adios, mr. washington

Always smiling

The Redskins parted ways with Marcus Washington today, opening the door for another starting outside linebacker next season.

As far as Washington goes, I can't say I'm surprised. As I mentioned in my 08 linebackers lookback, Washington hasn't quite been himself recently. Hopefully his injuries have nothing to do with the steroid suspicions that were made known a few years ago. (Wouldn't surprise me though)

One thing I will always remember about Marcus Washington that he was always dancing. He made a good play, he danced. The team made a good play, he danced.

Observe:




ESR take: As much as I liked him, I don't think it hurts the team too much. There was a time when he was the best linebacker in D.C. Not anymore. The team can't keep using roster spots on older, injury prone veterans. (See: Entire offensive line).

The question now is: How do the Redskins replace Washington?

Some think that the team will bring back Jason Taylor as an outside linebacker. First off, who knows if Taylor can even play linebacker? I'm no expect by any means, but has he done it much? Maybe someone can fill me in there. Second off, that'll cost a pretty penny for a guy who the team doesn't even know can play OLB.

H.B. Blades has started a few games at outside linebacker, but I don't think he'd be a wise plug there. He failed several times late last year trying to cover NFL tight ends and (god help me) slot receivers. What Blades does well is stop the run. He's not a coverage guy. Keep him a backup at middle linebacker.

There are a few guys the team could draft. Refer to my linebacker rundown for some considerations.

Either way, it'll do good to get a younger, less always-injured-all-the-time guy there.


Some other Redskins links from the past few days:

• Phillip Daniels' contract has been voided ... and he's now a free agent? What? Well ... he is 36, and coming off major surgery. Do the Redskins re-sign him? Dun dun dun!
• Zorn is at the combine. Alert the police. I'll have more on this soon, but he says the team will be "active" in free agency. Question to ponder: does his mean active Redskins-style, or active regular NFL-style. Because those are two different things. Zorn also said that he expected both DeAngelo Hall and Pete Kendall to go to free agency.