Jimmy Graham anyone?

The Redskins will attack tight end hard in free agency. Austin Hooper is everyone's top choice. That's the problem - everyone that needs one, wants him which leads to a bidding war.
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The Redskins desperately need a tight end. They really need two. 

Austin Hooper is the apple of everyone's eye and certainly the Redskins will be in that mix. 

They cannot solely bank on Hooper as their only option, because of the wide spread interest in him. 

So you have to have options. Hooper's calculated market value per Spotrac is five-years and $50 million.

If the price gets above $11 million per year, the Redskins might want to look the other way. 

If they do - Eric Ebron is my No. 2 choice. 

Ebron is figured to have a good market too because of the scarcity of tight ends. 

With Hunter Henry likely to be franchise tagged by the Chargers, who took one additional step towards that by signing Austin Ekeler to a multi-year deal, Ebron is widely considered the next best option after Hooper. 

If you take Henry off the board along with Greg Olsen, who signed with Seattle and spurned the Redskins, that leaves us with Hooper and Ebron, followed by everyone else.

So who else could be an option? How about Jimmy Graham? 

He's not officially a free agent but it certainly appears he will be when Green Bay releases him. 

Many Redskins fans are going to say no thanks! I get it. I do understand. 

Graham should not be Washington's first option but if they strike out on Hooper and Ebron, why not? 

If the bidding war gets to roughly $12 million per year on the open market for Hooper and say above $8 million per year for Ebron - how can you justify spending bad money?

Graham is the lesser and older player but he's still productive. 

Graham caught 38 passes in 16 games last year, along with three touchdowns and 447 yards. He played in both of the Packers playoff games. He had his highest graded game of the year (per ProFootballFocus.com) in the Seattle playoff win for the Packers, where he caught all three passes intended for him. 

Graham had three charged drops last season.

That's not enough production for what Graham was expected to cost the Packers but on the Redskins - that would be a significant upgrade based on what they have right now - which is largely nothing. 

Yes, I know they have five players under contract at the position following this week's signing of young veteran Marcus Baugh but we all know, they have nothing they can count on. 

If you could somehow get Graham on a one-year, $5 million dollar deal - with perhaps some incentives  - wouldn't you be better off if you price gets completely out of whack on Hooper and Ebron. 

Other cheaper options could be Marcedes Lewis and Richard Rogers

Not this Richard Rogers. This Richard Rogers, even though the picture is a bit messed up. 

Chris Russell is the Publisher of RedskinsReport.com & Sports Illustrated's Washington Redskins channel. He can be heard on 106.7 The FAN in the Washington D.C. area and world-wide on Radio.com. Chris also hosts the "Locked on Redskins" Podcast and can be read via subscription to Warpath Magazine. You can e-mail Chris at russellmania09@Gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @Russellmania621.


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Chris Russell
CHRIS RUSSELL