National Football League

Washington Redskins Need to Commit to Quinton Dunbar

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:48 p.m. ET

Fansided, Hunter Noll/FanSided via NFL Spin Zone

The Washington Redskins defensive backs weren’t the strongest of their groups, but 2017 can be different and it starts with committing to Quinton Dunbar.

The Washington Redskins bolstered their defensive back group last offseason when they signed Josh Norman to a massive contract. Norman paired with Bashaud Breeland to make a pretty formidable duo. However, two men does not a secondary make. The Redskins clearly needed more help in pass defense.

That’s where Quinton Dunbar comes into play. He spent the entire year on the team, but didn’t seem to get consistent snaps. When he played, Dunbar gave the Redskins quality minutes. The two-year cornerback appeared in 14 games on the year. He posted 26 tackles, one sack, one interception, recovered one fumble, and deflected five passes in those games. He also caught one pass for 31 yards.

Dunbar tended to make those team-hyping plays. That 31-yard catch was a very impressive grab off a pass from Tress Way on a fake punt.

The call of week 3 goes to Redskins fake punt down 1 late in 4th QTR..Tress Way to Quinton Dunbar pic.twitter.com/qzU7o0Mcb4

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 26, 2016

In the same game, he picked off an Eli Manning pass in the end zone to kill a drive. Dunbar needed just one hand.

¿Te perdiste la gran jugada defensiva de Quinton Dunbar?.👀
Revive toda la acción a través de NFL Game Pass:https://t.co/oD4upjoRb2 pic.twitter.com/OmroXjUZdR

— NFL México (@nflmx) November 5, 2016

Despite his impressive play, Dunbar’s playing time seemed to vary from game-to-game. This doesn’t really make sense when you factor in the team’s defense. Coverage skills weren’t exactly a strong-point on the team. So leaving your third best cover man off the field doesn’t seem smart.

In 2015, Dunbar sitting made more sense. He was the Redskins project cornerback at that time, an undrafted rookie who needed to learn the ropes. In 2016 however, Kendall Fuller was the cornerback that needed development. Despite that, Dunbar was losing time to Fuller, along with Dashaun Phillips, and Greg Toler. To put this into perspective, Phillips was cut and brought back to the team multiple times.

Dunbar’s play speaks for itself when he’s on the field. However, that just doesn’t seem to be often enough. With the offseason now in full swing for the Redskins, they need to figure out how to get Dunbar on the field.