The Washington Redskins aren’t going to do anything special this season, and the mind already drifts to the changes they’re going to make in 2016. One of them will be getting rid of DeSean Jackson.
Jackson signed a three-year, $24 million deal in 2014 after leaving the Philadelphia Eagles. He had a good season with 1169 yards and six touchdowns, while leading the NFL in yards per receptions. But a pulled hamstring has kept him out of all but one game, and he has yet to catch one pass for the 2-4 Redskins.
His age, his salary and his expected declining production due to him not getting any faster (and speed is his main asset) might cause the Redskins to push the reset button on their entire offense once this season is over, even if it means another rebuilding period. Jackson is owed $9.25 million in 2016, and cutting him means shaving $8 million off the salary cap.
The Redskins might do the same with Pierre Garcon, who is 29 and his yards-per-catch numbers are declining rapidly with time, down to 9.2 per receptions this season. Keeping him for 2016 means a $10.2 million cap hit and for a player with just one season of more than 1000 yards in receiving, that’s a bit much.
Playing with younger, promising wide receivers might be the way to go for the Redskins, unless Jackson and Garcon agree to restructured deals, which means taking a paycut. The Redskins are hoping Jamison Crowder, who is having a quietly nice rookie season, can develop into a key offensive weapon for them pretty quickly.