Dashon Goldson traded to Redskins from Buccaneers, addressing free safety need

Dashon Goldson, a hard-hitting free safety who spent the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was traded to the Washington Redskins on Friday morning, shoring up one of the team’s most glaring openings with just under three weeks remaining until the start of offseason workouts.

Goldson, 30, was acquired from the Buccaneers in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2016, according to NFL Network. The Redskins will also acquire a seventh-round pick from Tampa Bay in that draft.

“To Buc Nation, I’m sorry things didn’t [work out] the way we both wanted them to, Goldson wrote on his Twitter account Friday afternoon. “If you haven’t heard I’ll be pursuing my goals now with the Washington Redskins. I’ve learned a lot in the [two years] spent there and it has been an honor to be part of the Buc nation, to play for the Buccaneers and share my time with the community.”

Tampa Bay had been looking to move Goldson since the trade deadline last season, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which first reported the move Friday morning. Goldson’s pending release had been reported for much of the past month, making it apparent most teams were willing to wait the Buccaneers out before the Redskins finally offered them something in return.

An eight-year veteran, Goldson played his first six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers after being drafted in the fourth round out of Washington in 2007. He will be reunited with Scot McCloughan, the Redskins’ new general manager and a senior executive with the 49ers when Goldson was drafted.

Goldson signed a five-year, $41.25 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2013 — a deal that included $22 million guaranteed and a $7.5 million base salary in 2015. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers could be picking up some portion of the $4 million guaranteed to Goldson this season.

The move addresses a significant need for the Redskins, who, until Friday, did not have a free safety on their roster with measurable starting experience. Few players still available on the free agent market, if any, could reliably serve as a starting free safety, and for the second consecutive year, there are few players available in the draft who are projected to develop into quality starters during their career, let alone from their first days as a rookie.

Coach Jay Gruden said last week at the owners’ meetings in Phoenix that the Redskins were considering multiple options with regards to filling that starting free safety opening, projecting that the team would tab one of the players already under contract to fill that role. Another option was to move one of their cornerbacks, of which the Redskins now have several, to free safety.

Goldson will be paired with strong safety Jeron Johnson, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, who signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract last month. Phillip Thomas, who finished last season as the starting strong safety, will join Akeem Davis, Duke Ihenacho and Trenton Robinson as returning players hoping to carve out a reserve role at either spot.

One of the heaviest hitters in the league, Goldson was suspended one game in November 2013 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless receiver, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White. The suspension came weeks after Goldson was judged to have made an illegal hit on then-New Orleans Saints running back Darren Sproles — a hit that was followed by a one-game suspension that was reduced on appeal to a $100,000 fine.

Goldson has started every game he has played since 2009 — including 14 games last season, when he had 81 tackles but was held without an interception for the first time since 2008. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 2011 and 2012 seasons and was recognized as an all-pro in 2012.

“Those who[don’t]  know much about me I [love] to play this game,” Goldson wrote. “I will bring an attitude for sure to this defense. With the experience and knowledge I’ve accumulated throughout I will do everything to make those better around me.”