The Washington Football Team defense has proven itself as one of the better units in the NFL. Fans and analysts nationwide are beginning to take notice of Washington as a team on the rise. Most notably, ESPN’s Domonique Foxworth believes the team’s Super Bowl window opens next season.
Personally, I am not as optimistic, but this is a team on the rise that’s just a few pieces away from becoming a legitimate force in the NFC. Only issue is that one of those pieces is a quarterback, which happens to be the most important position for a team’s success.
Washington thought they had their quarterback of the future after drafting Dwayne Haskins Jr., the Heisman finalist out of Ohio State, with the 15th overall pick in the 2019. After nearly two seasons, it is evident that Haskins is not the answer. Maybe his career can be salvaged elsewhere, but with the trajectory this team is on, Haskins would hold the team back if he remains as starter in 2021.
He cannot reliably throw the ball more than five yards down the field, and he has a tendency to force throws leading to costly interceptions. The offense is powerless with Haskins under center, and it does not look like that will change next season.
The other incumbents under center are Kyle Allen, who was also underwhelming and will be coming off a season-ending ankle injury, and Alex Smith who, despite being 36 years old and coming off a life-altering leg injury (understatement of the year), was the most functional option as the signal caller.
None of the options above are the long term solution, and frankly I don’t want Allen back in the building for 2021, and I wouldn’t hate if Haskins was gone as well. I certainly don’t want him to enter 2021 as the starter. The question is who can come in as a competent replacement?
A big reason why Washington is in a prime opportunity to make noise over the next three to four years is the number of high-impact players on low-paying contracts. Star wideout Terry McLaurin and edge rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young are on rookie deals, as is breakout running back Antonio Gibson.
Recent offseason signings Kendall Fuller, Logan Thomas and JD McKissic have proven to be great fits at their respective positions, and all for bargain price tags. With so many players outperforming their contract value, Washington has to take advantage before most of these guys will be in need of new contracts.
In order to do so, they need a new quarterback. Smith won’t “win” games at this point in his career, but at least he won’t lose them, which cannot be said about Haskins or Allen. Washington needs a bona fide stud who can lead the offense competently and win football games.
We can’t afford to let Haskins take two more years to develop into a starter-level quarterback; this team should enter 2021 in win-now mode. So how can the position be addressed?
2021 Draft Class
The draft is the first answer. There will be plenty of signal callers up for grabs in the first round alone, but the question is whether any of them will be ready to step in right away and lead this team. Washington has a rough history when it comes to developing quarterbacks, and it is difficult for rookies to become winners right away.
Ben Roethlisberger and Russell Wilson won Super Bowls in their second NFL season, and Carson Wentz was an MVP candidate during his second season in 2017 (before the Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl without him). It can be done, but the odds of that happening, especially with this group of prospects, is slim.
Trevor Lawrence looks like the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck, but he’s going first overall no matter what. We don’t know what pick Washington will have just yet, but it will likely be outside the top 10, which limits the quarterbacks available to them at that point.
BYU’s Zach Wilson, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Alabama’s Mac Jones could all be first-round picks, but they all hold their own question marks and don’t have the potential anywhere close to Lawrence. Taking a chance and missing on any one of these 2021 passers will destroy any potential of this team accomplishing anything in the near future.
So if not a draft pick, then who can they target?
There are four veteran passers that could really take this team to the next level, but I’m not confident in any of their availability for next year.
Matthew Stafford
The longtime Lions quarterback has been among the NFL’s most underrated passers for years now, primarily because Detroit has not achieved any success in his time there. Still, Stafford has incredible arm talent and is proven in the clutch; his 31 fourth quarter comeback wins are fourth-most among active quarterbacks. The three players ahead of him — Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Roethlisberger — each entered the league at least five years before Stafford did (and the former two came nearly 10 years before.)
Stafford is also notable for his durability. He’s played through countless injuries through his career, and he’s even playing through broken rib cartilage right now. Granted, all that wear and tear could catch up to him, but he is without a doubt a great player that has been failed by the Lions organization.
He has two more years on his contract after this season, but there is an out that the Lions could take advantage of if they feel it’s time to move on. If Detroit does cut ties with the former No. 1 overall pick, Washington should try hard to go after him.
