Free safety Bobby McCain is reportedly being released by the Dolphins; should WFT try to sign him?

Adam Schefter reports that the Dolphins are making another roster move.

McCain, drafted in 2015, signed a 4-year extension with the Dolphins in 2018. He was due to earn $6.4m in 2021 and $7.0m in 2022. When he is released by Miami, he will be immediately able to sign with any NFL team. At this point in the offseason, many clubs are limited on cap space. OverTheCap currently lists Washington as one of only 11 teams with at least $16m in available cap space for 2021. McCain is likely to find limited opportunities at this point for a big contract, and is likely to seek out an opportunity to either get significant playing time or to join a high quality roster with playoff opportunities.

Washington may be able to provide both of those things.

Prior to the draft, Washington (re)acquired RG Ereck Flowers from the Dolphins in a pick swap that included Miami eating $6m of Flowers’ scheduled $9m cap hit for 2021.

Ron Rivera said earlier this week that the team is seeking to add four more veterans to the roster. Yesterday, the team announced the signings of a tight end and a cornerback.

Now, there’s an opportunity to strengthen a position of need for free by signing McCain to a contract.

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

McCain played 923 defensive snaps in 2020, with 717 of them coming at free safety, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s no Pro Bowler, but is a competent veteran safety. PFF gave him an overall defensive grade of 62.1 last season, which ranks 48th among all safeties with a minimum of 400 snaps. In other words, McCain graded out among the top 64 safeties in the league, which indicates that he is a starter-quality player at the position.

Neither Deshazor Everett nor Jeremy Reaves played over 400 defensive snaps last year, but the two primary free safeties for the latter part of the Washington season were both graded by PFF. Everett received a grade of 61.9 on 357 snaps, while Reaves got a grade of 81.2 on 263 snaps.

McCain is 27 years old, and was selected in the 5th round of the 2015 draft. He is listed at 5’11” and 192 pounds.