The Official ES 2021 Free Agency Thread / Tracker Fitzpatrick, Curtis Samuel, William Jackson, LB Mayo, C Larsen WR Humphries, CB D. Roberts, KR D. Carter , LT Charles Leno, S Bobby McCain signed

[Skinsinparadise]

4 minutes ago, Koolblue13 said:

Theres an OTA thread for ya now.

 

sorry just caught this I'll put the rest on that thread, thanks

[Llevron]

1 minute ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

sorry just caught this I'll put the rest on that thread, thanks

 

You still the 💩. I dont care what thread you put posts in, that will never change. 

 

(in the good way) 

[Vanguard]

Ryan Fitzpatrick will be very well liked and popular here.  How well he plays remains to be seen.

[Going Commando]

1 hour ago, terpfan said:

We’re not going to get a straight up answer, but reading between the lines it was pretty clearly just getting younger and cheaper at the position.

 

By signing Charles Leno to a one year deal?  Seems like finding out the real reason why Moses was abruptly cut would be the kind of job for a reporter to find out.  So is finding out why the best player on our offense suddenly doesn't want to be here any more.

[Koolblue13]

38 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

sorry just caught this I'll put the rest on that thread, thanks

I figured you were in a frenzy doing work. Cheers to ya!

[NickyJ]

3 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

By signing Charles Leno to a one year deal?  Seems like finding out the real reason why Moses was abruptly cut would be the kind of job for a reporter to find out.  So is finding out why the best player on our offense suddenly doesn't want to be here any more.

When did Terry say he doesn't want to be here?

[Skinsinparadise]

As for Scherff, he has said multiple times he just lets his agent take care of things and doesn't get involved in the negotiation.   I wonder how badly he wants to be here.  Having said that he seems sincere every time he says he does.

 

But as some ex-agents have spoken about, the #1 reason for a player wanting to hit FA versus taking a deal in house is money, money, money.  It's a business.  Players that are really good tend to get bigger pay days on the open market. 

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/football-team/finishing-what-you-started-brandon-scherff-wants-be-back-dc

"I've been here 6 years and I absolutely love it here," Scherff said Sunday morning. "We are building something here to absolutely make a run in the future."

Scherff explained that he's always been the type of person that wants to finish what he starts, and in Washington, there is real momentum for the first offseason in some time. Much of that swings with an improved and young defense, but offensively, it also feels like if Washington can sort out its quarterback issues, the unit could make an explosive jump. 

The key piece? Washington Football coach Ron Rivera. 

"We never gave up. Coach Rivera wanted to come in and change the culture, and he did. I absolutely love him," Scherff said. "To see how he coached us with everything he was going through was just inspiring."

 

 

Following OTAs, head coach Ron Rivera explained the reasoning behind the decision to release the two men. In the end, it just came down to wanting to evaluate other players.

“Nothing other than we’re just going in a different direction. We have an opportunity to get some young guys on the field," Rivera said. "We went out and brought in a veteran left tackle. So, feel very comfortable with those decisions because of the players we have on the roster right now.”

Rivera is alluding to the likes of Sam Cosmi and Charles Leno Jr., specifically. Cosmi was drafted No. 51 overall in April from the University of Texas and has a chance to start from Day 1. He'll take reps on both the right and left side. Leno Jr. was signed recently after his own surprising release by the Chicago Bears and has plenty of experience as a starting left tackle.

 

Adding that talent and having other options in the mix allowed Rivera to see Moses and Christian as expendable. There was no hidden meaning to the releases. It was just about giving other players a chance to compete for jobs along the offensive front.

 

As Rivera continues to build out his ideal team in Year 2 at the helm, Moses and Christian didn't fit into the plan.

"They’re both very good players, they were good players for us and they’ll continue to be good players in the league," Rivera said. "We just feel it’s an opportunity to get some young guys on the field."

Edited May 25, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[Llevron]

Sounds to me like they are trying to operate with as many rookie contracts as possible while staying competitive. So they can spend when there is a must have player in FA. The obvious example being someone like Brady being available, although we know he in particular will never be on the market again. Its always possible someone else will be. 

