Redskins reunite with Kendall Fuller, address major need at cornerback

In 2018, Kendall Fuller found out on Twitter that he was traded from the Washington Redskins.

Two years later, the Redskins gave the cornerback the biggest payday of his career.

The Redskins and Fuller agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract late Monday, a move that addresses a major need for Washington. The agreement was reported shortly after news broke the Redskins had aggressively pursued Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper, only to be turned down. 

By reuniting with Fuller, the Redskins are attempting to shore up a pass defense that ranked 24th in defensive efficiency last season. Washington knows Fuller well as it drafted him in the third round of the 2016 draft out of Virginia Tech. Fuller blossomed during the first two years of his career — leading Washington to trade the cornerback and a third-round pick for quarterback Alex Smith in 2018.

Fuller shines mostly in the slot, but he has positional flexibility as well. According to Pro Football Focus, the 25-year-old played 313 of his 498 regular-season snaps in 2019 on the inside, but also took 40 snaps at free safety and another 25 on the outside. 

With the Chiefs, Fuller is coming off a Super Bowl-winning season. But the Virginia Tech product had two up-and-down years in Kansas City. After a strong 2018, Fuller missed five games because of a thumb injury and started only four of his 11 games. Fuller’s playing time, though, jumped in the postseason, and the cornerback sealed the Chiefs’ victory in Super Bowl LIV with a late-game interception.

Fuller joins a Redskins secondary that includes Quinton Dunbar and a group of young cornerbacks. If Fuller starts inside, that would leave Washington to start Dunbar and Fabian Moreau on the outside. The team also has Jimmy Moreland and Greg Stroman as reserves. 

Earlier on Monday, the Redskins missed out on some of the bigger-name cornerbacks on the market. 

James Bradberry, rumored to be an early target for Washington before the buzz quieted in the last week, signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the New York Giants. Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones, meanwhile, became the highest-paid corner in the league when the Miami Dolphins gave him a five-year, $82.5 million deal. 

Still, the Redskins were reportedly “pretty fired up” to reunite with Fuller.

Fuller was Washington’s third signing in free agency. The team also re-signed linebacker Jon Bostic (two years, $6.6 million) and added guard Wes Schweitzer (three years, $13.5 million).