On Tuesday, Washington coach Ron Rivera made it clear that the team is covering all bases in the search for a new coach. On Wednesday, Washington G.M. Martin Mayhew made it clear that the team is literally doing just that.
“We feel we have canvassed the league effectively,” Mayhew told reporters, via John Kein of ESPN.com. “We’ve spoken to every club that has a quarterback who might be available.”
Mayhew said the Commanders did the same thing a year ago.
“If you don’t have a franchise quarterback, you have to have urgency about [finding one] every year,” Mayhew said. “We were very urgent about it last year. I’m not sure that was a fair fight for Matthew [Stafford] last year, I’ll leave it there. We did everything we could to find the right guy.”
It wasn’t a fair fight for Stafford, for a couple of reasons. First, then-new Lions G.M. Brad Holmes had landed the job after working for the Rams. It was an open and easy line of communication. Second, the Rams needed to find a broader deal into which the Jared Goff contract could be tucked, in order to save face as to the God-awful contract they’d given him.
Mayhew isn’t the first to express dismay that the competition for Stafford wasn’t as open as it could have been, or arguably as it should have been. The Lions may have gotten more by holding an open auction for Stafford. Then again, there were teams for which Stafford didn’t want to play. He clearly wanted to play for the Rams, and it obviously worked out.
This year, Washington is actively looking. And it may not necessarily happen via trade.
“This is a quality quarterback class this year,” Mayhew said. “As of right now, I think there may be some separation here at the Combine. We may see some of that happening. But we’re aware of what our options are as far as next year too. We are looking to address it now, if possible. And that’s where our focus is.”
Taylor Heinicke may not be thrilled about that, but he’s had his chance to become the guy Washington needs him to be. He hasn’t. So now they’ll look elsewhere. And they’ll keep looking until they find one.