Chris Russell had a rough morning getting into the 980 studios, a 'carnival of epic proportions' leading to taking nearly an hour to go the last three miles from the 14th Street Bridges to our building!
So, between that and him being already upset at the ‘stupid holiday’ of May the Fourth Be With You, he was fired up when he got into his chair and decided that today’s target of vitriol was going to be one Kendall Fuller – whom he thinks won’t be a Commander at this time next year – and the rival 2-4 p.m. host in the studio next door?
“Emmanuel Forbes was drafted in the first round, and then, Quan Martin was taken the next night, and Danny Rouhier lost his lunch that they didn’t take offensive lineman Cody Mauch in the second round,” Russell began. “I love Danny, I want to make that clear, but Cody Mauch is not a guy anyone knows. And, as I told you Monday, I had no problem with the Commanders using their first two picks on defense.”
Russell was surprised both of those picks were defensive backs, even as we know that they tried to trade up for guard Steve Avila, who went 11 picks ahead of them in the second round, but Martin’s versatility sold that pick.
“When the Commanders took two defensive backs, a lot of people had questions about how they could do such an ‘irresponsible’ thing,” Russell said, “but I told everyone last Friday, after Forbes was taken, that we knew corner was going to be a very high priority – and we should not take a lineman in the second round just because of that.”
Indeed, the Commanders listened, and that’s where things got dicey for Fuller.
“Kendall Fuller is a pending free agent with a huge cap number, and he stunk in the first half of last year. He was much better in the second half, but he was dreadful in the first half,” Russell said. “So when you take Forbes and Martin and ask how that makes sense…here’s why: the more I think about it, if Kendall Fuller plays out this season with the Commanders, I’ll be surprised.”
A pre-June 1 cut, a post-June 1 cut, or a trade at some point, it matters not to Russell, because they are all better than the alternative.
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“The fifth option is Kendall Fuller being in burgundy and gold at the end of the season, and at this point, that’s no higher than second-to-last on my list,” Russell said. “With Ron and the Marty Party you never really know, but I don’t think Fuller ends the year in a Commanders uniform.”
Of course, Chris went into all the woes of the Commanders’ previous defensive backfield, which is why he thinks it was smart for the team to double down in the secondary in the first two rounds.
But about Fuller…
“What would you do with Fuller? Would you cut him now, or post-June 1 to divvy up the money hit? Would you wait until training camp to see how good Forbes or Martin are, or if anyone else has made improvements?” Russell asked. “If Benjamin St. Juste can stay healthy, do you cut or trade Fuller at the end of camp, or do you hold onto him and see if he gets off to a hot start and then trade him?”
He doubled down on Fuller lasting the year being the least desirable (and least likely) option, but he knows what he would do if he were Ron Rivera and Martin Mayhew with a player in Fuller who can't seem to do much of anything right in his eyes: "If everyone is healthy and right, and is what you think they are...do you really need Kendall Fuller at $11 million plus? No, so it is worth it to trade him after training camp once you see what you have."
Listen to the entire first hour of Thursday's Chris Russell Show above to hear all of his thoughts on Kendall Fuller!
Follow Chris Russell on Twitter: @Russellmania621
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