Washington Redskins: Could old face in AAF help at receiver?

The Washington Redskins will be looking for help at wide receiver this offseason. Could Rashad Ross be an answer? He looks like one in the AAF.

It was painfully obvious during parts (most) of last season that the Washington Redskins needed help at wide receiver. The position is even more of a need now with Jamison Crowder a free agent (although a return is definitely possible). Making a big splash in free agency or the draft would be a smart move. That being said, they need more than just a big name. They need depth and speed. Rashad Ross, anyone?

Ross was with the Redskins for parts of 2015 and 2016. In 2015, he appeared in 13 games, catching eight passes for 184 yards and one touchdown. That one touchdown was a 71-yarder. Now playing with the Arizona Hotshots in the AAF, Ross lit it up with five receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Among those catches were a deep ball that showed off the 29-year-old’s blazing speed and a circus catch that proved he’s more than just a deep threat.

I’m not saying the Redskins need to sign him and make him the main attraction in their offense. However, something that was lacking big-time for them this year was a credible deep threat.

Josh Doctson has the athleticism and height, but doesn’t have that “torch” speed. Same goes for Maurice Harris (also a free agent). Paul Richardson has speed, but only had two 30-plus yard catches all season last year, and none over 50 yards.

Now, you could argue that had to do with the quarterback play as well (it did), but the Redskins had one-and-a-half true deep threat weapons last season. Due to that, it’s hard to blame the quarterbacks for not wanting to test their luck too often.

Depth was also a serious problem, as the Redskins had to bring in Michael Floyd midseason and gave playing time to multiple practice squad players to deal with the issue. Ross is familiar with both the NFL and the Redskins. He’d be a solid veteran to have for depth purposes and would give them a viable deep option for certain situations.

He already seems to have an endorsement of sorts from a former teammate.

This wouldn’t be the massive move the Washington Redskins need to make to fix their receiving weapons problem. It’s a smart (cheap) move they should make to start the process though.