[Skinsinparadise]

If I had to guess it with Scherff, it would his agent simply thinks he can make more money on the open market.  Also, Scherff being from the mid-west, I wonder if going back there appeals to him even though I do believe him when he says he likes it here.   I ran into him once in the team hotel, he was approached by some fans he was talking to -- granted that was a super small sample but for what its worth, he came off to me like a super nice guy but a bit soft spoken which is ironic considering he's such a big guy.   

 

And I'd guess while the offer to Scherff was probably as substantial as purported as to making him the league's highest paid guard, I wonder if it had much guaranteed money?  I am a big Scherff guy.  But a guard at 30 with a longish history of missing time -- that's not someone I'd offer major guaranteed money going forward. 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/03/08/brandon-scherff-franchise-tag/

“I’ve been here for six years, and I absolutely love it here,” Scherff said in January. “I love Coach Rivera. I love [offensive line coach John] Matsko. I love everybody. ... We are building something here to absolutely make a run for it in the future.”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/03/08/brandon-scherff-franchise-tag/

True to his low-key demeanor, Scherff brushed aside contract questions. He delved instead into a discussion on turkey hunting in Iowa and Busch Light, his favorite beer.

5 minutes ago, Llevron said:

Sounds to me like they are trying to operate with as many rookie contracts as possible while staying competitive. So they can spend when there is a must have player in FA. The obvious example being someone like Brady being available, although we know he in particular will never be on the market again. Its always possible someone else will be. 

 

Yep.  Build cap room to keep that D line among other things intact.  And yeah possibly chase a veteran QB.

 

I mentioned recently Monson from PFF touted this roster hard. One of his big points was the D line did well last year in spite of missing who he thought is the best pass rusher among the D tackles, Matt Ionnaidis. 

[terpfan]

47 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

By signing Charles Leno to a one year deal?  Seems like finding out the real reason why Moses was abruptly cut would be the kind of job for a reporter to find out.  So is finding out why the best player on our offense suddenly doesn't want to be here any more.

Leno is cheaper ($5M compared to $8M). Cosmi is younger (and cheaper). Read the quotes from Rivera in the post directly above this. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. For the record, reporters have looked into whether Moses asked for a trade, or was considered a locker room problem by Rivera, and have said neither is true. So I don’t see any reason not to take Rivera’s comments at face value at this point. 
 

As for Scherff I wouldn’t say he “doesn’t want to be here” in that he actively wants out. But I don’t think he wants to be here enough to not test the open market. And I think the open market will be more willing to pay him than we will. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by terpfan

[Skinsinparadise]

37 minutes ago, terpfan said:

Leno is cheaper ($5M compared to $8M). Cosmi is younger (and cheaper). Read the quotes from Rivera in the post directly above this. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. For the record, reporters have looked into whether Moses asked for a trade, or was considered a locker room problem by Rivera, and have said neither is true. So I don’t see any reason not to take Rivera’s comments at face value at this point. 
 

As for Scherff I wouldn’t say he “doesn’t want to be here” in that he actively wants out. But I don’t think he wants to be here enough to not test the open market. And I think the open market will be more willing to pay him than we will. 

 

I'd add that Moses talked about retirement recently, is about to play in his 30s, wonder how much longer he plays?   If you judge him by PFF scores, Moses career year was ironically last season under Matsko.  The two seasons in particular before that were mediocre -- again judging by PFF.

 

Matsko is considered one of the top coaches in the game.    Same dude who helped get career years judging by PFF scores out of Roullier and Schweitzer. 

 

I'd guess no way Rivera is making moves on the O line without heavy input from Matsko.    If he thinks Cosmi is ready and or Leno > Moses.  I trust it. 

 

If there are two spots where I think you almost have to give carte blanche trust as for coaching and coaching input its O line and TE.  The coaching on those two spots in partcular by most accounts is special.  And they are off to a red hot start.  

 

 

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/09/25/john-matsko-washington-football-offensive-line/

 

In one of their offseason Zoom meetings, the Washington Football Team’s offensive linemen couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They knew their new position coach, John Matsko, was intense and detail-oriented, but now he was teaching them technique with grainy, black-and-white practice tape from the 1970s. The linemen on screen looked about 250 pounds, smaller than any of them had been in years.

 

This wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows Matsko. In his 29-year NFL career, he has earned a reputation as one of the league’s top line coaches with a fiery personality, encyclopedic knowledge of old game film and vigorous focus on preparation. He has embraced the unorthodox: For his pre-walk-through walk-throughs in 2008, he enlisted Baltimore firefighters to play scout-team defense.

