Transactions

Washington Redskins sign wide receiver Paul Richardson

Posted on
Washington Redskins sign wide receiver Paul Richardson

The Washington Redskins officially signed unrestricted free agent wide receiver Paul Richardson at Redskins Park on Thursday.

Richardson signed a contract with Washington for five-years, $40 million. Richardson (6-0, 183) was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft (45th overall). In 47 games with Seattle (19 starts), Richardson recorded 95 receptions for 1,302 yards with eight touchdowns.

Taking a look at the details in Richardson’s deal: $12.5 million is fully guaranteed at signing, $10 million signing bonus, $1.5 million 2018 salary, and $1 million of his $5 million 2019 salary. More money will become guaranteed if Richardson is on the roster as of five days after the start of the league year in 2019 and 2020. The remaining $4 million of his 2019 salary and $3.5 million of his $6 million 2020 salary become guaranteed on at that point. He’ll get $7.5 million in 2021 and 2022. He can also earn $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses ($31,250 for every game he is on the 46-man game day roster).

It all adds up to the following salary cap numbers:

2018: $4 million
2019: $7.5 million
2020: $8.5 million
2021: $10 million
2022: $10 million

The Redskins held a press conference officially announcing the signing of wide receiver Paul Richardson on Thursday afternoon. That press conference is below:

When asked if the success of former Redskins receivers played a factor in his decision Richardson gave an in-depth response.

“That played a big role. I’m friends with DeSean [Jackson]. I’m friends with Pierre [Garçon]. They’re both great guys, great receivers. Especially Pierre, when Pierre told me this would be a great fit for me, I trusted him. He described the staff to me. He described the offense, and then, you know, I look. I pay attention to teams. I look up Alex; I look up the offense, I just see where guys are getting open, seeing windows that I’ve never seen before. I just could picture myself in those windows, so I’m looking forward to different concepts, how they get guys open and I think I will be able to contribute.”

Last year, Richardson recorded career highs with 13 starts, 44 receptions, 703 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. His 16.0 yards-per-catch average in 2017 was the best by a member of the Seahawks since 2003.

When asked what he has been able to learn from Desean Jackson, Richardson showed he indeed has been picking things up.

“For a decade, DeSean, he sets people up so great with his double moves downfield. He has great ball tracking ability over his shoulder. All parts of my game that I’ve been working on that I can’t wait to be able to show and, you know, I really took that from DeSean and what I took from Pierre even, just how aggressive he is, how much attitude he plays with, how much confidence he plays with. Both of them play with a lot of confidence, so just being able to take parts of their game, being able to ask Pierre questions and him being able to help me, you know, I think things are going to pan out great.”

Several scouts have compared Richardson and Jackson over the years, Richardson doesn’t shy away from that but says he adds another element.

“I feel like us both being from California, both being from L.A., and us being speed guys, there’s going to be a lot of comparisons, and I think he’s a great receiver. Like I said, I look up to him a lot, especially how he sets guys up in his routes. I think that I have a lot of the same qualities. I think that I do add the ‘going up and get it’ aspect. I like going up against defenders and turning 50/50 balls into 100 percent mine. So, you know, that’s the other element that I will bring.”

[Featured Image via Redskins.com]



Related Items:, , , ,
To Top