Washington Redskins: Tyvon Branch an option?

By Andrew Long | Mar 8, 2015

The start of the NFL free agency period is nearly here and it is my belief that the Washington Redskins will not be major players this spring. They’ll obviously still take visits and sign a number of players, but I don’t expect them to make the splashy signings that they have in the past.

I fully expect Scot McCloughan and Washington management to take a more reserved approach this off-season. By taking a safer, more mild approach, the Redskins will be able to sign multiple players at positions of need instead of dumping all of their cash into one monster deal in hopes of it panning out.

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Earlier this week, Mike Jones of the Washington Post wrote an article about the Redskins and their intentions of courting safety Tyvon Branch. It’s a move that would make sense given the current state of Washington’s secondary. The Redskins finished the 2014 season ranked 23rd in passing yards allowed and 32nd in passing touchdowns allowed. Their defense only managed to force 7 interceptions on the year, too.

It’s evident that the Redskins need defensive help, especially on the back end. Ryan Clark and Brandon Meriweather started for Washington last year, but they’re both gone. Despite being injured for much of the last 2 seasons, Branch is regarded as one of the better safeties in this year’s free agency class.

At only 28 years old, Tyvon Branch comes in at 6 foot, 210 pounds. While he isn’t much bigger than Clark and Meriweather (both players are 5 foot 11 and about 200 pounds), the added length would still be a nice bonus for Washington’s secondary.

In an interview with Larry Michael on Redskins Nation, new defensive backs coach Perry Fewell talked about the current state of the Washington Redskins secondary. Michael would go on to ask Fewell about his opinion on big defensive backs; having big, physical defensive backs has become a trend among NFL teams over the past few seasons.

Fewell would go on to say, “I love the big, long DBs.” He also stated, “I think when you have a long DB, that helps us in terms of defending the pass.”

Fewell’s statement about liking big defensive backs is something that bodes well for Branch. His size and physicality is something that he leans on; this is necessary for a player like Branch because much of his success comes from lurking around the box. Branch’s run-support has led to him posting impressive tackling numbers in the years prior to 2013 and 2014 – seasons that both ended in injury.

Branch finished with 70+ tackles every season from 2009-2012. He accumulated a total of 6 sacks in that time period, too. During that time span, Branch proved to be an asset for Oakland. He was a young, talented safety that played the game with speed and velocity.

Had he not suffered season ending injuries in 2013 and 2014, there’s a good chance that he’s still wearing silver and black. But that’s simply not the case. Branch only appeared in 5 games over the past 2 seasons, which equates to about 15%.

Having back-to-back seasons end in injury is cause for concern and is something that the Redskins will surely take into account. I don’t think that it’s something that will stop Washington from pursuing him, though. Given his talent, age, and injury history, Branch is a perfect candidate for a 1-year prove it deal. If the Redskins can talk Branch into that sort of contract, I believe that they should seriously consider adding him to their defensive repertoire.

Next: Washington Redskins draft: possible safeties

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