USAT: Washington Wire audio clip

USAT: Washington Wire

Jan 25, 2022

Two weeks ago we began preliminary discussions concerning who were the most disappointing Washington players in 2021. - For starters, let’s make a clarification. Disappointing does not equal worst. You see, disappointing involves expectations, and expectations involves over-selling and under-delivering. - Organizing this list and introducing it probably should include a mention of who without question would have made the list. However, he experienced a tremendous recovery when defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio pulled him from the defensive backfield, inserting Landon Collins in a hybrid position closer to the line of scrimmage. - Collins began the year in his usual position at safety and he was horrendous, as quarterbacks shredded the back of Washington’s defense. However, Del Rio’s move for Collins brought a sudden improvement in Collins’ effectiveness. - Bluntly, it saved Collins’ season. In addition, Collins was provided hope that he could still be here next year despite a salary that reminds all of us of the folly that Bruce Allen and Dan Snyder orchestrated such a deal. - Collins suffered a foot injury, resulting in his missing four games. In his 13 games enjoying success in his “hybrid” role, Collins defended two passes, made two interceptions, three sacks, 51 solo tackles, 30 assisted tackles (81 combined), two QB hits and seven tackles for a Loss. - As it stands now, Collins is set to make $11.5 million as his 2022 base salary. A prorated bonus of $4.2 million and a roster bonus of $500,000 indicate Collins (if retained) will be a $16.2 million cap hit for Washington in 2022. - Consequently, part of the equation when discussing Landon Collins is by necessity going to be “dead money” and “cap savings.” If Washington were to determine they need to cut Collins pre-June 1, Collins would be a $9.6 million cap hit for 2022. A release after June 1, would mean a $4.2 million dead cap hit. - Or will Washington desire to keep Collins and his huge contract created by Snyder and Allen? Perhaps, Washington and Collins can agree on a contract restructure that helps the team. - On Wednesday, we begin our look at the top five most disappointing players in 2021, starting at No. 5. -   -   - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Washington Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Washington Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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