Pierre Garcon	46	WR	Colts
2	Brandon Meriweather	28	DB	Bears
3	Madieu Williams	22	DB	Niners
4	Josh Morgan	21	WR	Niners
5	Cedric Griffin	21	DB	Vikings
6	Tanard Jackson	19	DB	Bucs
7	Jonathan Goff	16	LB	Giants
8	James Lee	10	OL	Bucs
9	Bryan Kehl	8	LB	Rams
10	Leigh Torrence	5	DB	Saints
11	Chris Wilson	4	DE	Redskins
12	Neil Rackers	0	K	Texans
13	Nevin McCaskill	0	OL	Jets
Total		200

Our observations:

1. By the numbers, it's a wash: On a purely numerical basis, the Redskins offseason moves left them exactly where they started; they lost 200 points of value and gained 200 back.  Their most significant losses (i.e. value > 35) were at 2 positions: WR, DB, LB.

2. Garcon an upgrade over Gaffney at WR: The Skins replaced Gaffney (41), the 5th-most valuable member of last year's team and the most valuable member of the offense, with Garcon (46), who now holds the latter title and is the 4th-most valuable player on the roster (behind London Fletcher (68), DeAngelo Hall (57), and Brian Orakpo (48)).  Garcon started all 16 games last year and finished just shy of 1,000 total yards despite catching passes from Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter.  Garcon is entering his 5th year in the league (Gaffney has already played for 10) and looks to be a big weapon for for a team trying to boost its passing attack, which ranked 22nd in the NFL last year.  In reality, between Gaffney, Santana Moss (33), Josh Morgan (21), and Anthony Armstrong (13, with flashes of greatness in 2010), the Skins suddenly have a formidable WR corps.

3. More Quantity than Quantity at DB, but it should be enough: The release of OJ Atogwe and LaRon Landry left a hole at DB for the Skins, specifically at safety.  Though neither started full seasons last year, both were among the most valuable players on the roster.  To compensate, the Skins signed 5 -- FIVE! -- DBs in free agency.  Only Brandon Meriweather (28) has value higher than one of the two released DBs (Landry, 26).  But Meriweather, along with the other 4 DBs the Skins signed and, returning starting CBs DeAngelo Hall (57) and Josh Wilson (37), and "next-man-up" starters Reed Doughty (30) and DeJon Gomes (9), may bolster the DB corps on a team with an already-strong front 7.

Hey Coach Shanahan!  Need another DB?  I hear Deion's available.

4. McIntosh and Locklear -- bigger losses on paper than in real life: Rocky McIntosh and Sean Locklear's value is more a function of their performance the past 2 season than last year.  McIntosh lost his starting job halfway through the season and Locklear, once regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in the game, started only 4 games last year.

Our research did reveal that Locklear was non-plussed with Mike Shanahan's exit interviews last year, as well as the fact that his middle name his Hillary and his nickname is "Cornbread."  Fans of his new team, the Giants, should have fun with that this season.

The Redskins were a 5-win team last year, but were closer to a 6-win team according to the "expected win" formula.  Their moves in free agency seem -- for once -- not to be ones that make or break a team.  They had some holes and they seem to have filled them.  So Washington's success will likely be dictated by Robert Griffin III -- if he can go the way of Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Andy Dalton, the Redskins could surprise this year.  If he performs like most rookie QBs, there's no reason to expect much improvement (or regression) out of Washington in 2012.

Think we're crazy?  Think we're brilliant?  Tell us in the comments!

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