After the Washington Redskins traded Quinton Dunbar last month to the Seattle Seahawks, they faced criticism from experts for the lack of compensation. The Seahawks sent a fifth-rounder (pick 162) in this year’s draft in exchange for the starting cornerback — a lower selection than what Washington gave up for quarterback Kyle Allen (pick 148).
But on a video conference Tuesday, Redskins coach Ron Rivera defended the move, telling reporters the team received “fair value” for Dunbar.
Rivera said Dunbar’s demand for a new contract facilitated the trade.
“I just felt that as the situation progressed, he was looking for something that we weren’t prepared to give and that was a new contract,” Rivera said. “He had a year left on his contract. We didn’t know him and just felt that because of that situation and circumstances — his agent and his attitude just didn’t seem to change.
“We just felt that we were going to move in another direction, so we decided to move on.”
Rivera indicated Dunbar’s injury history played a factor in what they got in return. The 27-year-old missed five games last year with knee and hamstring injuries and nine games in 2018 with a nerve injury. The 58-year-old coach said he believed the Redskins “felt good” about the return, especially since Dunbar was a receiver-turned-cornerback.
Dunbar was coming off a career season in which Pro Football Focus ranked him as one of the best at his position. He also grabbed a career-high four interceptions.
“We believe he’s a quality football player and wanted him to be here,” Rivera said of Dunbar. “Again, as I said not knowing players, not knowing how they fit or how they’re going to fit into your system. That’s kind of a tough thing to restructure somebody’s contract and give them a new deal. We just felt it was time to move on.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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