Grade the FA signings

[naptownskinsfan]

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick: One year, $10 million 

CB William Jackson: Three years, $40.5 million ($26m guaranteed) 

WR Curtis Samuel: Three years, $34.5 million (unknown guaranteed money) 

OG/C Tyler Larsen: One year, veteran's minimum 

LB David Mayo: unknown terms)

[Slappy Mc]

All we need is a TE signing and we covered all the bases. 

 

Seriously Mayo is not starting material. So hopefully we can bring in someone via the draft (Parsons! or Collins) or trade (Mosley?) for our MLB position. 

 

Considering what we did in FA last year and where we were at the start of FA I give us a solid B. 

If we could somehow manage to get Scherff signed long term it would be an A FA period. 

[taylor made]

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick - I was pretty upset when they first signed him, but I understand why. I doubt there's gonna be any competition. He's our starter and is here for one year. I think he's pretty overrated and most of the Fitzmagic happened in Florida. I think he's in for a rude awakening in the NFC East and will struggle.  Grade: C

CB William Jackson III - In theory, I think there's a lot of upside with signing WJ3 however there could be a lot of downside as well. He's got some pretty big shoes to fill expecting to be our CB1 and hopefully he doesn't fold under the pressure. And what's not to like about WJ3? He's almost everything you want in a corner-back except age. He's a little older than I'd like and I expect he'll have 2 good years with us at age 29 and age 30. We'll have an interesting decision year 3 and I assume there's a get out in his contract.  I'm a big believer in signing your skill position players in free agency and avoiding the risk in the draft. Grade: B+

WR Curtis Samuel - I would have been really upset if the team took a WR in the first round and I think with this signing, we won't take one in the first or second rounds now thankfully. WRs are one of the hardest positions to draft and this guy can play multiple positions in an offense he already knows. You can talk about the Rondale & Elijah Moore's in the draft but those guys are pretty much slot only options. I think Rivera & Turner will use him differently now with a legit deep threat in Terry on the team. This signing makes too much sense. And we have him locked up at Age 25, Age 26 and Age 27. Love it. Grade: A minus

Edited March 19, 2021 by taylor made

[turtle28]

Too soon to know. I like Taylor Made’s write up. I don’t like the Fitzpatrick signing as I’ve said for months he’d be my least favorite signing of those FA QBs available. I’d rather Allen or Heinicke beat him out to see if they could be an answer for us in the future but, like TM, I think Fitz will start which is ridiculous it’s just a bandaid once again where we have a gushing wound, his signing solves nothing for us.

Huge upgrades with Curtis Samuel & William Jackson. I couldn’t be more happy about those.

Larsen & Mayo are depth at best and they may not even make the team depending on who we draft or sign. They don’t even deserve a grade really, back of the roster completion.

Edited March 19, 2021 by turtle28

[lavar703]

Fitzpatrick D+- I hate this signing. He provides nothing that we don’t already have on the roster and he’s doing that at 39-years old (turns 39 during the season). I feel like this is nothing more than kicking the can down the road. 
 

William Jackson C- Good player but he’s going to be 29. I would’ve rather spent the money at LB on Van Noy and Jayon Brown. I can see why they did this but it seems silly to me to have two high-priced corners when your defensive line can probably make any corner look good. 
 

Curtis Samuel B+- I like Samuel. I don’t think he was anywhere close to the best receiver available but our staff knows him and he can make a ton of plays out of the backfield as well. I think he’ll pair nicely with McLaurin. 
 

The other players are camp fodder. 
 

Reserving this spot for Tre Boston and whatever other Panthers players are left in free agency. 

[Umbaugh21]

Fitz = C+, I see what we’re trying to do here, we are trying to pull a Brad Johnson with the Bucs and Trent Dilfer with Ravens type deal. If our surrounding team is elite and plays to potential, Fitz should be solid enough for us to win games. My only issue which is why this is in the C range and not B is that Fitz is due for some bad games and If those bad games are in playoff time.... well than this signing doesn’t payoff as expected.

WJ3 = A-, I truly believe that this will be our best signing. IMO Fuller nor Darby were #1 lockdown corners, but I believe WJ3 can be that guy. I also think that we will see the playmaker side of WJ3 that was shown in college but not with the Bengals. This is probably the best situation that he will have been in.

Samuel = B+, Samuel was a good signing and I’m sure he will be a nice playmaker addition to this offense. I do think he’s more of a gadget player than a true receiver though, which is always tough to throw money at those guys. However, it’s basically only a 2 year guarantee and we did not break the bank on him. So I think this was a good signing but not great. 

