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2021 Washington Free Agency Journal

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The Washington Football Team is reloading for the 2021 season, starting with free agency.

New talent from around the league will be brought in and some familiar faces will return. Here's the list of those who have officially signed.

Stay up to the minute with all the deals officially in the books, and be sure to check back with Washingtonfootball.com and the Washington Football Team app for continuing 2021 free agency coverage.

We'll also have continuing coverage on our Free Agency Tracker. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Curtis Samuel, William Jackson III, Tyler Larsen, and David Mayo are welcomed to the Inova Sports Performance Center.

Free Agents Joining The Roster

CB Darryl Roberts

The 30-year-old, do-it-all defensive back comes to Washington after spending last season in Detroit and the previous four with the New York Jets. A seventh-round pick in 2015, Roberts has appeared in 67 career games with 31 starts and has totaled 203 tackles, 33 passes defensed, four interceptions and five tackles for a loss.

WR Adam Humphries

A college free agent in 2015, Humphries signed with Tampa Bay after rookie minicamp and played four seasons with the Buccaneers. His best two seasons came in 2017 and 2018, when he averaged 68.5 catches for 723.5 yards and three touchdowns. And in almost half of those games, he was catching passes from new Washington quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Humphries joined Tennessee in 2019, but injuries prevented him from replicating the success he had in Tampa Bay. He totaled 60 receptions, 602 yards and four scores in 19 appearances with the Titans.

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick (6-2, 228 pounds) is entering his 17th NFL season after originally being selected by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round (250th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 165 career games with 146 starts over 16 seasons with the Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins. Fitzpatrick has completed 60.7% of his passes for 34,977 yards and 223 touchdowns for a QB rating of 82.3. He has also registered 573 carries for 2,623 yards (4.6 avg.) and 21 touchdowns.

WR Curtis Samuel

Samuel (5-11, 195 pounds) is entering his fifth NFL season after originally being selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round (40th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 53 career games with 32 starts over four seasons with Carolina.

Samuel has amassed 185 receptions for 2,087 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career. He has also added 72 rushes for 478 yards and five touchdowns.

CB William Jackson III

Jackson (6-0, 196 pounds) is entering his sixth NFL season after originally being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round (24th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 59 career games with 48 starts over four seasons with Bengals after being placed on Injured Reserve before his rookie season.

Jackson has amassed 150 tackles (119 solo), five tackles for loss, 41 passes defensed, one sack and three interceptions, including one for a 75-yard touchdown. He has also tallied double-digit passes defensed in three of his first four seasons.

LB David Mayo

Mayo (6-2, 240 pounds) was originally drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round (No. 169 overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He appeared in 89 games and 19 starts and compiled 132 tackles (81 solo), 2.5 sacks for a loss of 8.5 yards, four passes defensed, two quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Last season as a member of the New York Giants, Mayo played in 11 games and registered 20 tackles (12 solo), two tackles for a loss and one forced fumble.

Mayo played collegiately at Texas State and played in 29 games in 3 seasons (2012-2014). During his tenure, he totaled 284 tackles (157 solo), four interceptions, three forced fumbles, 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery.

C Tyler Larsen

Larsen (6-4, 235 pounds) originally entered the NFL with the Miami Dolphins as a college free agent on May 12, 2014. He has appeared in 68 games and 18 starts, allowing just three sacks in his career. Last season as a member of the Carolina Panthers, Larsen saw action in 13 games and primarily played on special teams.

Larsen played collegiately at Utah State where he was a three-time all-conference selection, earning first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior in 2013 and first-team All-Western Athletic Conference recognition as a junior in 2012 and sophomore in 2011. He played in 52 games with 52 starts, both school records.

Players Retained In Free Agency:

RB Lamar Miller

Miller (5-10, 221) was originally selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round (No. 97 overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 106 games with 89 starts and has rushed for 5, 864 yards on 1, 354 attempts with 32 rushing touchdowns. Miller has also hauled in 211 receptions for 1, 571 yards and eight touchdowns.

T David Sharpe

Sharpe (6-6, 330) was originally selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round (No. 129 overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 34 games with six starts, allowing only five sacks in his career. In 2020, he appeared in 10 games with two starts, matching a career-high.

CB Danny Johnson

Johnson (5-9, 181) originally entered the NFL with Washington as a college free agent on May 2, 2018. He has appeared in 30 games with three starts and compiled 19 tackles (17 solo), two passes defensed and one tackle for loss while also being a consistent contributor on special teams. In 2020, Johnson appeared in 14 games as a returner. He returned four punts for three yards along with a career-high 26 kick returns for 573 yards [22.0 avg.].

LB Jared Norris

Norris (6-1, 238) originally entered the NFL with the Carolina Panthers as a college free agent on May 2, 2016. He has appeared in 39 career games and has contributed heavily on special teams. In 2020, Norris contributed on special teams and tallied three solo special teams tackles. 

K Dustin Hopkins

Hopkins, (6-2, 205 pounds) was originally selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round (No. 177 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. Hopkins has kicked in 87 regular season games, converting 83.9% of his 180 field goal attempts and 94.9% of his 178 PATs. Hopkins currently ranks No. 3 in franchise history in field goals made (151) and points (622).

In 2020, Hopkins converted 27-of-34 field goals alongside 30-of-32 PATs and 111 points. His 27 made field goals are his second-most in a single season in his career. This season, Hopkins passed Mark Moseley (12) for the most field goals from 50-plus yards in franchise history with 13. He also holds the highest field goal percentage mark in franchise history with 83.9%.

WR Cam Sims

Sims, who is entering his fourth season, had a career-high performance in 2020 with 477 yards. Sims became a key component to Washington's offense after catching his first-career touchdown against the New York Giants in Week 6, which brought the team within two points of taking the lead. From that point on, Sims appeared in at least 75% of the offensive snaps in each contest.

Sims was the No. 2 receiver opposite of Terry McLaurin and had several standout performances, including his first 100-yard game against the Giants in Week 9 and 92 yards in Washington's upset over the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. He caught 66.7% of his targets and finished second among receivers in yardage.

QB Taylor Heinicke

Heinicke's rise happened rapidly. He signed to the team's active roster Dec. 19, and eight days later, made his Washington debut in the fourth quarter of a Week 16 matchup with the Carolina Panthers. Facing a 20-6 deficit with about nine minutes to play, Heinicke nearly mounted a comeback with the NFC East hanging in the balance. Washington still lost by seven points, but Heinicke completed 12 of his 19 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. He also added 22 rushing yards on three carries.

After backing up Alex Smith during the regular season finale, Heinicke starred in the Wild Card round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In just his second career start, Heinicke finished 26-for-44 passing for 306 yards and two total touchdowns.

QB Kyle Allen

Washington tendered Allen as an exclusive rights free agent, meaning the 25-year-old signal-caller will be back for the 2021 campaign.

Allen, who came over from the Carolina Panthers via trade last offseason, started four games in 2020 before suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 9 against the New York Giants. He completed 69% of his passes for 610 yards and four touchdowns compared to one interception.

G Brandon Scherff

Scherff is entering his seventh NFL season after originally being selected by Washington in the first round (5th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. For his career, Scherff has appeared in 78 regular season games with 78 starts.

Scherff has earned Pro Bowl selections four times in his career in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Scherff joined Trent Williams, Chris Samuels, Len Hauss, Joe Jacoby and Russ Grimm as the only Washington offensive linemen to be selected to the Pro Bowl four-plus times. Scherff was also named first team All-Pro by the Associated Press in 2020, becoming the first Washington player since Matt Turk in 1996 to achieve the honor. In 2015, he was named a PFWA All-Rookie performer.

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