D.J. Johnson (pictured above) was the first up to the chopping block this offseason and there will be many more to come. I kind of expected a guy like him to be one of the first to go. Who wouldn't expect it? The Redskins signed him to the practice squad mid-season then moved him up to the active roster after nickel corner Cedric Griffin was suspended for PED's. He didn't really make a huge impact for the team so I could see this coming easily.
There are many other players just like Johnson that are still on the roster that I expect will be cut soon, also. I'm sure that everyone is aware of the injuries that the team had to endure this season. We needed to fill some holes during the season and now since we will be getting those players back, there isn't much need for the other players who haven't made much of a difference anyways. Below I will give a list of players that I think will experience a similar outcome to Johnson's.
Keiland Williams - Running Back - 5'11" - 230 lbs. - 26 Years Old - Keiland Williams is a name that is probably more familiar than others on this list. He spent a year with the Redskins in 2010. We released him and then he spent some time with the Detroit Lions. Now he is back and likely on his way out again. He only had 2 attempts for 3 yards this season. It is fair to say that we didn't give him that much playing time, though. However, Williams was pretty productive in his first stint with the Redskins. He has shown that, given some playing time, can produce at a pretty good rate. In 2010 he rushed for 261 yards with 65 attempts averaging 4 yards per carry. Those numbers are okay and that was in his rookie season. He could probably get better given the chance but he sure wont be starting in Washington anytime soon. That job belongs to Alfred Morris. I would still take Roy Helu and Evan Royster over Williams, though. If Helu's foot injury doesn't heal then we could probably end up seeing Williams again next season. However, if Shanahan is confident that his foot will heal then Williams will be gone again.
Doug Worthington - Defensive End - 6'5" - 311 lbs. - 25 Years Old - Worthington really didn't see the field too much this year having only played in 6 games. He didn't make much of an impact either. He made a whopping total of 2 tackles and 1 pass deflection. He played a back-up role for Jarvis Jenkins this year and he will likely be gone next year. Unless the Redskins make the decision to cut our starting Left End Adam Carriker to save money. That would allow Worthington the possibility to stay on the roster to play back-up. He is still young and he's got good size so who knows? I think it is possible that Worthington could be back on the roster next year but it is more likely that he is gone.
Roddrick Muckelroy - Inside Linebacker - 6'2" - 250 lbs. - 26 Years Old - This guy will most likely be gone. I don't see any reason in keeping him on the roster. He only made 1 tackle for us since we signed him mid-season. I believe we will pick up a some Linebackers in the draft to develop and Muckelroy just hasn't proven to be productive. Maybe if he is given some more time during a season he could produce but I don't think it will be happening here.
Vic So'oto - Inside Linebacker - 6'3" - 263 lbs. - 25 Years Old - We signed So'oto mid-season just for depth purposes. He has been in Green Bay and Oakland. He only has 8 career tackles and 1 sack. I don't think we will end up keeping him but anything is possible. He is a young guy that probably hasn't reached his full potential because he hasn't gotten the opportunity. There really isn't too much to go by so I can only say that he will stay if Shanahan likes what he sees with him but I don't really think he will be staying in Washington much longer.
Jerome Murphy - Cornerback - 6'0" - 200 lbs. - 26 Years Old - There is a little bit more to go with when you talk about Jerome Murphy. He is currently second on the depth chart behind DeAngelo Hall. I don't think he will ever be starting for us but he could be a good back-up. He had been with the St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, and the Detroit Lions before coming to Washington. He was given a lot more playing time with the St. Louis Rams in his rookie season. He played 14 games in 2010 and made 30 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, and 3 pass deflections. That was the last time that he ever got a significant amount of playing time. Ever since then he hasn't been with a team long enough to show them what he's got. It all depends on what the Redskins plan on doing in the Draft. I think it would actually be a good decision to keep Murphy around to see what he can do at a larger scale. Then again it is very possibly that the Redskins decide to part ways with the Corner like his 3 previous teams.
Reed Doughty - Strong Safety - 6'1" - 206 lbs. - 30 Years Old - I have a feeling that Reed Doughty could be on his way out this year. I loved the way he came in and started for us this year and he has been with us ever since 2006 but I think this is the year. He is definitely a tackling machine but other than that he doesn't do much to separate himself from Dejon Gomes. Doughty had to take the starting role after Brandon Meriweather injured his knee this season. He made 69 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 pass deflection. Doughty is due a little bit over 1 Million next year so the Redskins will save some money if they release him. I don't want to see Doughty go but I just have the feeling that this is his last year with the Redskins.
Brandon Meriweather - Strong Safety - 5'11" - 197 lbs. - 29 Years Old - I don't believe the Redskins will choose to keep Meriweather because of his injury problems this past season. He only played in one game this season. He did prove to make a difference in the defense but he has to actually get on the field more than half a game to be a starter. He is due over 2 Million dollars next year. The Redskins wont be getting too much money but I don't think they want to be paying him that much money to just get injured next year. I think the Redskins will Draft a couple of Safeties in the high and middle rounds and they will be cheaper than Meriweather. We will still have Dejon Gomes and he has done a pretty nice job filling in during his time with Washington. Meriweather could probably go either way. It's a fifty-fifty chance. I think we will end up releasing him in the end.
