Redskins place franchise tag on Orakpo

[TenandSix:Unacceptable]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

Well, we will have to agree to disagree. If you want to say he is not "elite", fine. No argument. To say "outside of sacks, I really don't think he's a very good player", well, that's a huge leap. I would suggest that it is also unjustified.

From a purely objective standpoint, he may not be worth 12M a year, but he is certainly a 8-9M/year player. Since coming in the league, he has consistently improved his game "outside of sacks" and is well thought of by his teammates who, if you go back and look at their comments, definitely considered him a top 10 OLB. Rak starts on every team that doesn't have a OLB named Ware, Suggs or Mathews. Is he top 5, no. Top 10, yup.

As someone else said, in three years are highest paid players are T. Williams, RGIII and Rak, we are doing something right.

Side note, from a Keim report:
"Finally, KC Joyner included a stat on linebacker Brian Orakpo: 'Orakpo posted a 2.3 percent mark in the disrupted dropback percentage metric that tracks how often a defender tallies a sack, interception, pass defensed or batted ball. That total ranked sixth among all linebackers last year and illustrates the kind of impact Orakpo can have.' "
Offseason Blueprint: Washington Redskins - ESPN

Well we went 10-6 w o him and 3-13 with him. Also as many have pointed out he was invisible the first part of the year when we still had a chance. He made a classic "contract push" when games were meaningless. Also, saying someone is a starting player at OLB puts him into the top 64 at their position plus there's over 100 starting LB's in the league. I'd personally rather upgrade the other LB positions and then find someone who may be an adequate downgrade for Rak. I don't think Orakpo is a true game changer at LB. A solid cog? Sure. Worth top 5 or 10 money at his position? No.

I honestly think that's why they franchised him. So they can keep him in the fold with an eye towards letting him walk in a year if he doesn't really turn a corner. If that's the case, like I said, I hope they go after OL and more help in the front seven with the remaining cap.