The Washington Redskins have traded cornerback Quinton Dunbar to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a fifth-round pick, the team officially announced.
Dunbar, 27, leaves Washington after one of his best statistical seasons that catapulted him into being one of the NFL's better defensive backs. As part of a secondary that was 12th in interceptions last year, Dunbar led the team with four picks and eight pass defenses. He also had 37 tackles, which was good enough for 14th on the team and fourth among Redskins cornerbacks.
Dunbar's best game of 2019 came in Week 2 against the New York Giants when he intercepted two passes against rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. His interceptions came within about two minutes of each other in the first quarter and happened on the second plays of back-to-back drives.
In 58 games and 25 starts, Dunbar recorded nine interceptions, 35 pass defenses and 150 tackles.
Dunbar was signed by the Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He started out as a wide receiver, but changed positions to cornerback. He was waived as part of the team's final roster cuts after training camp only to rejoin the team as a member of the practice squad. He was eventually promoted to the active roster as the fifth cornerback behind DeAngelo Hall, Chris Culliver, Bashaud Breeland and Will Blackmon.
It was apparent that Dunbar had talent, though, and through a mixture of attrition and outplaying his competition, Dunbar rose from being a fringe roster addition to earning the third cornerback spot on the roster and eventually a starter in 2018.
Dunbar remained the starting cornerback for the remainder of his time in Washington, but injuries limited his playing time in 2019, as he only played in 11 games. He was officially placed on Injured Reserve in Week 17 before the season finale.
In addition to a string of releases, Dunbar's departure means the Redskins' secondary will look different from last year. Fabian Moreau, Jimmy Moreland and newly acquired Kendall Fuller are the only cornerbacks on the roster who had significant playing time last year, leaving the possibility that more moves are coming to remake the defense.
