Redskins Free Agency Rumors: Looking into Jarvis Landry, Paul Richardson, Lamarcus Joyner, Allen Robinson, and more

The rumor mill has been going for a few weeks with little stories floating around(Redskins moving on from an unhappy Josh Norman, Su’a Cravens for Martavis Bryant?), but the real offseason juice starts flowing at the NFL Combine which just wrapped up yesterday. This is the event that sees media, coaches, GMs, and agents converge to talk shop, make deals, and tamper with other teams free agents before the legal tampering starts on March 12th.

The big name this weekend was soon-to-be former Redskins QB Kirk Cousins, and where he will end up and how much money he will command. He is a big domino for this offseason for a lot of teams and the draft, and barring an unexpected franchise tag by today’s 4pm deadline, he will be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. The Redskins moved on by making a trade for QB Alex Smith that sent CB Kendall Fuller, and the team’s 3rd round pick this year to the Kansas City Chiefs. A big focus on the rumors about potential free agents for the Redskins to sign is on the WR position which needs to be upgraded.

WR Jarvis Landry

One of the big names that was set to hit the market was Miami Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry before he was slapped with the franchise tag($15.98m). The Dolphins have Landry on the trade block, and Ben Standig from The Sports Capitol reports that the Redskins wanted to know the cost for a trade. This one is pretty unlikely to happen, but Washington knows it needs a lot of improvement at WR this year.

The Redskins inquired about Dolphins wide receiver and $16 million man for 2018 Jarvis Landry this week per a league source close to the situation.

WR Paul Richardson

Another WR that pops up in the same Combine report from Standig(and others) is soon to be former Seahawks WR Paul Richardson.

Washington is, per league source, monitoring the free agent momentum for Seattle’s Paul Richardson, an underrated route-runner with impressive speed. Richardson’s basic stats (44-703-6) last season were depressed in part because of the haphazard passing game in Seattle.

This is a name that has been thrown around a lot by Redskins fans and analysts a potential FA target for Washington. Jay Gruden would obviously like to get some speed at the position, and Richardson could provide that. The Redskins are moving on from the failed Terrelle Pryor Sr. experiment, and could also lose Ryan Grant in free agency after he had his best season with the team. Josh Doctson showed promise and inconsistency in his first full year playing for the team, while Jamison Crowder lost use of his hands at crucial times this year.

WR Allen Robinson

Another WR that the Redskins will reportedly be in on is Allen Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was widely expected that he would be either re-signed or franchised by the team, but he is coming off of a lost season due to an ACL injury, and Jacksonville doesn’t look like they are going to commit to him. JP Finley and John Keim have both reported the Redskins have Robinson as a target if he becomes a free agent.

WR Taylor Gabriel

Finley also mentions Taylor Gabriel as another potential speedy target for the Redskins.

S Lamarcus Joyner/WR Sammy Watkins

The Rams are expected to franchise either Joyner or Watkins. Most reports have them leaning towards Joyner, which would free up Watkins as another potential option at WR. If the Rams let Joyner hit the market, Finley says the Redskins really like him, and he could be a target.

DL Beau Allen

A name Finley throws out on the defensive line is Allen, who was a rotational piece for the Eagles Super Bowl Championship DL last season. The Eagles are expected to lose Allen in free agency, and he shouldn’t be too overpriced.

NFL teams were officially notified that the salary cap was officially set at $177.2 million for the 2018 season yesterday. The Redskins currently have $47.7 million in cap space before the league year starts on March 14th according to overthecap. This does not include the contract for Alex Smith which, as it currently stands, will count for $17 million this season. The Redskins also get $650k back from Fuller’s contract.

With rookie contracts, and possible added money for a Smith signing bonus this year, the Redskins should have around $24-28 million to spend this offseason. They will have many holes to fill due to some of their own free agents leaving, and will likely use some cap space to re-sign a few key players. The Redskins haven’t splashed in FA since Josh Norman, and don’t really have the money to go all in on a top guy if they want to fill a lot of the other holes unless they do some work on their cap with cuts, restructures, or extensions.