“If those guys messed up, he’d get on their [butts], too,” said Willie Anderson, a former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman and current skills trainer. He laughed. “He’s a smart man and a good teacher, and everything’s life-or-death. If you use the wrong foot on a [protection scheme] in walk-through, it’s life-or-death.”

 

On Zoom, perhaps sensing the players’ surprise at the old footage, Matsko pointed out one player’s feet and another’s hands. Linemen get bigger, he said, but the mechanics of moving defenders stay the same. Now, this technician’s mind-set is crucial for Washington, with a line young and in flux, and it illuminates a job often overlooked by those outside the NFL. If offensive line is among the most anonymous positions in sports, its coaches are even more so.

But many experts, including ESPN analyst Louis Riddick and former quarterback Sage Rosenfels, say a head coach’s most important positional assistant is the offensive line coach. They say this because he must handle volume (nearly half the offense), proximity (five players moving as one) and cohesion (blocking requires a difficult blend of chemistry, communication and spatial awareness). They say this because many head coaches see the line as a tone-setter.

 

Coach Ron Rivera said he thinks offensive line coach is “right up there” in importance with quarterbacks and defensive line coaches. When the Carolina Panthers hired Rivera in 2011, he hired Matsko, and the two have been together since. The Panthers regularly fielded strong running games during Rivera’s tenure, and Matsko was credited with helping develop Andrew Norwell from an undrafted free agent into one of the NFL’s best guards.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[Skinsinparadise]

5 hours ago, Koolblue13 said:

Good stuff. I'm so feigning for any football. I'm so pumped for this team.

 

 Not to go over the top with Fitz hype but what the heck.    As someone who has watched his share of Fitz's Miami's games including rewatching 2 of them this off season -- Fitz coupled with the new weapons we got I think will bring a light year improvement to the offense from last season.    Some talk down the team because of the 7-9 record.  But Haskins was 1-5.  He's gone.  When they had just competent QB play they looked a lot better.   6-4 without Haskins (5-1 with Alex) and they probably gave Tampa the biggest scare in the playoffs.   They should have won both games against NY.     Arguably with better Qb play they'd have beaten Seattle and Cleveland.   They lost to the Lions on some crazy long field goal at the end of the game.  

 

The one thing though that concerns me is the schedule.  This defense faces a murderers row of top QBs:  Rodgers, Wilson, J. Allen, Mahomes, Brady, etc.   But overall this might be their best roster since their last SB.    And I am big Rivera guy so I like the coaching, too.  I am jazzed about this season. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Skinsinparadise

[terpfan]

3 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

The one thing though that concerns me is the schedule.  This defense faces a murderers row of top QBs:  Rodgers, Wilson, J. Allen, Mahomes, Brady, etc.   But overall this might be their best roster since their last SB.    And I am big Rivera guy so I like the coaching, too.  I am jazzed about this season. 

The team is basically improved across the board. Should be significantly better than last year at QB, WR and DB. Probably slightly better at TE and LB. Arguably better on the OL depending on how you feel about Leno and Cosmi vs Moses. Probably better at DL too if factoring in any improvement for the young guys like Young and Sweat, and getting Ionnadis back.  All that would normally count for 3-4 games of improvement you would think except the schedule should be significantly more challenging. We’ll see! At the very least this should be a much more enjoyable team to watch than they were last year, especially the first half of last year. 

[Skinsinparadise]

Just now, terpfan said:

The team is basically improved across the board. Should be significantly better than last year at QB, WR and DB. Probably slightly better at TE and LB. Arguably better on the OL depending on how you feel about Leno and Cosmi vs Moses. Probably better at DL too if factoring in any improvement for the young guys like Young and Sweat, and getting Ionnadis back.  All that would normally count for 3-4 games of improvement you would think except the schedule should be significantly more challenging. We’ll see! At the very least this should be a much more enjoyable team to watch than they were last year, especially the first half of last year. 

 

Yeah its improved IMO just about across the board.   I got no doubt they will be better.    I'd be surpised though if their defense ends up ranked first considered the slew of top QBs they face. 

 

I recall Gibbs used to say a tough schedule helped his teams (during his first run) in the playoffs because they were used to stiff competition.  Maybe if we get into the playoffs the same applies to this team. 

