#also when Anthony said nick and Taylor looked exactly the same I took that as gospel

[when-sanpape-arts]

small, imperceptible changes

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Jordan Staal Update; Coyotes Injuries; Deadline; Dahlin – February 19

  Jordan Staal was back at practice for the Carolina Hurricanes, but this time he was in a regular jersey instead of a non-contact one. For a player returning from a concussion, this is a significant step. I imagine he’ll need a few more practices under his belt before he’s cleared, but it looks like he should return to the lineup sooner rather than later. That’s a huge boon for the Hurricanes in this playoff push, if not overly fantasy-relevant.

*

Pontus Aberg should be back for Minnesota’s game Tuesday night while Victor Rask will not be.

*

Boone Jenner returned for the Blue Jackets having missed their last couple games, skating in his usual spot with Nick Foligno and Josh Anderson. Anthony Duclair, meanwhile, was a healthy scratch:

  Asked why Duclair is a healthy scratch again, Torts said: “bad listening skills.” Wouldn’t elaborate.

— Tom Reed (@treed1919) February 18, 2019

  I know it’s the way of the world that a player at the end of the roster will get nitpicked to death while those at the top of the roster will not. However, it always struck me as a way to alienate a guy who could help a team win.

*

Corey Crawford is still skating with Chicago, which continues to be a good sign, but there’s still no firm update on a return.

*

We got an update from Craig Morgan at The Athletic about a few of the injured Arizona players:

To summarize:

Still not expecting Antti Raanta to return this year.

Christian Dvorak’s conditioning stint length is not determined, could be one game, could be several.

Michael Grabner is back skating with the team but in a non-contact jersey following his eye injury. There’s no firm timeline yet.

Jason Demers is also skating with the team in a non-contact jersey recovering from knee surgery. Don’t expect him back anytime soon but it certainly seems possible he’s back before the season is out.

The Coyotes will get some reinforcements in the next month but it’s a question of how many players and if it’s too late to push for the playoffs. It’s a wonder where this team would be with any injury luck.

*

After an unlucky start to the year, Vladimir Tarasenko is up to 0.46 goals/game (he was 0.46 over the previous three seasons) and 0.89 points/game (he was at 0.89 points/game over the previous three seasons). Hope you all bought low when we told you to.

*

Carolina is having a bit of fun with Don Cherry:

  The jerk store called…we are now taking orders!

» https://t.co/FWVvmuiYym pic.twitter.com/kDoJdRPvxM

— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) February 17, 2019

  Heaven forbid players have fun playing a game. 

*

Brent Seabrook was scratched just before warmups for the Blackhawks with an abdominal strain. When there is a timeline for his return, we will pass it along.

*

Colorado has seen their power play go cold of late so Nathan MacKinnon was dropped to the second power play unit. They also split their top line across their top three lines. I'm as confused as you are. 

*

Victor Hedman left Monday night’s game at the end of the first period and did not return. Though Jon Cooper wouldn’t elaborate much further, he said he didn’t expect it to be serious.

*

We are less than a week away from the trade deadline, typically one of the busiest times of the year for fantasy owners outside of draft week. Just a reminder that we’ll have you completely covered here at Dobber Hockey. Any trade of significance will be broken down here by either myself, Ian, Cam, or Dobber himself. Whenever fantasy owners see a trade go down, they should head over here within the next few hours to get a breakdown of what that means for them and their fantasy leagues.

*

While on the topic of trade deadlines, we need to get something out in the open: a lot of what happens between now and the end of the season is driven by luck, and that goes for both teams and individual players. With about one quarter of a season left, just think of all the quirky things we’ve seen this season alone in quarter segments:

Through the season’s first 21 games, Buffalo had one fewer point than Tampa Bay, The Rangers had one fewer point than the Flames, and the Blues were 30th in the league.

In that same span of games, Matthew Tkachuk had as many points as Nikita Kucherov, Max Domi had as many points as Johnny Gaudreau, and Pekka Rinne led all goalies in save percentage at .944 (he’s been a .901 since).

In the next 20 or so games, Jonathan Huberdeau put up as many points as Sidney Crosby and Sean Monahan, Gaudreau led the league in goals (what?!), Vegas accumulated the most points in the league while Buffalo, previously fourth, fell to 22nd in the league. The Rangers went from accumulating one fewer point than Tampa Bay through the first ~21 games to accumulating 20 fewer points than Tampa Bay over the next ~21 games.