 

[MikeT14]

14 hours ago, naptownskinsfan said:

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick: One year, $10 million - C/B - let's see how much this moves the needle. It's a big unknown.

CB William Jackson: Three years, $40.5 million ($26m guaranteed) - B+ - an upgrade on Darby imo

WR Curtis Samuel: Three years, $34.5 million (unknown guaranteed money) - C+ - there were better options at WR. His best year was without Turner and Rivera.

OG/C Tyler Larsen: One year, veteran's minimum  - C- Cronyism. 

LB David Mayo: unknown terms) - D+ if starter. B- if depth.

 

[aceinthehouse]

Since we're building a team & not an individual medley relay track team, I'm gonna pass on giving out grades.

Why?

Because I can't truly give a grade, without seeing this all play out, up to week 1.

I mean, seriously...

Fitzpatrick with Scary Terry, Logan Thomas & nothing else? Probably not gonna give a high grade. Previous posters are right. Fitz is a 178 years old, gunslinger who can be careless with the football like a staff employee at Lambert's cafe (home of throwed rolls). Has a tendency to make big plays, but can turn the ball over with that carelessness. Lots of NFL experience, but no playoff experience. Very smart QB who has a live arm, unlike Alex Smith.

HOWEVER....

Has Fitz ever been on a team, with a SB caliber Defense?

You're also going to add Curtis Samuels to the mix & possibly more?

Your going to give him a playmaker in Gibson in the backfield who can run & catch?

You're going to give him Logan Thomas & possibly more at the TE position?

Your going to give him a crappy division to compete against vs Eagles, Cowboys & Giants who all have new coaches also?

My point?

You may not like Fitzpatrick as a QB, person, or whatever.

But if you think this Washington Football Team isn't capable of winning this crappy division with Fitzpatrick at the helm & additional weapons Alex never had?

Then you didn't watch very many Miami games last year. 

He was throwing to players I never heard of...

I'll tell you this much...

He may, or may not get the starting nod over Allen & Heinicke.

But our chances of repeating as Division winners certainly went up with his addition to this team.

And to me, that's all that matters!

And is something, that hasn't been done in about 20 years.

Back-to-back division Champs.

[Woz]

As I said when he was signed, Fitzpatrick was the free agent QB I wanted the least. There's no real upside to him from a long term design of the franchise. C-/D+

Jackson III looks like a decent replacement for Darby. Was somewhat rattled by them letting Darby walk for as little as he did, but give the team credit where credit is due. A-

Samuel. If I felt they hadn't just locked onto their guy, I might be more positive on this pick. As @MikeT14 said, this reeks of cronyism. Split grade: B for the player, D for the process, so split the difference and call it a C overall.

[naptownskinsfan]

Fitzpatrick- D for me.  Honestly, while I don't see much from Allen or Heinecke, we're at the same point I was with Haskins this year.  Let the kid(s) start and see what they got.  But instead, we've got another guy pushing 40 and we're just going to keep kicking the can down the road.  I really wish we had a GM so we could pick a direction and stick to it.  

Jackson III- C for me, but the more I discover about the contract, it is a solid risk.  But it is VERY risky to sign a corner who will be 30, whose main asset is speed.  I don't care that he started in the NFL late, speed is the first thing to go, and in a lot of cases, it doesn't matter how much or how little contact you've had.  

Samuel- B-.  It is ALOT of money to pay for a slot receiver/gadget player.  However, more teams are running 3 WR sets as their base formations, so Samuel will get the snaps in.  The question is, can he hold up for all of those touches?  

I give Larsen and Mayo F's.  These are depth guys, but really, we should be drafting those types of players at this point.  

[Woz]

1 hour ago, naptownskinsfan said:

I give Larsen and Mayo F's.  These are depth guys, but really, we should be drafting those types of players at this point.  

There's a reason I didn't grade those guys: they are "unnecessary reach" filler.

If an IOL or a MLB is within a reasonable grab point for Washington, the presence of Larsen and Mayo won't be a deterrence. However, it prevents the team from thinking "wait, we need to get a backup Mike and there's no one who would be reasonable value here ... crap, go get the next guy on the list even if it is a round too early because we need to get that backup!"

You can tell this is the case because Larsen got a "vet-min plus" deal. The deal in question gives him $990K salary plus $50K for a signing bonus. However, his cap value is actually less than the total contract value (only $900K cap number). So, it is entirely possible they could cut him for effectively no harm if he gets beat out by a late round draft pick or UDFA. Probably the same case for Mayo, but I cannot say for certain since we don't have his contract numbers.