 

 

[terpfan]

2 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

Yeah its improved IMO just about across the board.   I got no doubt they will be better.    I'd be surpised though if their defense ends up ranked first considered the slew of top QBs they face. 

 

I recall Gibbs used to say a tough schedule helped his teams (during his first run) in the playoffs because they were used to stiff competition.  Maybe if we get into the playoffs the same applies to this team. 

Yeah if we do make it to the playoffs we’ll be battle tested. If we don’t make it, we’ll have a high draft pick to be able to add the final pieces while returning the core of the team. En route to a Super Bowl run in 2022. 😎

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

 

 

[terpfan]

Now that’s the type of signing I’ve been asking for all offseason. Veteran pass catcher at tight end. We haVE no one else with any pass catching experience in the NFL besides Logan Thomas. Gives us some coverage if something were to happen to Thomas. 
 

Also funny that between him and Yelder we’re collecting all the Chiefs backup tight ends from last year. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by terpfan

[Skinsinparadise]

From what I just read the Chiefs basically didn't end up playing him last year

 

 

 

[CommanderInTheRye]

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

I'd add that Moses talked about retirement recently, is about to play in his 30s, wonder how much longer he plays?   If you judge him by PFF scores, Moses career year was ironically last season under Matsko.  The two seasons in particular before that were mediocre -- again judging by PFF.

 

Matsko is considered one of the top coaches in the game.    Same dude who helped get career years judging by PFF scores out of Roullier and Schweitzer. 

 

I'd guess no way Rivera is making moves on the O line without heavy input from Matsko.    If he thinks Cosmi is ready and or Leno > Moses.  I trust it. 

 

If there are two spots where I think you almost have to give carte blanche trust as for coaching and coaching input its O line and TE.  The coaching on those two spots in partcular by most accounts is special.  And they are off to a red hot start.  

 

 

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/09/25/john-matsko-washington-football-offensive-line/

 

In one of their offseason Zoom meetings, the Washington Football Team’s offensive linemen couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They knew their new position coach, John Matsko, was intense and detail-oriented, but now he was teaching them technique with grainy, black-and-white practice tape from the 1970s. The linemen on screen looked about 250 pounds, smaller than any of them had been in years.

 

This wouldn’t surprise anyone who knows Matsko. In his 29-year NFL career, he has earned a reputation as one of the league’s top line coaches with a fiery personality, encyclopedic knowledge of old game film and vigorous focus on preparation. He has embraced the unorthodox: For his pre-walk-through walk-throughs in 2008, he enlisted Baltimore firefighters to play scout-team defense.

“If those guys messed up, he’d get on their [butts], too,” said Willie Anderson, a former Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman and current skills trainer. He laughed. “He’s a smart man and a good teacher, and everything’s life-or-death. If you use the wrong foot on a [protection scheme] in walk-through, it’s life-or-death.”

 

On Zoom, perhaps sensing the players’ surprise at the old footage, Matsko pointed out one player’s feet and another’s hands. Linemen get bigger, he said, but the mechanics of moving defenders stay the same. Now, this technician’s mind-set is crucial for Washington, with a line young and in flux, and it illuminates a job often overlooked by those outside the NFL. If offensive line is among the most anonymous positions in sports, its coaches are even more so.

But many experts, including ESPN analyst Louis Riddick and former quarterback Sage Rosenfels, say a head coach’s most important positional assistant is the offensive line coach. They say this because he must handle volume (nearly half the offense), proximity (five players moving as one) and cohesion (blocking requires a difficult blend of chemistry, communication and spatial awareness). They say this because many head coaches see the line as a tone-setter.

 

Coach Ron Rivera said he thinks offensive line coach is “right up there” in importance with quarterbacks and defensive line coaches. When the Carolina Panthers hired Rivera in 2011, he hired Matsko, and the two have been together since. The Panthers regularly fielded strong running games during Rivera’s tenure, and Matsko was credited with helping develop Andrew Norwell from an undrafted free agent into one of the NFL’s best guards.

 

 

Based on results vs talent I would take the relatively anonymous Matsko over the much hyped Callahan every day of the week.

