The Washington Redskins ended their 2016 season on a disappointing note against the New York Giants and missed the playoffs. Washington finished 8-7-1, narrowly missing a playoff spot that was within their grasp if they had just managed to defeat the Giants. Washington lost that game 19-10 behind a weak offensive effort from the team. Their best offensive player in the game was Pierre Garcon, who caught four passes for 96 yards. Now that he and DeSean Jackson are potentially leaving, the Redskins should consider signing Alshon Jeffery in free agency.
Alshon Jeffery Statistics.
There's no question that Alshon Jeffery is a very talented wide receiver who can catch almost anything thrown his way. He hasn't reached 1000 receiving yards in the past two seasons, but the blame for that can be placed at the feet of his wide array of poor quarterbacks during that time period. He flashed his true potential in 2013 and 2014, when he had more than 2500 receiving yards and seventeen touchdowns combined. The Redskins haven't had that quality or quantity of production from a receiver in a long time.
How Would Jeffery Fit in Redskins Offense?
Kirk Cousins would love to have another big wide receiver target on the roster. He already has Jordan Reed, who may be his favorite target, and would get a similar type player in Alshon.
The major difference between the two is that Alshon is much faster. And can you imagine what teams would have to do to guard him? The Redskins wide variety of options on the offensive end make it extremely difficult to double cover Alshon Jeffery.
That would mean that Alshon could play against single coverage on most plays, something that he has easily beaten throughout his career.
There's just one problem with signing Alshon Jeffery: Cost.
How Much to Sign Alshon?
If the Bears did choose to franchise Jeffery again, they'd have to pay him more than seventeen million dollars per year. The Redskins would likely be forced to pay a similar yearly amount if they wanted to bring him to Washington. And it might be hard for the team to afford that while also paying for the salary of Kirk Cousins.
Alshon would give the Redskins another dimension of speed and size to their offense even if the team did incur a huge cost to sign him.
