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The Washington Football Team has a busy offseason in front of them. Not only is Washington desperately seeking to upgrade the quarterback position, but it has several free agents it would like to retain.
Washington re-signed left tackle Charles Leno toward the end of the regular season, solidifying an important position for the next three years. Other free agents for Washington include Brandon Scherff, J.D. McKissic, Cornelius Lucas, Tim Settle and Bobby McCain.
Scherff is obviously the biggest name of the bunch, but he is expected to depart after back-to-back franchise tags. When discussing free agents, head coach Ron Rivera specifically mentioned Leno, McKissic and McCain as players he’d like to keep around.
McCain told reporters he preferred to stay. In a recent interview with Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, McKissic made his preference known.
“Definitely, I want to stay,” McKissic said. “Everybody knows that.”
McKissic entered the NFL back in 2016 as an undrafted free agent from Arkansas State. He spent most of his rookie season with the Falcons before signing with the Seahawks in December. Seattle converted McKissic to running back, where he enjoyed some success with the Seahawks.
After being waived by Seattle, the Detroit Lions claimed McKissic off waivers. He spent the 2019 season in Detroit, where he played all 16 games, making three starts.
He signed with Washington in 2020, and at the time, no one thought much of McKissic’s signing. He and tight end Logan Thomas ended up being signings for Washington that offseason. Both players have played a vital role in Washington’s offense when healthy.
Washington wants to keep McKissic, and it should. Before he was lost for the season in Week 12, McKissic was having another solid season as Washington’s complement to Antonio Gibson. It’s no coincidence that Washington’s offense was more efficient when McKissic was involved. He and Gibson are an outstanding duo because both are versatile. McKissic is arguably the game’s top pass-catching running back.
Washington will have a new quarterback in 2021. Whether that quarterback is a rookie or a veteran, he’d be better if McKissic was still around.
McKissic appreciates that Washington gave him an opportunity.
“I finally got the opportunity to just really be trusted and really show my versatility and what I can do,” McKissic said. “They gave me the chance to do that.”