The biggest concern around Stafford is his injury history, as mentioned. He will be 33 in February and all the hits he’s taken over the years could come back to bite him. He should continue to be effective even through his mid-30s, but if he starts to decline, it will be a major detriment. There would be some risk to his signing, especially given the potential cap hit, but he would be a much better option than anyone currently in the building.
Matt Ryan
The former MVP is a less enticing option that likely won’t be available anyway. There has been chatter in Atlanta that the Falcons may try to move on from their franchise quarterback this offseason, but that’s far from guaranteed.
The Falcons have let so many near-wins pass them by despite great offensive talent. There will be a new coach and general manager next year, so the organization may decide to blow it up and start over. If that’s the case, Ryan will be available for trade, and for not as high a price as one would expect for a former MVP.
Ryan has three years left under contract, but his cap hit leaps from a modest $19 million in 2020 to nearly $41 million in 2021. Washington will have plenty of cap space entering 2021, but do you really use up that much space for a declining quarterback who will be 36 at the start of next season? He certainly fits the bill of an experienced veteran with winning experience, but to give up assets for an aging quarterback with a massive contract that could turn ugly is not the smart move.
If Washington truly wants to capitalize on this youth movement, they can try with Ryan, but I don’t see it as the best option on the table.
Dak Prescott
This would be an odd one, and I don’t see it coming to fruition because all signs point to Prescott agreeing to a mega deal with Dallas, but if for some reason Jerry Jones does not want to pony up major money, Prescott should certainly be on Washington’s radar.
Call it bias, but I think Prescott is overrated. That is not to say he isn’t a good starting quarterback and wouldn’t dramatically improve Washington immediately — he is and he would — but for the money he’s about to make, I just don’t love the investment.
Prescott is poised and can win games; that alone is attractive enough for Washington, but I have long maintained that the Cowboys have only sustained “success” with Prescott because his minimal salary allows them to spend big elsewhere. That’s a valid recipe for winning in the NFL, but if you hand Prescott $40+ million of cap space and have to cut back on spending everywhere else, then I don’t think it will work out as well.
Prescott has gotten better, and we can see how much the Cowboys miss him now that he’s out for the year, but I don’t see him as a quarterback on the same level as Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and others that can still lead their teams to victory and contend for Super Bowls despite taking up so much cap room.
Even discarding this season when Prescott got injured, the Cowboys have gone 13-3, 9-7, 10-6 and 8-8 in Prescott’s career. That’s good, winning football, but it helps when the most important position on the field was earning less than a million dollars in his first three seasons and just over $2 million last year. Turn that into $40 million, and you’ll have to get real creative with spending in order to maintain “success”.
I put “success” in quotes because when it comes to the Cowboys in the Prescott era, I’m not sure how much that word really applies. In any case, the fact Washington is paying most of its best players on smaller deals perhaps makes a Prescott signing easier to stomach, but I would still hesitate to pay him over $40 million a year. $30-35 million? It’s a home run, but that extra $5-10+ million in cap space will go a long way toward re-signing the young players once their contracts are up.
Of all the options both in free agency and the draft, Prescott is clearly the best option, but is he truly good enough to turn Washington into a perennially winning team? At his projected price tag, I’m not so convinced.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it may not matter. Dallas seems likely to bring him back, and even if they don’t, who knows if Prescott would even want to play in Washington after these past five years in Dallas?
Although, if Washington offered him the most money, it would be a prime spot to get back at Dallas for not giving him the contract he wanted. I’m not holding out hope for this one, and I’d have mixed feelings about it anyway.
Deshaun Watson
Now if Prescott to Washington is unlikely, then Watson to Washington is impossible, but humor me here and follow along with what would be the clear best-case scenario for the future of Washington’s quarterback situation.
First looking at Watson himself: He is just 25 years old and is established as one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league. He is under contract until 2026, and his four-year, $156 million extension does not kick in until 2022. He has a winning pedigree, with a national championship under his belt from his time at Clemson, and he would instantly turn Washington into a Super Bowl contender.
But there isn’t anyway Houston lets him go anytime soon.
