Anquan Boldin (81) makes a reception as Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson (26) defends during the second half at FedEx Field. The 49ers won 27-6. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins are set to have much more cap space than they did last season, and one of their prime free agent targets could be New England Patriots No. 1 corner Aqib Talib, who has strong ties to current Redskins DBs coach Raheem Morris. Last offseason, the Redskins showed interest in Talib before settling on another former Tampa Bay Buccaneers CB, as the team simply couldn’t afford to pay Talib. He eventually signed a one-year, $5 million prove-it deal to stay in New England, and most people expect him to stay in Foxboro. However, he could easily hit the free agent market if the Patriots don’t use the franchise tag to extend their negotiation period with one of their two priority FAs, so the Redskins will be hoping to have a shot at coaxing him to the nation’s capital.
There’s no doubt that the Redskins biggest need this offseason is to upgrade their secondary, as they had issues at both corner and safety. Even only signing Talib wouldn’t be enough to fix the Redskins defensive backfield, and I think this is a team that needs to sign two guys back there.
The Redskins have to worry about a few free agents this offseason, but it doesn’t sound like they will be sweating cornerback Josh Wilson’s impending free agency. Once one of the leagues better and most underrated CBs while with the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, Josh Wilson had two very good 2011 and 2012 seasons with the Redskins organization and was easily their best corner. He was their best CB this past season as well, but that isn’t saying much due to how poorly everyone was. He had a bad year and defended under ten passes for the first time since 2008, but he also had four picks and nine PDs in ’08 (his first year with significant playing time).
According to ESPN NFL Nation’s John Keim, it would be “tough” to envision the Redskins re-signing Wilson this offseason, furthering the notion that they are high on intriguing N.C. State product David Amerson, who had some predictable rookie struggles in 2013. It means that the Redskins will have an increased need to upgrade at CB but will also have more flexibility to get someone who will be even better than Wilson.