Those are a handful of extreme examples, but I think fantasy owners will get the general idea. We can talk about how Player X is a good fit, or Player Y will get better line mates, or Team Z is suddenly better defensively because of an acquisition, but the truth is we’re at the mercy of the hockey gods (and ensuing puck luck) a lot more than we’d care to admit.

It’s not to absolve everyone of their sins in decision making. There are still optimal decisions to be made that can put a fantasy roster in the best position to succeed. That does not guarantee success, or even make it likely. Just something to keep in mind if Matt Duchene gets traded to Winnipeg and puts up 11 points over the balance of the season.

*

On the topic of luck, I wanted to check in with the best ball league over at Fantrax that Dobber, Cam Metz, myself, and others from around the industry took part. For those unfamiliar, best ball leagues are draft-only. That means you draft your team and leave it, with no trades or free agency. Your best scores from a pre-determined number of players – your best 6 out of 10 forwards, 3 of out of 6 defencemen, and 2 out of 4 goalies or whatever – determine your overall score.

In these types of leagues, it can be helpful to stack and try to hit a line that explodes for the year. I did exactly that by drafting Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Mark Giordano. That worked out well! However, injuries have gotten the better of me, having lost John Klingberg for six weeks, James van Riemsdyk for six weeks, Oscar Klefbom for nearly two months, Justin Schultz for over half the year, and Taylor Hall still hasn’t returned to the lineup, having missed eight weeks already. That’s two of my top three defencemen (and a potential top-5 blue liner) plus my first round pick with significant injuries. Needless to say, I’m nowhere near the top (though I’m second in points/game, I’m last in games played because of the injuries). Cam Metz can still win the title though and has drafted a solid squad.

That’s just a long lament to show that even if your players perform that you hoped they would (and I do think I drafted a very good team, as evidenced by being second in points/game), there’s still the injury factor that can crop up at a moment’s notice. Not only do fantasy owners need puck luck, they need injury luck. Fantasy hockey amounts to a roulette wheel sometimes.  

*

Dobber released a couple of his rankings last week but the one I want to focus on is his top-100 keeper defencemen list. Namely, one defenceman on the list, coming in at number 20: Rasmus Dahlin.

Before the season, I was adamant that Dahlin would not be worth his ADP in standard Yahoo! leagues (you can read my stuff from the offseason here, here, and here. That’s not all of it, but it’s a start). He’s already surpassed my projections but whether he lives up to his ADP remains to be seen. All the same, I wanted to say this: his rookie season has been exceptional.

In the history of the NHL, Dahlin is one of three defencemen to average 0.55 points per game in their rookie season, the other two being Bobby Orr and Phil Housley. Not that he’s guaranteed to maintain that mark over the balance of the season, but the fact he’s at that point when we’re a week away from the trade deadline speaks volumes of his talent.

This production isn’t all smoke and mirrors, either. In cases like this, we’d often be concerned with a sky-high individual points percentage at five-on-five (he’s under 40 percent personally which is kind of high but still outside the top-40 defencemen), a sky-high on-ice shooting percentage (he’s at 8.7 percent, which doesn’t even lead the Sabres and is outside the top-60 league-wide), or a high secondary assist rate (that is high, by the way, tied for 10th across the league). While there is a bit of a concern of a slowdown because of the secondary assist rate, the additional power play time he’s seen recently can make up for that.

Under the hood, he’s driving offence at a considerably higher rate than his teammates on the blue line, and at a comparable rate league-wide to other dynamos like Morgan Rielly and Mark Giordano. He can find his teammates regularly in shooting positions and can get out of his zone and into the other zone with control as often as almost anyone (from CJ Turtoro’s viz):

  His performance in the defensive zone still needs work but, I mean, come on, the kid is 18. We can cut him a little slack!

All this is to say that Dahlin is performing every bit the future superstar he has been. Though that may not be enough to pay off his preseason ADP, this is about as good as we could possibly hope for. I can’t possibly imagine he can be had for cheap in dynasty/keeper leagues, but I would be checking with the Dahlin owner in your league. If he can be a top-30 fantasy defenceman as an 18-year old and do it without being driven by luck, we’re only a couple years away from a top-5 defenceman.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-jordan-staal-update-coyotes-injuries-deadline-dahlin-february-19/

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-18/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-16/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-15/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-14/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-13/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-12/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

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[newstwitter-blog]

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Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link

[newstwitter-blog]

New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/03/15/washington-post-about-that-cousins-trade-demand-and-the-latest-free-agency-buzz-9/

Washington Post: About that Cousins trade ‘demand’ and the latest free agency buzz

Kirk Cousins spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about his reported trade demand. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well, the Redskins had a crazy two week stretch, and now things seem like they’re starting to quiet down. They fired Scot McCloughan, made some moves in free agency and still could make some additional moves here and there.

