The Washington Football Team agreed to a three-year, $37.5 million extension with left tackle Charles Leno on Wednesday night, two sources told The Athletic. Put yourself in Ron Rivera’s seat to understand why.
As the head coach and one voice on the football side of the organization, Rivera has experienced chaos overload since arriving in January 2020. That’s not just about X’s and O’s or wins or losses.
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Injuries happen in professional football, but Washington’s list of aches and pains has run long often. Then came a COVID-19 outbreak last month that sidelined over three dozen players, assistant coaches and staffers at various times. Living in a state of incongruity became the norm during the 2021 season.
Just not at left tackle.
That’s one position at which Rivera found consistency. That’s a primary reason Washington sought to keep its left tackle, according to sources. The deal includes $18.5 million guaranteed, a source said.
Consistency in availability. Leno, who turned 30 in October, is one of two Washington offensive players and four overall to start all 16 games entering Sunday’s season finale at the New York Giants. The 2018 Pro Bowl selection has started every game over the past six seasons, missing just a handful of snaps over that span. He ranks ninth among tackles this campaign with 1,062 snaps.
That’s notable along an offensive line that is on its fourth-string center and has had 10 players make at least one start.
Consistency in performance. Washington sifted through left-tackle candidates in Rivera’s first season, then happily plucked Leno off the free-agent pile last May. That came days after his former employers, the Chicago Bears, released the seven-year veteran shortly after selecting offensive tackle Teven Jenkins in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Washington and Leno agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract at the time. That provided the 2014 seventh-round pick a chance to re-establish his market value. It ultimately gave Rivera peace of mind.
Playing a position at which it’s better not to be noticed week to week, Leno rates third among all tackles in pass blocking and 15th overall (min. 585 snaps) according to Pro Football Focus. He’s tied for 11th with six sacks allowed, per PFF, and has been dinged for only two penalties.
“He’s progressed very well within our scheme,” Rivera said in November. “He’s a guy that works at it. … There really hasn’t been a lot of mention of him, so that’s a good thing. That’s a really good thing.”
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The totality of Leno’s work had Washington seeking a longer-term solution. Conversations with Leno’s agent, Ron Slavin, started in December but stalled just as quickly, according to a source familiar with the situation. They stalled not because of negotiation strife, but because of the COVID-19 deluge, per another source.
As the pace of disruption slowed, and with the season nearly over, the sides found time to talk. Discussions heated up this week, with the final terms locked down Wednesday around the time of his nearly 8-month-old baby daughter Oaklynn’s evening feeding.
Yearly salary breakdowns and guaranteed money will provide needed guidance to evaluate the deal. With 2021 second-round pick Sam Cosmi on the right side, Washington appears set at tackle for the next two to three years.
From Leno’s perspective, he and his family found a home in Washington. Suitors existed in free agency, but establishing roots matter to the San Francisco/Bay Area native who played college ball at Boise State. Leno believes in Rivera and sought to stay, especially if that means more time next to his tag-team partner on the line, left guard Ereck Flowers, according to a source.
With that, Washington’s offseason needs list shrunk by one but remains lengthy for a team that squandered positive momentum after a strong close to the 2020 season.
The list begins with the quarterback, and nothing else comes close. Washington lost Ryan Fitzpatrick in the second quarter of the opening game against the Chargers with what turned into a season-ending hip injury. Los Angeles edge rusher Uchenna Nwosu beat Leno inside for the sack on Fitzpatrick. Injuries are commonplace, but Leno later said he felt “really terrible” about the situation.
Taylor Heinicke replaced Fitzpatrick and exceeded all reasonable expectations. He’s considered a viable backup or spot starter, but Washington needs significantly more to join the Super Bowl contender class.
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“Is there a sense of urgency? I think there always is just because that’s the most important position on your team,” Rivera said Wednesday. “It’s the one position that everybody points to. It’s the one position that really impacts everybody — both sides of the ball, special teams. It is something that we want to get right.”
Rivera suggested this week the team might need a mike linebacker despite drafting Jamin Davis with the 19th selection in the 2021 draft. Davis played a step slow throughout his rookie season and came off the bench in Sunday’s 20-16 loss to Philadelphia behind seldom-used reserve David Mayo.
Five-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff will enter free agency once again. Washington kept him the past two cycles by using the franchise tag. That meant a salary of $18.04 million in 2021 for a talented player with a significant injury history.
The cost for a third tag — roughly 44 percent increase to $26 million — would be exorbitant, and league sources question Scherff’s interest in agreeing to a long-term deal. Wes Schweitzer and Saahdiq Charles are the internal replacement candidates.
Free safety Bobby McCain, running back J.D. McKissic and slot receiver Adam Humphries are among Washington’s other free agents. The team has plenty of financial wherewithal to address concerns; Spotrac projects roughly $59.7 million in available salary-cap space for 2022.
Washington holds a draft pick in all rounds except the fifth, having dealt that selection to Philadelphia last season for 2021 sixth- and seventh-round picks. Those picks turned into long snapper Camaron Cheeseman and edge rusher William Bradley-King.
One unexpected signing in May turned into a significant addition. Leno’s total package convinced the organization to keep him around a while longer. That package includes one more consistency angle to mention: character.
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“He’s just an all-around pro, the same guy every day,” said swing tackle Cornelius Lucas, who also played with Leno in Chicago. “He just works hard. … That’s someone you can look at and just clock your watch to each day, if that makes sense.”
Leno and his family — wife, Jennifer, and two young daughters — arrived in the area last spring. This could have been a one-and-done living scenario. Yet Charles and his wife immediately became entrenched in the community through their nonprofit organization, Beyond the Entertainer. The couple partnered with local groups to help roughly 20 different organizations leading into Christmas. The NFLPA named Leno its community MVP in Week 17.
Got to admit this years draw up is pretty awesome. A big thanks for the #communitymvp award @NFLPA . Also a big thank you goes out to the Washington area, Chicagoland area, & Oakland area for making #LenoClaus possible. Follow @Beyondthe72 to see the things we’ll be doing in 2022 pic.twitter.com/bt5K4eLXdk
— Charles Leno Jr (@charleslenojr72) December 31, 2021
“Me having a family now, having two daughters, my wife around, this is who I am now,” Leno said in October on the “Standig Room Only” podcast. “It’s all about them. …Earlier in my career I was very selfish. … I had to think about myself to better my career. It was about me, me, me. Now it’s less about me. It’s only about me on Sundays.”
Rivera sees Leno as a lead-by-example player in the locker room. “You can see with the way he practices, the way he works with his teammates,” Rivera said.
The lineman believes his meditation habits contributed to his overall development as a player and person.
“If you are better in the mental aspect, you’ll be able to succeed longer and further,” Leno said in October. “Talent can only take you so far. Coach Rivera always says talent sets the floor, but character sets the ceiling. Within character is a lot of mental toughness.”
With Leno, Washington solidified its left tackle spot. Now there are more moves to tackle.
(Top photo: Justin Tafoya / Getty Images)
