There’s no denying that the upcoming NFL free agency period will pose a major test for the Washington Redskins.
Despite the fact that the ‘Skins stayed afloat and ended up going 7-9 in the 2018 regular season, their campaign and short-term future took a major hit when quarterback Alex Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury in a loss to the Houston Texans in Week 11.
After all, Smith was in the first season of a four-year, $94 million contract with $71 million guaranteed. There’s no timetable on his return and, based on the severity of the broken leg, there’s no guarantee that the 14-year veteran will ever suit up again.
Regardless, he will account for a $20.4 million cap hit in 2019, 10.7 percent of the entire team’s salary cap, per OverTheCap.com.
With roughly $17.7 million in cap space to work with at the beginning of the free agency period on March 13, Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post recently reported that head coach Jay Gruden could opt to start Colt McCoy or the team could re-sign Josh Johnson to reclaim the starting role to start 2019 if Washington is priced out of the quarterback market.
The projected quarterback free agent class features Nick Foles, Teddy Bridgewater, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh McCown, Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Tyrod Taylor.
College quarterback prospects like Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Ryan Finley, Clayton Thorson, Will Grier and Jarrett Stidham are also in the mix and will all most likely be selected in the 2019 NFL Draft.
There are only arguably three teams with clear starting vacancies at the position heading into 2019 — the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Redskins. Therefore, the weak free agent market won’t make much of an impact on a league-wide basis, but could determine the success of the aforementioned franchises next season and beyond.
While Washington’s short-term ability to sign big-name free agents will clearly be hampered by Smith’s presence, Washington should focus on one name from the above list: Tyrod Taylor.
Part of what made Smith so appealing to the Redskins was his ability to take care of the ball as perhaps the NFL’s most respected game manager. He earned the huge contract following the best campaign of his career in which he threw for 4,042 yards with 26 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017.
For his career, Smith has completed 62.3 percent of his passes with a 1.91 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 87.3 quarterback rating.
Taylor has completed 61.6 percent of his passes with a 2.65 touchdown-to-interception ratio and an 89.6 quarterback rating. His best season came in 2015 when he threw for 3,035 yards, 20 touchdowns and six picks in 14 games with the Buffalo Bills. That’s somewhat relatable to Smith’s 2017 campaign.
Smith’s career features a much larger sample size and can’t be compared to Taylor’s due to the fact that he has played in 166 games within more prolific offenses than Taylor, who spent his 62-game career within the anemic offenses of the Bills and Cleveland Browns. But, they have both proved an ability to limit turnovers and use their legs when the pocket collapses or on designed runs.
Most importantly, Taylor possesses the leadership skills necessary to immediately step in as a starting quarterback.
Despite competing directly with him last preseason, Baker Mayfield sang his praises, per ESPN’s Ryan Isley:
“The work ethic and everything that he brings to the table every day, it is the same every day. You hear [offensive coordinator] Coach [Todd] Haley talking about not being a yo-yo guy and you want to be consistent. Ty really is the example of that. He is the same guy every day. You know exactly what you are going to get out of him. That is important for our guys to see that so that they see the standard. They see the expectations. He lives up to it every day.”
After Taylor suffered a concussion and ended up losing his job to Mayfield in Week 3, he maintained a professional attitude when he could have demanded a trade instead. Making $16 million on a one-year deal might have contributed to his positive attitude in a way, but the veteran decided to take the high road.
Here's what Taylor told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com about losing his job due to injury:
“Frustrating, but it's part of the game at the same time. Eight years in you understand some things happen that you can't control. Not one to complain. Just got to continue to keep being myself day in and day out, continue to be the leader, like I say, help the team in any way. It's a different role, but I'm here to offer as much knowledge as well as just try to share my viewpoint of things that can help the defense or offense.’'
He added, “I can't let my emotions or my energy affect the guys that are around me. I have to be the best teammate I can. I think that's the true test of a leader is how you react in times when things don't go well.”
Since Gruden is seemingly on the hot seat in Washington, the question is whether or not he will feel comfortable starting injury-prone and unproven McCoy or career backup Johnson under center in 2019.
If he doesn’t, Taylor seems like the logical option due to his direct comparison to Smith, who will presumably be out for the foreseeable future.
On the plus side, Taylor will most likely sign for more of a discount than the other free agents on the market, especially if he’s guaranteed the starting job.
The Redskins need to add some talent at other spots like inside linebacker, left guard, cornerback and wideout, but the success of NFL teams usually hinges on the quality of who’s taking snaps under center.
Expect Taylor to be in the Redskins' sights.
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