Jon Jansen’s release, a move that the Redskins announced earlier today, came as a surprise. Dan Snyder flew Redskins One to Michigan to pick up Jansen so that Jim Zorn could deliver to news to him in person. By releasing Jansen the Redskins took a cap hit of some $6 million. On the surface the timing is somewhat puzzling but once you dig a little deeper it makes more sense. Apparently this is a move that Zorn has wanted to make since the end of last year. However, had the move been made at the start of free agency it would have been very difficult to fit the contracts of Albert Haynesworth, Derrick Dockery and DeAngelo Hall in under the cap. Also, at that time, Jansen was the only experienced depth the Redskins had at the tackle spot. Even though, in the view of Zorn and just about anybody who watched more than five minutes of the 2008 Redskins’ offense with Jansen in the lineup, his skills had slipped considerably from his prime seasons it would have been foolhardy to release him and leave nothing in reserve. The fact that the penciled-in starter is Stephon Heyer, who still is a work in progress, make it even more important for the Redskins to have a solid reserve at right tackle. Then, just before the draft, one shoe dropped for Jansen. The Redskins signed Mike Williams. The fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft was about 70 pounds overweight and hasn’t played since 2006. He’s a veteran project but a warm body (actually, Zorn said that he was as big as two bodies) nonetheless. The other shoe fell when the team signed Jeremy Bridges. The Southern Mississippi product has started 39 games in six seasons with the Eagles, Cardinals, and Panthers. At his low end he represents quality depth and at the high end he could beat out Heyer for the starting job. So the Redskins had two potential replacements for Jansen. During minicamp and OTA’s they tried him at backup center but he failed to impress there. They may have given him a shot in training camp but he was due a $1.5 million roster bonus in July. If they had him participate in the second round of OTA’s starting on Monday to give him a last shot they would have been gambling. If he were to sustain a serious injury during the OTA’s the team would have been on the hook for the roster bonus and his 2009 salary. Some have asked why they didn’t wait until after June 1 to spread the cap hit out. Since 2010 currently is an uncapped year, June 1 doesn’t exist. Well, it’s on your calendar but there is no cap hit break for releasing a player after June 1. They don’t want teams prematurely dumping dead cap in next year. Jansen, of course, is the longest-tenured Redskin. He never quite got his play up to a Pro Bowl level but he was a solid a tackle as there was in the game from about 2000 through 2003. Although he repeatedly expressed frustration with Steve Spurrier’s blocking schemes he resigned with the Redskins prior to becoming a free agent in 2002. That contract made sense. The one that didn’t make sense was the one that Joe Gibbs signed him to in 2007. The $23 million deal carried $10 million in guarantees and it is the leftover money on that deal that created the nasty cap hit the Redskins sustained today.
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Thanks for your time with the Skins Jon but you aren’t a starter in the league anymore. Good luck with the lions
I still think Bridges is the starting RT in 2009.
Good analysis. Thanks for this. I couldn’t figure out why we cut him for a bigger hit rather than keep him another year.
Hey Rich:
I don’t understand this move at all. While Jansen has “slipped” a bit, he can still play and that is evident on the eagles tape from last year. With the cap hit and the cheap salary for a veteran, I don’t see how we benefit. Even if Heyer is the guy, we still need to bring in someone – are we eyeing Runyan? The way I see it, you can’t replace his talent/experience at his salary base so why not just cut him next year?
i wonder if this has anything to do with Ed Williams as reserve center ?
last year we tried to stash crummey on PS and he got picked off of it by the Bengals. also, we had Kendall as reserve center.
this year ? Jansen as reserve center ? are you kidding me ?? that would have been about as useful as plugging in Geisinger at Left Tackle agaisnt Suggs.. maybe, just maybe, the front office and coaches have gotten a clue that quality reserves actually matter?
so that comes back to who plays the reserve center role .. again, if Williams has shown enough so that he looks to be a decent back up this year, and possibly competitve for Rabach’s spot next year, then it makes zero sense to keep Jansen and risk having another future roster player picked off the PS.
worse, to have had to make that move in-season if Rabach were to go down. yes, we could always hunt around for another veteran, and we could still do that if Williams falters in OTA’s or preseason. but somehow, i dont see that happening.
we have just started the process of getting younger and more athletic on the O line. it is more than necessary. a strong thank you for all of Jon’s past work with the team but anyone who watched him struggle badly in pass protection has to come to the conclusion that his effective playing days as a pass protector are long gone.. good luck, to culpepper and stafford– keep your heads on a swivel because with bacchus and jansen at tackles, the pass rush is going to look like a jailbreak…
shally
Happy Birthday to you, Rich !!!
just want to take a sec to give a birthday shout out to one of the best bloggers and Redskin commentators out there
Many happy returns of the day
hope we get to read your material for many years to come
all the best
Shally
Everything I read said that he was working out hard and was finally 100% healthy. So I was surprised to see this happen.
No, he’s not a starter anymore, but I still believe he can be a solid backup. Personally, I think I’d rather have a veteran backup that knows the system, than one that does not. I think we’re going to miss him.