Jordan Pugh - Free Safety - 5'11" - 210 lbs. - 25 years Old - Jordan Pugh has been a pretty good back-up this year for the Washington Redskins. He made 19 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass deflection. I think it would actually be a good idea to keep Pugh around because we don't want to get rid of too many Safeties. Pugh isn't going to hurt our cap room, either. So I think it would be a good idea to keep him around as a back-up.
Santana Moss - Wide Receiver - 5'10" - 189 lbs. - 33 Years Old - I would love to see Moss on the roster again next season but for some reason I feel like he will be gone. There are plenty of signs pointing to Moss' release. He is 33 years old for one. Ever since Mike Shanahan became the Head Coach he has worked towards turning the Redskins into a younger team. Moss was a great relief to have this season in the absence of Pierre Garcon. I think RG3 really liked to throw to him because Moss is a very reliable pass catcher. On top of that, Moss is due 4.15 Million dollars in 2013 and that seems like a little too much for the role that he plays in the offense now. Do not get me wrong, I think Moss is an amazing receiver and has been great his whole career. It just wouldn't surprise me if the Redskins decide to release him to gain some of that money back to put it towards someone else. They might just end up restructuring Moss. That seems like the most logical thing to do. He will want to retire a Redskin after all the years that he has spent with us and it would be great if we would give him one more go-around.
DeAngelo Hall - Cornerback - 5'10" - 193 lbs. - 29 Years Old - I'm sure a lot of people were expecting this. Hall is looking at 7.5 million dollars in 2013. Not going to happen. I don't know what will happen with Hall. The way I see it there are three possibilities. We can restructure him down to about 3 million. I think that is a fair amount of pay considering the way he has been playing. Hall is a pretty good Corner but he isn't good enough to be receiving 7.5 million dollars. Restructuring him would be nice because we already know we have a good starting corner in him and we wouldn't have to take a risk on anyone else. The second option is possibly trading him. I know I sound crazy for this. Who would want DeAngelo Hall, right? Well he is and experienced, fiery corner with an attitude. He has talent though and its likely that some teams would be interested in him. It wouldn't be a bad idea to shop him around to see what we can get. I would think that we could at least get a 2nd or 3rd round pick for him. His stats have been pretty impressive this year, also. He made 95 tackles, 4 interceptions, 14 pass deflections, and even got his first career sack. There are some teams that would probably be willing to trade away a 2nd or 3rd for him. I would even be happy with getting a 3rd round pick for him because we would be able to draft a quality corner with another top-100 pick. The last option is just cutting him and saving all the money and trying to replace him. We might be able to pick up another Corner in Free Agency with the money saved. One thing is for sure, cutting Hall would put the Redskins in a much better financial situation in the Offseason.
Adam Carriker - Defensive End - 6'6" - 305 lbs. - 28 Years Old - I am really not too sure about Adam Carriker right now. He went down in the Week 2 in 2012 and was placed on injured reserve for the season. He is supposed to be making 3.7 million dollars in base salary next year and I don't know if that is worth it. In 2011 he played the full season and recorded 34 tackles and 4 sacks. Will he be able to come back in 2013 and be even more productive? He does play a part in a great front seven defense. When he comes back he will be playing alongside Barry Cofield, Ryan Kerrigan, Stephen Bowen, Brian Orakpo, London Fletcher (most likely), and Perry Riley. That is a pretty scary front seven if you ask me. I think they will completely dominate offensive lines next season. I think he will be worth that 3.7 million dollars. It is still possible that the Redskins cut him and have Jarvis Jenkins replace him, though. Jenkins filled in the starting role this season and did a pretty good job so it wouldn't surprise me if they did end up cutting Carriker.
Joshua Morgan - Wide Receiver - 6'1" - 220 lbs. - 27 Years Old - I would be really upset if the Redskins cut Morgan this Offseason. I am only including him in this article because I have been seeing his name on every single cut list and I wanted to voice my opinion. A lot of people do not see it, but Morgan does most of the dirty work in this offense. He is a superb blocker downfield and has pretty sure hands, too. He is a big, physical receiver and I just don't see the Redskins letting him go.
He caught 48 passes for 510 yards and 2 touchdowns this season. He isn't too flashy and he doesn't have all the moves but he has just about everything you could want in a receiver. He is due 3.8 million dollars in base salary in 2013 but I think he can be a solid number two receiver for at least three more years. We shouldn't just let him slip through our fingers, he is a great player who really contributes to this team.
Jammal Brown - Tackle - 6'6" - 317 lbs. - 31 Years Old - He has barely seen the field because of a hip injury that just will not go away. The Redskins have to release him now. There is just no point in keeping him on the team if he is always on the physically unable to perform list. He is due 3.5 million dollars in base salary next year. They need to make the move now.
Well there you have it. I think these will all be big decisions that the Redskins have to make this Offseason. They are definitely going to have to cut, restructure, or both to make room for Free Agents and rookie signings. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas for this Offseason! Thanks for reading!
