Dockery Signs Huge Contract with the Bills

Derrick Dockery is no longer a Redskin, having signed a 7-year contract for $49 million.

The total contract equals the deal that "transition" free agent Steve Hutchinson signed with the Minnesota Vikings last year, a league record for a guard. The contract includes $18.5 million in guarantees and will pay Dockery $23 million in the first three seasons.

This is fine with me. Derrick Dockery is a pretty good player, but certainly nothing special and definitely not on the same level with Steve Hutchinson, who has been one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL for years. I've been saying all along that if some team is going to overpay for Derrick Dockery, the Redskins should let some other team do it. They did. Well done. To me, this is a situation similar to when the Minnesota Vikings signed Fred Smoot to a ridiculous contract that Smoot could never earn. I said then that the Redskins were smart not to match and the Vikings would regret it. I think the same thing will be true here, with the Bills wondering why they gave up so much money for a lineman that has never played on an elite level. The Redskins, if they are smart, should be able to replace Dockery with someone who costs a lot less and produces roughly the same.