With the heavy focus of Redskins' free agent attention on London Fletcher Rex Grossman and Laron Landry, one key guy that has been over-looked is Tim Hightower. Immediately after the trade with Arizona, Redskins fans were instantly juiced to see Hightower run. Personally, (like everyone) I had become numb to all of Clinton Portis' "fall forwards" when the 1-in-a-million holes opened up. Sadly, Hightower tore his ACL and the Redskins pass-protection and running game seemed to have met the knife too.
Of course, rookies Roy Helu and Evan Royster stepped up admirably, but it's clear they are not the final solution. Here's where we are with Hightower:
- Last season he had a 1-year, $1.2 million contract.
- Earlier this week, Hightower was CRYSTAL clear he wants to stay in D.C. (He was born in Alexandria, VA and went to University of Richmond).
- In 2011, averaged a modest 3.8 yards per carry. He never broke 100, but Skins were 3-2 including the game he went down in.
Personally, I think it will be a low offer for low years. Somewhere in the range of $2mil a year for 2 years. The Redskins have too many bargaining chips on the table with Helu, Royster, and the next RB they plan to draft to risk getting stuck with a salary hit for 2013 if for some reason Hightower doesn't return to his original form.