Kirk Cousins also signed his franchise tender, locking in the guarantee of $24 million for this season. But this storyline deserves continued monitoring.

In this week’s mailbag, we take a look at the Cousins situation, how the free agent additions fit, and more.

Thanks, as always, for taking part, and keep those questions coming.

E-mail them to me at mike.jones@washpost.com with the subject line of “Mailbag question,” and we’ll do it all over again next Tuesday.

What’s the deal with Kirk Cousins? One day he demands a trade, the next day he signs his franchise tag and is planning to throw with his new supporting cast. Is something else going on behind the scenes? Is this for leverage? How do you think is ultimately going to wind up playing out with him?

– Stephen Christian

Funny how things play out, isn’t it? One thing you, me and everybody else has to be careful about this time of year is that all kinds of rumors will fly around. There are so many agendas at play. Teams have things they want to accomplish. Players and agents have things they want to accomplish. There are people looking for attention. Others are catching snippets of things and relay them incorrectly. So, what I try to do is slow down, take everything with a grain of salt and double- and triple-check everything. I never could find a single person to confirm that Kirk Cousins demanded a trade. I talked to a lot of people that know how he and his agent operate, and that’s not it.

Cousins himself cleared things up this week on podcast interview with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and sure enough, he did not demand a trade. He approached Dan Snyder to figure out what exactly the franchise had planned for him. After receiving assurance that the franchise wants him, Cousins went his way and returned to letting his agent handle things while he prepares for another season. So, we’ll never know exactly what happened there, but multiple league insiders say that more than likely, that was spin out of the Redskins camp, throwing out that trade request on the morning of free agency (a week after the conversation took place), just to see if doing so would prompt any trade discussions.

[Kirk Cousins says his trade demand got lost in translation]

Anyway, nothing happened – yet – and Cousins signed his franchise tender the day after free agency began. This isn’t to say he’s not going to be traded. But it seems unlikely. Yes, the Redskins control Cousins’s rights. But an opposing team would have to be able to work out a long-term deal with Cousins in advance of pulling the trigger on a trade, because they don’t want to be stuck in the same boat as the Redskins: renting him for one year and then risking losing him next year. So, the Redskins have to find a place that’s both willing to meet their asking price (and they want a lot for Cousins, I’m told), and that’s also appealing enough to Cousins to make him want to sign a deal.

Thus far, that hasn’t happened. I think Cousins will ultimately wind up playing out the 2017 season on the franchise tag. I think the Redskins will draft a quarterback to develop behind Cousins this year, and then turn to him next year. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to trade Cousins right now to get some compensation instead of paying him $24 million to be a bridge quarterback. But it’s easier said than done, because of the factors listed above. And for a coach and franchise that wants to win now, Cousins is their best option. They’ll go to work this year, try to win as much as they can, and then figure things out next year, which seemingly will be a parting of ways.

The only other possibility is that the Redskins use the transition tag on Cousins next year (paying him $28 million instead of the $35 million for a third franchise tag) and reserve the right to match whatever offers he receives. But it definitely seems more likely that Cousins will be in a different uniform in 2018.

Is Cousins-to-the-49ers in any way something the two teams have discussed, or is it just something that the fans have connected the dots on? If so, would the second overall pick be in play? And who would they peg as Cousins’s replacement?

– Will Lazer, Lusby, Md.

You can never say never in this league, but from everything I’ve been able to gather from talking to multiple people, the 49ers have no interest sending the No. 2 overall pick and another boat load of picks to the Redskins to get Kirk Cousins. I can’t say that San Francisco never made an inquiry. This made a lot of sense because of the Kyle Shanahan-Cousins connection. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense this year.

[Pryor, Cousins make plans to begin training together]

  I do know that the 49ers want to keep all their picks and build the right way. They want a franchise quarterback, but they want to build this roster with those valuable building blocks, and then address their long-term quarterback situation later. They can go after Cousins next year when he will likely hit free agency, and that way, they will have avoided giving up draft picks while also committing a handsome salary to a quarterback. That’s why they signed Brian Hoyer. He’ll keep the seat warm while team officials continue to fill out the rest of the roster with free agents and draft picks, and then we’ll see what happens next year.