[terpfan]

I remember RSJ being an up and coming name with the Cardinals and Browns a few years back and then he sort of disappeared off the face of the earth in Kansas City. Doesn't seem that the Chiefs throw to their tight ends other than Kelce very much. So he didn't see the field ahead of Yelder and their other tight end Nick Keizer who are better blockers. Interesting to note that it was Yelder who actually got the start and saw 6 targets when Kelce sat in Week 17.

 

Hopefully, Thomas and Bates will be healthy and productive and we won't have much need for him either. But he's a better insurance policy than anyone else we have on the roster, from a downfield threat perspective anyway.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

But it's up to Fitzpatrick to get to know those players and make it work. Washington did not draft a quarterback, in part, because none excited them enough in the draft to trade up. But also because the coaches like the quarterbacks already in the room -- Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, Kyle Allen and Steven Montez -- enough to put off the search for another year.

That means Fitzpatrick has to make it work -- and a 16-year career spent changing teams has helped formulate a plan to ease another transition.

"There are certain things that maybe it is easier for me to switch teams than other guys because I've done it so many times," Fitzpatrick said. "I've been through the process."

 

That means getting to learn the building as well as his teammates -- seeing where the cafeteria is and the meeting rooms are located. That means learning what sort of tempo the coaches want, what drills they'll be doing. And that means communicating with the other offensive players about what's expected on a play. That ability to quickly learn helps explain why Washington's workout was more up-tempo than in last year's training camp. Fitzpatrick could call a play and get to the line, as could the other quarterbacks.

On Tuesday, he connected with receiver Cam Sims on a deep back-shoulder fade. Another time, he took a shot downfield to Sims, putting it in a tight spot along the sidelines -- but giving his guy a chance. The ball glanced off Sims' fingertips but Fitzpatrick said plays like that help.

 

"Part of it for me is I put it in a spot where I think it needs to be and that results early on is some incompletions," Fitzpatrick said. "Then we can talk about expectations and why I threw it where I did. The one to Sims was nice because he reacted to that. I don't know if he ever had that ball thrown to him in that trajectory on the back shoulder, but he went after it and got the ball."

Another time, Rivera said, there was a last-second line call that resulted in a botched snap.

"Ryan told them, 'Hey we can't do that. Once we got it, we have to stick with it,'" Rivera said. "So, it was kind of neat to see him step up and correct his teammates as well. You see that savvy, veteran leadership."

 

After one miss with Thomas on a pass play, he chatted with the tight end about what he wanted or saw.

"Communication is a huge thing," Fitzpatrick said. "When that communication gets crisp, you can play faster and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense. I have a lot of discussion with the guys up front. I'm the one having to catch up right now with what they're doing."

 

He'll also stand near offensive coordinator Scott Turner during practice, picking his brain about various plays so he can later anticipate play calls. They talk about when Fitzpatrick might want a reminder during a play call vs. when he just wants Turner to call the play.

"Those are things I try to fast forward as you get to new teams," Fitzpatrick said. "Those are things that are really important for me in those sessions."

He and his wife also must figure out where his seven kids, who are still in Florida, will attend school next fall and which sports or activities they'll pursue.

But this is nothing new -- and that's a good thing for Washington.

"That is one of the really cool things is that he can come in and assimilate very quickly," Rivera said. "The teammates around him gather around him and assimilate to his style as well."

[actorguy1]

 

[Est.1974]

That may not be the last move we make at TE. I could see us continually looking to upgrade throughout the offseason via another teams cut or low value trade.

[skinny21]

12 minutes ago, UK SKINS FAN 74 said:

That may not be the last move we make at TE. I could see us continually looking to upgrade throughout the offseason via another teams cut or low value trade.

You might be right.  It’s a pretty unheralded and uninspiring group after Thomas.  Bates is the most intriguing to me (Reyes will likely need a lot of time), partly because I think blocking is one of the biggest reasons TEs often take so long to develop, and Bates seems to have big leg up there.  
 

For me, DE is the big spot I could see them searching for help - someone to compete to be that 3rd/4th guy.  

[Skinsinparadise]

Listening to Russell who watched practiced.  He said Bates looked good.  Reyes comes off like a project but his potential is easy to see, has his moments in the mix but has some issues with drops.

 

He said what stood out to him was Curtis Samuel.  He was all over the field.  Jet sweeps swing passes, reverses.  And he said he looked good and crazy fast.  He thinks Samuel is going to be a star with this team.