But the Redskins weren’t abandoning all hope of meeting at least one need in free agency. Washington remained in the running Tuesday evening to sign free agent cornerback Aqib Talib, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
That person provided no details on the deliberations other than indicating the Redskins still have a chance to sign Talib, who finished last season with the New England Patriots and formerly played for Redskins secondary coach Raheem Morris with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
However, another person with knowledge of the Redskins’ situation said it appears the team will have a difficult time fitting a contract for Talib beneath the salary cap. That person said the Redskins would like to sign Talib but “do not have enough cash.”
The Patriots are thought to be interested in re-signing Talib.
Talib was traded to the Patriots last season after spending his first four full seasons with the Buccaneers. He has 19 interceptions in his five NFL seasons. He was a first-round draft choice by the Buccaneers in 2008.
Talib was suspended by the NFL for the 2010 season opener for a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy stemming from an incident with a cab driver in 2009. He was suspended for four games last season for violating the NFL’s policy on banned performance-enhancing substances. Talib said the suspension was due to Adderall use.
He also was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after being accused of firing a gun at his sister’s boyfriend in 2011. The felony charge later was dropped.
Cornerback is a pressing need for Washington because in addition to the release of Hall — who according to a person with knowledge of the situation drew interest from Minnesota, Detroit and Atlanta while his agent also had some talks with Washington about a possible return — the Redskins also lack a proven player for the nickelback position.
But Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan warned that the penalty — imposed by the NFL as punishment for how the team structured contracts in the uncapped 2010 season — could force his team to watch from the sideline while other teams upgraded their rosters at the start of the shopping period.
“Our situation is a little different,” he said on Monday. “We’re not able to go out in free agency. We might be able to do it for one guy or two guys depending on what the money is. That is just the hand we were dealt and are dealing with.”
Shanahan said Washington likely would have to wait until April’s draft to meet some of those pressing needs.
Meanwhile, the team likely will have to fill a void in the organization because of the apparent impending departure of Alexander.
Alexander, a Pro Bowl selection on special teams this past season, was poised early Tuesday evening to leave via free agency, a person familiar with the negotiations said.
“It looks that way,” the person said, calling the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers the leading bidders for the versatile Alexander, who since joining the Redskins in 2006 has lined up at seven positions in addition to playing regularly on three special teams units.
It was not clear as of early Tuesday evening whether the Redskins, hindered by their lack of salary cap space, would be able to re-enter the bidding in an effort to re-sign Alexander.
Shanahan said Monday that the Redskins hoped to re-sign Alexander but he didn’t know if the team could compete financially and Alexander had to take care of himself and his family.
As recently as last week, Alexander had expressed a desire to return to Washington, but also said “at the same time, I’ve got to do what’s best for my family. But I’m not worried about it. I’m confident in my game and how hard I’ve worked and know I can play anywhere.”
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