There's also the possibility that Larsen also might have value as a long snapper.

[naptownskinsfan]

23 hours ago, Woz said:

There's a reason I didn't grade those guys: they are "unnecessary reach" filler.

If an IOL or a MLB is within a reasonable grab point for Washington, the presence of Larsen and Mayo won't be a deterrence. However, it prevents the team from thinking "wait, we need to get a backup Mike and there's no one who would be reasonable value here ... crap, go get the next guy on the list even if it is a round too early because we need to get that backup!"

You can tell this is the case because Larsen got a "vet-min plus" deal. The deal in question gives him $990K salary plus $50K for a signing bonus. However, his cap value is actually less than the total contract value (only $900K cap number). So, it is entirely possible they could cut him for effectively no harm if he gets beat out by a late round draft pick or UDFA. Probably the same case for Mayo, but I cannot say for certain since we don't have his contract numbers.

There's also the possibility that Larsen also might have value as a long snapper.

I honestly feel like there is enough depth here.  They've got Charles, Christian, Lucas and Moses at OT.  They have Schweitzer, Scherff, Martin at OG, and Roullier and Ismael at C.  Most teams won't dress 10 OL on game day.  

Now, can Christian and Martin be cut?  Absolutely, especially if we draft OL.  They are near the end of their time here.  At least for Larsen, I can't see a way this guy makes the team if we draft even one guy on Day 1 or 2.  

Mayo is a bit of a different story, because it seems we are neglecting LB once again.  So maybe that is directing more to Larsen than anything else.  

[LoganF89]

2 hours ago, naptownskinsfan said:

I honestly feel like there is enough depth here.  They've got Charles, Christian, Lucas and Moses at OT.  They have Schweitzer, Scherff, Martin at OG, and Roullier and Ismael at C.  Most teams won't dress 10 OL on game day.  

Now, can Christian and Martin be cut?  Absolutely, especially if we draft OL.  They are near the end of their time here.  At least for Larsen, I can't see a way this guy makes the team if we draft even one guy on Day 1 or 2.  

Mayo is a bit of a different story, because it seems we are neglecting LB once again.  So maybe that is directing more to Larsen than anything else.  

We also resigned David Sharpe at OT as well this off season. 
 

it may sound crazy but I think they actually like the makeup of this Oline this year. unless a guy falls i don’t think they pick an Olineman on day 1 or day 2

[offbyone]

Jackson- A-/B+ We needed a starting corner and we got a solid one at a reasonable price.  He could be a bit younger but he doesn't have much wear on the tires so I still consider him coming into his prime.

Samuel-C+->B+ Flex player and so IMO his grade is all about how we use him.  We don't need to overcomplicate this, he simply isn't an elite wide receiver.  In order to get our money's worth it is all about using him.  They need to be creative at times using him on offense and most importantly in addition to WR he should be used as the primary return man for this to be a really good signing.  

Fitz- C+ Good temporary solution.  I don't know how you can give a great grade to a 1 year signing.  I just hope they allow a real competition in camp.  Allow Allen and Heinicke the chance to beat him out.  

Larsen- B- I guess a good idea if he really plays long snapper and can be an effective Oline backup.  

Mayo- D He is a below average linebacker that can't cover.  We need linebackers who can cover.  I hope he doesn't end up with a roster spot.

[ovfd55]

On 3/18/2021 at 8:12 PM, naptownskinsfan said:

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick: One year, $10 million 

CB William Jackson: Three years, $40.5 million ($26m guaranteed) 

WR Curtis Samuel: Three years, $34.5 million (unknown guaranteed money) 

OG/C Tyler Larsen: One year, veteran's minimum 

LB David Mayo: unknown terms)

B Fitzpatrick-Think it was prob the best win now move they could make in signing a FA QB but can only give it a B cuase its a 1 year Band Aid and not a Long Term Fix.

A Jackson-Love William Jackson and think getting him behind our pass rush he'll play like a top 5-10 CB and the detials of the Contract seem to be able to get out of in year 3 if we need that money for Terry or Payne if he isn't what I expect

B- Samuel-Might be higher if the contract is something like Jackson's with outs involved for us,but feel like over 10 mil a season for a guy that seems like a Slot/Upgrade over Mckissic is a lot

A Larsen any vet min deal is ok in my books he's either good depth or no pain to cut

Inc Mayo all depends on the Deal he's a good run stuffer and can play ST so isn't worse option to have behind Bostic but not good in coverage