Here is what you need to know on this Friday, June 23, 34 days before the Washington Redskins start training camp in Richmond on July 27.
Timeline
The Redskins last played a game 173 days ago; they will open the 2017 season against the Eagles in FedEx Field in 79 days.
Days until:
—Franchise tag contract deadline (7/17) 24
—Preseason opener @ Ravens (8/10) 48
—Roster cut to 53 (9/2) 71
Fan questions—Twitter edition
I put up a tweet asking for fan questions and the questions I got required answers of the rapid-fire variety. So here we go (I answered some Facebook questions yesterday).
How much improvement can skins fans realistically expect on defensive side of ball with new coaches, FA,s & Draft additions?
— DPG (@DBStyle21) June 20, 2017
I think fans should be cautious about believing that new is necessarily better. That said, I would look for some modest improvement. If the pass rush delivers they should be better on third down. If the addition of Jonathan Allen upgrades the line they should be better against the rush. How fast can Allen and Ryan Anderson get up to speed? Enough pieces might come together to move them up from sub-mediocre into the middle of the pack. But a lot can go wrong.
What's the back-up plan at center?
— Dave Dombroski(@Home) (@wireman651) June 20, 2017
Chances are that when they put out the first depth chart during training camp that rookie Chase Roullier, the sixth-round pick, will be the second-team center. If he is not ready, I think Roullier will be bound for the practice squad and the Redskins will find a veteran backup C on the waiver wire.
@Rich_TandlerCSN #NTK would a 4 year fully guaranteed $88 million dollar deal create a progressive win win for Cousins and the team?
— Andrew Lloyd (@andrewj_lloyd) June 20, 2017
I’ve heard that floated around out there and it’s a pretty interesting proposal. There are some issues that would have to be worked out. For one thing, if the money is truly fully guaranteed then the Redskins would have to put every dime of it in escrow. They have a lot of cash but putting $88 million aside would create a cash flow pinch. And I’m not sure if it’s enough of a lure for Cousins. Big, long-term contracts are essentially guaranteed for at least three years because of the painful cap hit it would take to end the contract early so there wouldn’t be much added security.
https://twitter.com/Purple_Dranks/status/877212582414888960
That’s sort of a contradiction there, Chet. If a cut is “likely” in any way it’s not exactly a “surprise.” But to look at some who may go, I think that DeAngelo Hall could be in danger. His departure would surprise some. On the D-line, numbers may squeeze out Matt Ioannidis, a 2016 draft pick. There are a few more on the bubble but I don’t think any rise to the level of, say, Stephen Paea and Perry Riley getting cut in camp last year, something that in June few thought would happen.
Stay up to date on the Redskins. Rich Tandler covers the team 365 days a year. Like his Facebook page Facebook.com/TandlerCSN and follow him on Twitter @Rich_TandlerCSN.
Tandler on Twitter
Carr deal does not change much in #Redskins-Cousins dynamic because $$ about what was expected. Shock waves if much higher/lower. 1/2
— Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) June 22, 2017
Exception will be if details (fully guarantee, injury guarantee, payouts) turn out to be dramatic departure from norm. 2/2
— Rich Tandler (@TandlerNBCS) June 22, 2017
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