Did Redskins Do Enough Over Offseason?

Free agency is over and the draft is done. Whatever the Redskins become in 2017 will be molded from the group on display when organized team activities and veteran minicamp take place later in May and early June.

- Brian Mcnally

A chaotic offseason for the front office and Jay Gruden’s coaching staff also witnessed plenty of roster changes with an overhaul at receiver and defensive line. But quarterback Kirk Cousins remains in place at least one more season with a stable offensive line in front of him and some familiar weapons to throw to. Washington didn’t need to go for a complete overhaul after an 8-7-1 season. But did it do enough to refashion itself into a playoff team again?

“The intangibles are more tangible than people know,” Redskins president Bruce Allen said. “And we identified what we felt were weaknesses last season and we had to get better. We have to get better at running the ball, we have to get better at stopping the run. [Dallas] won our division and led it in running the ball and stopping the run.”

On paper, Washington should be competitive again. Begin with Cousins, whose future is still unknown though he will play 2017 on the franchise tag again ($23.9 million). Maybe the two sides come to an agreement on a long-term contract extension by July 15. If not, that will leave a significant shadow across the season. Cousins has set the franchise passing yardage record each of the last two years, started 32 consecutive games and led the team to an NFC East title and a postseason berth in 2015.

The Redskins didn’t add a developmental quarterback behind Cousins. Instead, primary backup Colt McCoy remains under contract with 2016 sixth-round pick Nate Sudfeld again the scout-team quarterback.

Washington used the draft to add competition at running back. Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine joins Robert Kelley, Matt Jones and Chris Thompson in the backfield. Considering Jones was inactive from Week 8 on last season, it’s possible he doesn’t even make the team. Mack Brown was active the second half of the year because he could play special teams.