Getty Washington Redskins QB Colt McCoy
The Washington Redskins suffered another brutal blow at the quarterback position. After a terrible injury to starter Alex Smith in Week 11, it was set to be the Colt McCoy show. Unfortunately for McCoy and the Redskins, that didn’t last long, as the signal-caller suffered a leg injury in the first half of the Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
As ESPN’s Lisa Salters revealed (h/t NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport), McCoy’s injury is a fractured right fibula and he will miss the remainder of the year.
With both Smith and McCoy now out for the year, let’s take a look at a few free-agent quarterbacks the team could sign to fill the void. As things currently stand, it will be veteran Mark Sanchez holding down the starting job.
Top Free-Agent Quarterbacks Redskins May Consider
- Paxton Lynch, 24, previously with Denver Broncos
- Matt Moore, 34, previously with Miami Dolphins
- EJ Manuel, 28, previously with Oakland Raiders
- Sam Bradford, 30, previously with Arizona Cardinals
It’s set to be the Mark Sanchez show, at least for as long as he can produce at even a remotely high level. The Redskins are down two quarterbacks, and not surprisingly, free agency isn’t loaded with big names. Of the options on this list, the most appealing may be Paxton Lynch, who struggled mightily with the Denver Broncos.
Lynch, who was a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, was beaten out by Chad Kelly (who was later released) after back-to-back years of poor play. He’s only seen action in five regular-season games, completing 61.7 percent of his passes for 792 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. If he were to be added by the Redskins, it would unquestionably be as a backup.
The Veteran Choices at Quarterback
As for veteran options such as Matt Moore and EJ Manuel, they could potentially fill in if their numbers were called. Moore played in four games last season with the Dolphins, completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 861 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions. Those numbers aren’t great, but he did throw eight touchdowns against three interceptions the season prior over four games.
Manuel was a surprise cut by the Raiders just before the season, as he was the backup to Derek Carr in 2017. The former first-round pick played in two games last season (starting one), throwing for 265 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He looked far better in spot duty while taking over in the game Carr got hurt in, as opposed to his lone start.
And then there’s the Sam Bradford conversation, who’s the only name on this list that actually started games this season, playing for the Arizona Cardinals. Unfortunately, it didn’t go very well, as his 62.5 quarterback rating proves. Bradford held the starting job over rookie Josh Rosen for three games, completing 50-of-80 passes for 400 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Over that three-game span, the Cardinals were outscored 74-20 and he was eventually released.
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