FREE AGENCY NEEDS A LIGHTER TOUCH
Washington is expected to have the fifth most money to spend under the salary cap this season, but that’s not saying the team can go crazy.
The salary cap will fall from $198 million last season to around $180 million this year because of lost revenues pertaining to the pandemic. The number may not be set until free agency begins on March 17 because the NFL is still finalizing its new TV contracts.
Washington will have around $40 million to spend. But, that’s a moving target. You can add $14 million if quarterback Alex Smith leaves, but deduct $15 million if re-signing guard Brandon Scherff. And, Smith’s successor will take some of the cap space, too.
Washington has cap room because it went with more younger players in the last few years. But, they’ll start getting paid as free agents in 2022 when both defensive linemen Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are off rookie deals. Washington can carry over unused 2021 funds to help keep those players so it can’t empty the bank now.
Translation – don’t look for splashy free agency deals. Maybe one. Could be a receiver. But, pandemic losses hurt the NFL just like everyone else.
DRAFT A PASSER IN FIRST ROUND
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
TIGHT ENDS
TIGHT ENDS
WIDE RECEIVERS
WIDE RECEIVERS
RUNNING BACKS
RUNNING BACKS
QUARTERBACKS
QUARTERBACKS
GUARDS/CENTERS TOP AVAILABLE FREE AGENTS
GUARDS/CENTERS TOP AVAILABLE FREE AGENTS
Q&A with Ron Rivera, Martin Mayhew and Marty Hurney
Coach Ron Rivera, General Manager Martin Mayhew and Executive Vice President of Football/Player Personnel Marty Hurney met with the media via Zoom on Feb. 3 to discuss the direction of the new front office. The interview is edited for space.
OFFENSIVE TACKLES
OFFENSIVE TACKLES
Never a quiet time for WFT
The dust never settles around the Washington Football Team.
Bargains can be valuable additions
Raise your hand if you muttered derisively last offseason when the Washington Football Team signed free-agent tight end Logan Thomas away from the Detroit Lions.
3 big thoughts
3 big thoughts
PIECE OF SPACEX ROCKET DEBRIS LANDS AT WASHINGTON STATE FARM
A piece of burning rocket debris seen streaking across the Pacific Northwest sky last week crashed on a farm in eastern Washington state, authorities said.
Course Correction
A plan to renovate public links in the U.S. capital aims to bring golf back to the community
Tiffany Alfonseca
A Not So Subtle Rebellion
Fortress Washington
The barricading of the U.S. Capitol, after years of stepped-up security in D.C., fuels the push for statehood
Varied Thrush: Making a bold statement
Globally, the thrush family contains 169 viable species; three other thrush species are now extinct.
GOOGLE ANTES UP $2.6M TO SETTLE PAY, JOB DISCRIMINATION CASE
Google will pay $2.6 million to more than 5,500 employees and past job applicants to resolve allegations that the internet giant discriminated against female engineers and Asians in California and Washington state.
HUNTING FOR THUNDEREGGS
Uncovering A “Ghost” Volcano’s Treasures
Fire and Ice
Find alpine bliss halfway through this snowshoe beneath an active volcano on Artist Point Trail in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington.
Some Decembers to remember
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
HOW PHONES CAN ALERT YOU TO COVID-19 EXPOSURE
More than 8.1 million people in the U.S. have turned their iPhones and Android devices into pandemic contact-tracing tools, but it hasn’t been of much use when their neighbors, classmates and coworkers aren’t on the same system.