Well, that was quick, wasn’t it?
Less than an hour after the legal tampering period opened up in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns and free-agent tight end Austin Hooper are closing a deal that will see him become the highest-paid TE in the NFL.
Hooper was arguably the Washington Redskins top free-agent target heading into the offseason, though they might have soured on him a bit after learning how much money he was set to make. Now they will be forced to look elsewhere to fill one of their biggest holes on the offense with the top two free agents at the position off the table — Los Angeles Chargers TE Hunter Henry was franchise tagged earlier this month.
So where do they go from here? There are still some big-time names on the market, like Jimmy Graham, or Eric Ebron. The Redskins could also look at Delanie Walker or Tyler Eifert, though both have struggled with injuries in their career. No matter who the Redskins bring in, though, we know that they won’t be shelling out the type of cash that would have been necessary to bring Hooper to Washington. Good, more cap space for other needs.
