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RICHMOND, Va. -- It wasn’t a tough decision, but one thing new general manager Scot McCloughan harped on this offseason was taking care of your own. And the Washington Redskins just did that with Ryan Kerrigan. He signed a five-year deal earlier Wednesday, making him a wealthy man and the Redskins a happy team. The reality is that he wasn’t going to go anywhere else. Two years ago the Redskins debated on how much they should give Brian Orakpo -- and whether they should even use the franchise tag on him. This offseason, while they tried to re-sign Orakpo, they wouldn't match Tennessee's offer of approximately $8 million per year. Orakpo was a good player in Washington and though he pressured the passer, he didn’t make the game-changing plays. That’s why there really couldn’t be much of a debate with Kerrigan. From the time he arrived in Washington, he’s made big play after big play. In fact, he’s second in the NFL since 2011 with 15 forced fumbles. More importantly, he continues to improve each year and, in all my talks with him, has never viewed himself as a finished product. Over his first few seasons, Kerrigan would talk about how he was working on his pass rushes, trying to take a better path to the quarterback with less rounding. Finally, this past season, it clicked. After not making the Pro Bowl, Kerrigan blamed himself in part by pointing to some games where he felt he had been too quiet. The point: He’s always looking to improve and knows there are ways to do so, subtle as they sometimes might be. That was evident as a rookie, too, when coaches predicted he’d soon be the equal of Orakpo. Kerrigan also hasn’t missed a game in the NFL, though he has played through some injuries. He also had arthroscopic knee surgery this offseason, but said recently he felt good. It was an easy call keeping him around. Is the contract too expensive ($57.5 million, with $24.28 million guaranteed)? He’s now the third highest-paid linebacker in terms of average per year. But contracts are all about timing. The Redskins have some other key players who are free agents after the season -- left tackle Trent Williams and running back Alfred Morris. The Redskins seem intent on developing their own and then keeping them (the first part has been the more difficult one). Kerrigan checked off all the boxes: Good player, hard worker, popular in the community (the other two are as well). But what the Redskins need from him is to continue being the same guy. Make plays, be a leader (something he said this spring he wants to become) and be a positive face of the franchise. It's worked thus far.
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