These aren't Jay Gruden's Redskins anymore. After all, if the team name can change, so can the names on jerseys.
Tackle Morgan Moses is the latest Washington Football Team player looking at departing flights. The seven-year veteran has been reportedly told to seek a trade. It's not surprising after the team signed veteran left tackle Charles Leno and drafted Sam Cosmi in the second round for right tackle. Moses would have been great depth, but he earns too much for that.
Coach Ron Rivera is getting rid of players that were part of a losing culture under Gruden, including 3-13 in 2019. It's not unusual for a new coach to do so over the first two seasons. Besides, who wants players that went 3-13?
Instead, Rivera wants to move forward with younger players who can develop together into a real contender and not last year's default NFC East champions at 7-9. The strong finish made fans forget how badly this team was beaten by many top teams, 11-0 Pittsburgh aside. Either Washington moves forward or it regresses. It's as simple as that in the NFL.
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The departing list includes Nick Sundberg and Ryan Kerrigan recently, along with Dwayne Haskins, Josh Norman, Jordan Reed, Alex Smith, Colt McCoy, Montae Nicholson, Chris Thompson, Adrian Peterson and Derrius Guice, plus trading holdout Trent Williams. The senior man in the locker room is punter Tress Way with seven years.
Losing Moses hurts the locker room. He may have played like one sore bag of bones, constantly lying on the ground in pain only to return one play later. The man has grit. He also was called for too many holding penalties trying to stop a speedier outside pass rusher.
Moses was a leader and good friend of right guard Brandon Scherff. You wonder if this plays into Scherff wanting to leave in 2022. The team needed to franchise its best offensive lineman after failing to gain a long-term deal.
But that would mean Scherff takes Moses' departure personally, and that's bad business in the NFL. Everyone eventually leaves and not many do so with no harsh feelings like Kerrigan just did. It's not personal, it's business.
The hardest part is not taking a bad team to good. It's moving a good team to great, and Washington has a lot of work to do so and the clock is always ticking in the NFL. Jettisoning veterans is Rivera's warning to all that the past wasn't good enough, and if players can't get better then the coach will find some that will.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks.
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