Washington Redskins had to sign Chris Culliver

The Washington Redskins have been rightfully criticized in the past for not doing enough to upgrade their secondary, so it was refreshing to see them make an aggressive upgrade at the position this offseason by signing former San Francisco 49ers corner Chris Culliver. Per the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the previously in-demand CB was signed to a four-year deal, and other reports put the total amount of money at $32 million, which is a princely sum for someone with huge character red flags, a season-ending injury in 2013, and no true No. 1 CB experience.

Despite the issues and risks associated with giving Culliver $8 million per year over four years, the fact of the matter is that he’s worth that kind of money to the Redskins. They simply couldn’t afford to let another offseason pass without signing a top CB, even if it took $16 million in guaranteed cash to do it. I’d rather slightly overpay for Culliver than pay a below-average corner a fair amount of money, and, looking at the contracts Kareem Jackson and Byron Maxwell received, it’s clear that good CBs will get top coin under almost every circumstance.

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When the season opens up in September, Culliver will be 27 years old, so the Redskins were able to lock him up through the prime of his career. He recorded four picks last season with 15 passes defended (tied for a career high he set in 2012), so he showed no ill-effects of the injury that robbed him of his 2013 campaign. Culliver has quietly been one of the league’s better corners ever since coming into the league, and you could argue that he’s extremely underrated and more than talented enough to make up for his off-field issues.

Bashaud Breeland looks like a genius draft-day decision for the Redskins with each passing day, but this team desperately needed to add a more proven cornerback on the other side of him. David Amerson once looked like a nice sleeper, but it’s just impossible to trust him as an outside corner at this point. The Redskins had to sign someone who has a track record of playing the position at a high level, and, based on the $8 million per year Culliver is making, they are signing a player whose talent is held in high esteem around the league.

It’s unlikely the Redskins will use either Breeland or Culliver in shadow coverage, which is fine since these two should comprise a talented, athletic outside duo. Defenses simply can’t pick and choose who they want to pepper with targets, since both corners should prove to be strong next season. All bets are off at the safety position, but the Culliver signing alone has turned cornerback from a huge hole into a decent spot for the Redskins. If you think about it, a quartet of Culliver, Breeland, DeAngelo Hall, and Amerson isn’t bad, especially in comparison to the lack of depth at the position that other teams face.

The Chris Culliver signing isn’t without bust potential, of course, since it’s a large investment to pay someone $8 million per year and $4 million in guaranteed cash. Injuries and other unpredictable events can always occur, and the cornerback position isn’t exactly a low-risk one, as another brief, former 49er in Nnamdi Asomugha taught us.

That said, Culliver brings huge upside to the table for the Redskins organization, and that makes up for some of the risk involved that is either inherent when signing a corner to a big-money contract or more specific to Culliver himself. Again, this is the guy with the ball skills to put up 15 PDs in each of his past two healthy seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, barely half of the passes thrown into his coverage were completions, and quarterbacks had a meager 66.5 QB Rating when targeting him.

Those are terrific numbers, and they aren’t much different from his 52.6% completion percentage allowed in 2012. Culliver is a bit burn-prone and can give up too many touchdowns, so this is worrisome given the Washington Redskins perpetually embarrassing safety situation. On the other hand, Culliver is an athletic corner who can drape wide receivers, and he’s exactly the kind of talent this team had to bring on board.

Todd Bowles and Mike Zimmer are two of the best defensive minds in the business, so when these two head coaches who clearly know a thing or two about defensive backs show interest in a player, then everyone needs to take note. The Redskins probably paid too much for Culliver’s services, but it was worth it given their need for a talented cornerback.

Next: Trading down viable option for Redskins?

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