But since you asked, if some unexpectedly desperate team swoops in and pulls off a Cousins trade, I’d expect the Redskins to roll with Colt McCoy and draft another quarterback to groom behind the veteran and then turn the wheel over to the kid in 2018.

If the season started today (and Trent Murphy is still suspended for the first four games) who is starting on the ends and who is starting at NT?

– Josh Edney, Brooklyn, N.Y.

I think a lot of this still has to be sorted out. Both Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee played end at their previous stops, but McGee also can play nose. Some people actually believe that nose is his more natural position even though he didn’t see much time there in Oakland. Also, I don’t know that the Redskins are done making moves. They still could add another veteran defensive lineman, and draft another. So, that depth chart certainly isn’t locked in yet.

It’s possible they could go with McClain and McGee as the ends and Phil Taylor at the nose. Or, you never know, they could go McClain at one end and Anthony Lanier at the other, and then McGee at nose tackle. I think you’ll probably see plenty of four-man fronts as well this season, just as we have in the past. And so, that could mean McClain and McGee as the interior linemen and Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith at the end positions. But again, it’s still way too early. The construction is still ongoing.

Could you provide more insight or at least your opinion on what happened to Preston Smith last year? I think most would say he regressed. All the indications during the previous offseason was that things had “clicked.” He looked strong and was expected to build on rookie season. The edge rushers could be quite formidable with a rotation of Kerrigan, Smith, [Trent] Murphy and [Junior] Galette. However, we know Murphy is likely to be suspended four games and Galette is a wild card. What’s your outlook for Preston in 2017? Thanks. 

– A.J. Sisodia, Boston, Mass.

Preston Smith was a curious case last season. He had probably two dominant games, a few other flashes where he made his presence felt but still came up short, and then some nearly invisible games. People close to him believe he was thinking too much and just needs to pin back his ears and go.

[Sean Taylor’s rookie number is in good hands with new Redskins safety D.J. Swearinger]

It’ll be interesting to see how Greg Manusky uses Smith this year, and if he can get more out of him than he did last season. Manusky helped Kerrigan and Murphy have more productive seasons despite decreasing their workloads. But Smith never really caught on. It’s hard to say what to expect from this group. You assume Kerrigan will have another solid year. You’d hope Smith could bounce back, that Murphy can pick up where he left off once he returns from suspension, and that Junior Galette can make an impact. But there are still a ton of question marks at the edge rusher position. It probably would make sense for the Redskins to draft another guy to throw into the mix.

After all of the signings last week things are kind of getting quiet. Do you think we are done and are moving on to the draft? Also how come we haven’t had any talks with Dontari Poe or Donta Hightower – two top defensive players that are still out there that can really help our defense? Was there any interest in them?

– Malik Brandon-Bey

I don’t think the Redskins are totally done in free agency. They would like to add a couple more pieces, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But I think they are looking for more bargain deals. I would expect them to pass on Poe, and go after more of a Johnathan Hankins type, although so far, there’s no indication they have made earnest pursuits of either. It also doesn’t seem like they’re interested in Hightower. The Redskins remain intent on building primarily through the draft and only using free agency to supplement their needs. They don’t want to spend big there, and so, that means passing on guys like Poe and Hightower.

With the signing of D.J. Swearinger, do you expect the skins to release DeAngelo Hall soon? He has been a great Redskin, but his age, injury history and cap number are working against him.

– Brian Benz, Norfolk

So far, the plan is to keep DeAngelo Hall in the mix. Yes, he’s got a cap figure of $5.06 million, he’ll be 34 this November, and he’s had three straight injury-plagued years. But he remains a well-respected member of the franchise. I wouldn’t be surprised if they reworked his contract, lowering the base salary and rolling in more incentives that give him the chance to earn that money back if he meets certain benchmarks. Swearinger signed a three-year deal that will pay him an average of $4.5 million per year, so you have to assume he’s going to start at one of the safety positions.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go with the Su’a Cravens transition from linebacker to safety. This is the position he played in college, so it should come back to him. Some league insiders still wonder about his ball skills, but others see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to make the switch and develop into an impact player. It’ll be interesting though, because he’s probably best suited as a strong safety, and the same applies for Swearinger. So, if anything Hall is an insurance policy for now for both in the event that one of them can’t get it done at free safety.

This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link