Redskins Will Need to Look to Draft to Replace Chris Samuels

The news that Redskins left tackle Chris Samuels may have to retire because of the neck injury that has sidelined him this year is just the cherry on the top of a miserable season in Washington. The team has become where everyone else goes for their first win. Fans are chanting at games for the owner to sell the team and the head coach just had his play calling duties taken away from him.

But for the long-term success of the Redskins, the Samuels news may be the worst thing that's happened to Washington all year. With Samuels gone, the Redskins will depend on right tackle Stephen Heyer to play the left side for the rest of the season, but they don't have a long-term answer on the roster.

Report: Six-Time Pro Bowler Samuels Planning to Retire

WHERE LTs COME FROM
First Round	14
Second/Third Round	8
Fourth Round Or Later	5
Free Agents	2
Trade	1
Undrafted Free Agent	1

Normally owner Dan Snyder would buy his way out of the problem on the free agent market. But there is one problem -- it's almost impossible to buy a left tackle in free agency. Of the 32 starting left tackles in the league, only two were signed as free agents--Chicago's Orlando Pace (signed this year as an aging stopgap) and Arizona's Mike Gandy, while the Eagles traded a first and fourth-round pick for left tackle Jason Peters. The other 29 starting left tackles have only played for one team. Once a team finds a left tackle, even a mediocre one, they make sure to lock him up long-term before he hits free agency.

And where do you find a left tackle? Usually it's in the first three rounds of the draft. Half of the 32 starting left tackles were taken in the first round. Another eight were taken in the second or third round. The Redskins have drafted one offensive lineman in the first three rounds since taking Samuel in 2000, which is a pretty simple explanation for why the Redskins offensive line is lacking in depth and talent.

So Washington will have a choice this offseason: it can sign a Levi Jones/Orlando Pace/Tra Thomas type who is on the tail-end of their career or it can draft a new left tackle. Washington has lost its 2010 third-round pick, but held on to its first and second-round picks. Washington will likely need to find a replacement for quarterback Jason Campbell as well, but if Samuels does retire, it would be wise for Washington to take a left tackle early in next year's draft.