Bearing in mind that this is all a pipe dream, here is the four-step scenario in which Watson ends up in Washington.
Step 1: Houston hires Louis Riddick as their new GM
Riddick is a prominent figure in the NFL world on ESPN. He has been an analyst on plenty of TV shows and now makes up one-third of the new Monday Night Football booth that seems to change every year.
Riddick played safety back in the 1990s and spent the early 2000s in the front office of multiple teams, including Washington from 2001-2004, serving as a scout and director of pro personnel.
Riddick is reportedly interviewing for the vacant GM positions with the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans:
Riddick has been very open in his support of Haskins, predicting over the summer that he would have a “monstrous” 2020 season, and has blamed Washington’s ineptitude as an organization for his struggles.
Riddick can even be spotted in Haskins’ Instagram comment section, hyping the quarterback up:
It’s obvious Riddick is a big believer in Haskins and, if he takes the reins in Houston, may be interested in bringing him to Houston. More on that later.
Step 2: Houston lets Will Fuller V walk in free agency (perhaps signing with Washington…?)
Houston is a sinking ship. They are currently 4-10 this season and are poised to have a top 10 draft pick that they can’t even use because it belongs to the Miami Dolphins. The pick was sent in the trade that landed the Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. Tunsil is now making an absurd $22 million per year because Houston gave up so much for him in the trade, but did not address his expiring contract until the offseason when Tunsil had all the leverage.
The Texans also traded away consensus top five receiver and Watson’s favorite target, Deandre Hopkins, for a declining David Johnson and two draft picks, neither first-rounders. Coach/GM Bill O’Brien, the brains(?) behind the operation, is gone, but the repercussions of those moves are long lasting.
The Texans do not have a first- or second-round pick this year and could lose out on Watson’s new favorite target, Fuller, in free agency. Fuller was a potential trade piece during the recent trade deadline, but nothing materialized. Watson said “it would have been hell,” if the Texans traded Fuller away. If Fuller departs in free agency, it’s pretty clear Watson will not just be unsatisfied with the direction of the franchise, but openly against it.
If Washington, who could use more receiving talent, decides to bring Fuller in as a strong deep threat opposite McLaurin, that not only improves Washington’s offense significantly but makes it an even more attractive spot if…
Step 3: Deshaun Watson demands a trade
If the Texans don’t bring back Fuller and essentially leave Watson stranded, then it isn’t a stretch to assume Watson would demand a trade. Given that possibility, Fuller should be a major priority for Houston. If for some reason he isn’t, that could be the final straw for Watson.
Since Watson is under team control for five more years, Houston would not necessarily be leveraged to make a trade, but if Watson truly wants out, he would have plenty of suitors, and Washington could certainly throw its hat in the ring.
If Houston parts ways with Watson this offseason, they’d be in full rebuild mode without their top two picks in 2021. If Riddick is in the front office and needs to make a move, he may try to land a favorite quarterback of his to try and rebuild around.
Step 4: Washington trades Dwayne Haskins Jr., one or two more player(s) and a handful of draft picks to Houston in exchange for Deshaun Watson
With a young, improving defense, a handful of playmakers in McLaurin, Thomas Gibson and McKissic (plus Fuller, potentially) with a ton of cap space, Washington would be an attractive destination for Watson.
To clarify, Haskins would not be the headliner on Washington’s end. Washington would have to send first- and second-round picks from 2021 and 2022 and probably several other picks plus a player or two in order to land Watson’s services.
That is a hefty price tag, but it’s one I would pay to get Watson. If Foxworth is correct and the Super Bowl window opens in 2021, then Washington needs to land a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback, and Watson is one of the handful of quarterbacks who fit that bill in my eyes.
In this deal, Washington gets their quarterback and enters championship mode, while Houston gets a bevy of picks to make up for the Tunsil deal plus a project quarterback that has the support of the GM.
There is no way this will ever happen, so I don’t know why I waste my own time entertaining these hypotheticals, but this would without a doubt be the best outcome.
In reality, this offseason will have major implications for the next few seasons, and an improvement from Haskins isn’t just ideal if this team wants to make a serious step forward. It’s imperative.
Cover Photo Credit: Nick Wass/Associated Press
The Wildcard 