NFL players typically have a limited shelf life. Either their age becomes a limitation or their salary does or both. The 2016 Washington Redskins are no exception and there are some roster moves that simply make sense now as opposed to later. One of those was made in the last twenty-four hours with the release of Andre Roberts. Here are a few others that we should hope to see if not expect to see between now and September.
The starting offensive line should consist of Trent Williams, Arie Kouandjio, Spencer Long, BradonScherff, and Morgan Moses. The backups should be Ty Nsekhe, Austin Reiter, Takoby Cofield, and Cody Booth. This would make Williams the senior member of the offensive line at 27 years of age. It would make the line considerably larger and more geared toward a power blocking scheme. It would mean that, of the offensive linemen, only Williams and Scherff are earning more than $1.0 million per season.
Find a legitimate nose tackle. Relying on Golston, who has never been more than a situational rotation player, and Ioannidis, who is not only a rookie but also grossly undersized for the position is a poor strategy for a team virtually incapable of stopping the run on 1st downs last season. If Knighton in the middle couldn’t stop opponents from gaining five yards on 1st downs then having a smaller and less experienced player in the nose tackle role won’t help.
Neither will having Trent Murphy at defensive end. Murphy got absolutely destroyed on running plays last season as a linebacker and he is the primary reason teams had monumental success rushing the football on first downs. Moving him to defensive end won’t improve the rushing defense. If you’re asking how anyone could possibly know this go back and watch the film from last season. The team needs to roll with Baker, Paea, Reyes, and Jean-Francois and address the defensive line in the offseason. It also wouldn’t hurt to scour the waiver wire.
Start Compton and Foster at inside linebacker with Spaight and Stevens as the backups. Riley was awful the last two seasons and isn’t improving with age.
Give Kendall Fuller a shot at free safety. He’s slightly undersized for the position but athletic and quick enough to close on the ball. Deangelo Hall is a means to an end.