Running back and special teamer Dwayne Washington staying with the New Orleans Saints
As has been the trend thus far for the New Orleans Saints thus far this offseason, aside from the surprising Marcus Williams franchise tag, the simpler financial contracts are getting early attention. The Saints have already signed one year deals with safety J.T. Gray, running back Ty Montgomery, and defensive end Noah Spence. Now, they add another vet minimum one-year deal with running back Dwayne Washington.
The Saints have re-signed RB Dwayne Washington. He’s a useful depth level runner and core special teamer for New Orleans.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 10, 2021
The deal is another that carries only an $850K cap hit despite the $990K base salary thanks to the veteran salary benefit which reduces the accounting for the Saints. Another marginal difference in the salary cap as this is a deal which also pushes another player out of the top 51 counting against the cap
Washington’s eight carries for 15 yards in 2020 won’t jump off the page, but his special teams acumen will. In fact, his value is so great to the Saints that they kept him along throughout the season despite having four players designated at the running back position last year. Though we know that Ty Montgomery, one of the four, spent more time at wideout than in the backfield to start the year.
Since joining the Saints in 2018, Washington has continued to earn the call back twice now on one-year contracts. He played 40% of special team snaps in 2018, 65%of in 2019, and 45% in 2020.
Under Sean Payton the Saints have always put an emphasis on special teams, but over the past few seasons that situation has increased and Dwayne Washington is part of the core special team units for Saints.
Along with adding some depth at halfback… https://t.co/meKWyeIcwx— Michael Detillier (@MikeDetillier) March 10, 2021
While most of the bigger names still remain untouched; Ryan Ramczyk and Marshon Lattimore for instance, these special teamers and depth players are key building blocks to the Saints’ success. New Orleans relies on every player being on the same page from one to 53 on the roster. Any disconnect there throws off the chemistry and community they’ve built.
These one-year deals may not be important to those outside of the facility and fanbase, but they are vital to the continued success of the team. Which is why an early focus on maintaining the fabric of the club is a good showing by the Saints brass who are intent on remaining competitive in 2021 despite some potential larger changes on the way. If they want to do so, they’ll need to keep that competitive edge not only on offense and defense, but on special teams and in the depth category as well. Dwayne Washington helps them do that.
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