Current Redskins Salary Cap Status - 2009

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by CrazyCanuck

The question is how long can we expect to rely on this core group of guys?

Of the top 20 cap hits for the Skins in '09, 17 have played at least 7 seasons already (Landry, Cooley, Rogers are the others). How many more shots can Portis take? How many more years can Fletcher carry our defense? This is not a young group and it's not getting younger.

The Skins have 2 choices IMO:

1. Play for 2010-2011 and make a REAL commitment to youth. Keep Landry, Campbell, Cooley, Rogers, Betts, and the recent draft picks - and jettison the rest. As Gary Oldman said in "The Professional": "EVERYONE!!!" Take the billion dollar deadcap hit in 2009 and set ourselves up with a new young core for 2010 and beyond.

2. Continue with the same strategy and try to make one more serious run with this group. Bring in free agent stopgaps to fill our holes on the lines and elsewhere and hope Campbell and our other young guys progress to the point that we can be serious NFC title contenders within the next 2-3 years.

Hate to say it but after years of painful mediocrity, option 1 is starting to sound really good to me. But we all know the odds of option 2 are about 99.9%.

Of those 17, why does it have to be an immediate firesale? Option 1 seems kind of excessive. Can't we just gradually (over the course of 2 or 3 seasons) jettison those older large cap hits based on some hybrid formula of declining productivity and size of cap hit? Maybe that's kind of what you're suggesting in option two.

I say sign stopgaps but make sure they're relatively young and be smart with their contracts, don't piss away draft picks for old and/or questionable talent, and continue to get younger through the draft.