Two weeks ago, the Washington Redskins made a roster move that has ended up paying dividends on the field. They seemingly cut ties with an aging and expensive veteran while managing to get cheap-talent to produce like well-compensated assets — the recipe for success in the NFL.
The Redskins benched veteran cornerback Josh Norman after his tumultuous start to the season showed no signs of getting better, and they opted to move third-year CB Fabian Moreau from the slot to the outside corner position.
So far, that decision has proved invaluable for the Redskins, but not just on the football field; it will likely lighten the load on their wallet as time goes on as well.
Moreau has excelled in the last two games, where he has three interceptions in total. Not only does his play on the field look highly-appealing to the coaches, but his cap hit off the field is also enticing to the front office. Whereas Norman has a $15 million price tag on his person, Moreau is still on his rookie deal for one more season. That alone is reason enough to ride with the young gun going forward.
The truth is, the Redskins have to be feeling pretty great about their secondary for the next few years. Assuming they cut bait with Norman this offseason — a move that has all of the writing on the wall — they will have a young trio of corners who are easy on the salary cap and successful on the field. Opposite Moreau is Quinton Dunbar, who has risen to be one of the top corners in the NFL this year while only costing the franchise $4.5 million in 2020. In the slot is rookie Jimmy Moreland, who will be on his rookie deal for a couple more seasons. Should Washington be able to keep this trio together for the next year or two, they’ll be looking at excellent production for a bargain — in 2020, the three of them combined would be making about $6 million.
Assuming that the secondary continues to improve as time goes on, the Redskins will eventually have to shell out some cash to their young pass-defenders. But for now, Washington has found a way to get cheap talent to produce like well-compensated assets, and that’s the recipe for success in the NFL.
[vertical-gallery id=24890]