ORLANDO — The anticipation builds with each passing visit, only to dissipate within a few days, leaving a Washington Redskins fan base longing for more action. The long-awaited announcement of Alex Smith’s arrival and the addition of speedy wide receiver Paul Richardson Jr. weren’t enough to satiate local appetites for a flurry of NFL free agency moves. The signing of former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick and the return of inside linebacker Zach Brown weren’t enough either.
But while outside perception may be that the organization is being too frugal for its own good, Coach Jay Gruden has another word for Washington’s offseason approach.
“Cheap? How about selective?” he said in an interview Monday at the annual league meeting. “Because we’re not cheap.”
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Team President Bruce Allen smiled at the notion of the organization being stingy, saying in a separate interview: “The Redskins will never be known as cheap. We’re one of the reasons there is a salary cap in the NFL. There’s a couple of teams, one being the Redskins, that might have spent more than other teams.”
Monday’s signing of former Chicago Bears outside linebacker Pernell McPhee is one example of the team’s targeted approach: identifying quality commodities while refusing to budge from its budget. The goal is to improve the roster within reason and not overpay for production.
“The personnel department, with the coaching staff, will come to a final grade and then we’ll put a value on the grade,” Allen said. “Because you’re the best player at a particular position in free agency, it doesn’t mean you’re the best payer at that position in the league. So there’s a value put on each one of those players that we feel that fits in our locker room.”
The organization’s free agency focus was simple: Find “the right mix” of players for the 2018 season, Allen said, which includes the assortment of guys returning from injured reserve and the prospects the team will draft next month.
But that perfect blend of talent doesn’t need to break the bank.
“The flame is hot,” Allen said, when asked about the internal pressure he feels as president. “There’s an urgency. There’s an urgency to get something done every day, and there’s a way to improve your team. We met earlier this morning on some things and a way to improve our football team. It’s exciting. There’s a vibe inside Redskins Park. And the preparation for the draft — [Senior Vice President of Player Personnel] Doug [Williams] and his group — is off the charts right now. And as soon as these are over, we can’t wait to get out to some more pro days.”
With former outside linebacker Trent Murphy now in Buffalo and the Redskins front office officially having moved on from pass rusher Junior Galette, who turns 30 on Tuesday, Washington turned its attention to McPhee, a skilled edge rusher who visited the Redskins last week but left without a deal before meeting with the Atlanta Falcons.
McPhee spent the past three seasons in Chicago, tallying 14 sacks (six in 2015 and four in each of the past two years), and posted his highest single-season sack total (7 1/2) while with the Baltimore Ravens in 2014. The 29-year-old also has undergone several arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee.
His anticipated arrival, however, won’t stop some Redskins fans from clamoring for free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. The former Indianapolis Colt visited Ashburn two weeks ago, but it’s unclear if Washington will land him. Former Miami Dolphin Ndamukong Suh was the biggest free agent name available, but the five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle agreed to a deal Monday with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Redskins also brought in former New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson for a visit (he later signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Green Bay) and expressed interest in former Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe but chose not to make an offer. (Poe signed a three-year, $28 million deal with the Carolina Panthers)
Now, with free agency winding down, Gruden insisted the organization is happy with the moves it has made so far.
“We had some key targets that we wanted to approach, positions and people. Some of them we got, some of them we didn’t get,” he said. “That’s just the way it is every year. But we’re not just going to go out and sign 100 guys. We have, already, 70-plus guys on our roster right now.
“We’re doing what we think is right to better our football team. And sometimes quantity isn’t always the answer.”
Read more on the Redskins:
The Redskins won’t be bringing back pass rusher Junior Galette
‘Don’t answer your phone’: Inside the trade that brought Alex Smith to the Redskins
Paul Richardson welcomes the DeSean Jackson comparisons: ‘I look up to him a lot’
Redskins’ Alex Smith explains why he carries giant rocks on the ocean floor
