The Redskins have signed 29-year old cornerback Phillip Buchanon to a 1-year, $1.5 million dollar deal.  Buchanon played in 13 games for the Lions last season in which he made 43 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, had 1 sack, forced 2 fumbles and he defensed 4 passes.  He has now played in 75 games in his NFL career in which he has made 339 tackles, defensed 56 passes, has 1 sack, forced 6 fumbles and he has intercepted 18 passes (5 returned for a TD).  This was a good signing for secondary depth by the Redskins.

The Redskins have signed 34-year old punter Josh Bidwell.  Bidwell spent the entire 2009 season on the Injured Reserve List for the Buccaneers.  Bidwell has played in 144 games in his NFL career in which he has punted the ball 727 times for 31,085 yards (42.8 avg).  He also has 72 touchbacks (9.9%) and he has pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 209 times (28.7%).  If Bidwell is healthy this was a good signing for the Redskins.

The Redskins have signed 29-year old QB Rex Grossman to a 1-year deal.  Grossman played in 1 game for the Texans last season and he was 3 of 9 passing (33.3%) for 33 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (5.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 9 yards (3.0 ypc) last year.  He has now played in 37 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 524 of 971 passes (54%) for 6,197 yards with 33 TD passes and 36 INTs (69.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 58 times for 89 yards (1.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  Grossman will be Jason Campbell’s backup in 2010 but I don’t think he is a better QB than last year’s backup Todd Collins.

The Redskins have signed 30-year old running back Larry Johnson to a 3-year deal.  Johnson played in 14 games for the Chiefs & Bengals last season in which he carried the ball 178 times for 581 yards (3.3 ypc) with 0 TD runs and he also caught 15 passes for 80 yards (5.3 avg).  Johnson has now played in 82 games in his NFL in which he has carried the ball 1,421 times for 6,219 yards (4.4 ypc) with 55 TD runs and he has also caught 154 passes for 1,373 yards (8.9 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Johnson will compete with Clinton Portis for carries on the Redskins in 2010.  Johnson is the kind of runner who should excel in the zone blocking running game the Redskins are going to install for the 2010 season.

The Redskins have signed 29-year old TE Sean Ryan to a 1-year contract.  Ryan played in 10 games for the Chiefs last season in which he caught 14 passes for 135 yards (9.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Ryan has now played in 43 games in his NFL career and he has caught 26 passes for 240 yards (9.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Ryan is a good run blocking TE so I like this move for the Redskins as Mike Shanahan likes to run the ball more than he throws it.

UPDATE:  (6/10/2010) – The Redskins have released Ryan.

The Redskins have signed 31-year old DT Maake Kemoeatu to a 2-year, $7 million dollar deal.  Kemoeatu missed all of last season with the Panthers due to a Achilles injury.  Kemoeatu has played in 107 games in his NFL career in which he has made 208 tackles, he has 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he has defensed 7 passes.  This signing should help the Redskins’ run defense as Kemoeatu is a load at 6’5″, 345 pounds.

The Redskins have signed 31-year old G/T Artie Hicks to a 3-year deal.  The Redskins will likely use Hicks inside at guard and he is a massive guy at 6’4″, 335 pounds.  Hicks played in all 16 games (3 starts) for the Vikings last season.  He has played in 94 games (58 starts) in his 8 year NFL career.  I like this signing for the Redskins as Hicks will help them rebuild the offensive line into the kind of group that Mike Shanahan wants.

The Redskins have released 30-year old running back Ladell Betts.  Betts played in 10 games for the Redskins last season and he carried the ball 56 times for 210 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 179 yards (10.5 avg) last season.  Betts played in 103 games in his 8 years with the Redskins and he carried the ball 776 times for 3,176 yards (4.1 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also has caught 165 passes for 1,505 yards (9.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs with the Skins.  Betts helped out on special teams too as he returned 86 kickoffs for 2,062 yards (24.0 avg) with 1 TD return for the Redskins.  The Redskins probably would have kept Betts if he didn’t hurt himself so bad last season.

The Redskins have released 38-year old QB Todd Collins.  Collins played in 3 games for the Redskins last season and he completed 12 of 23 passes (52.2%) for 144 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (71.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards last year.  Collins played in 7 games in his career for the Redskins in which he completed 79 of 128 passes (61.7%) for 1,032 yards with 5 TD passes and 0 INTs (100.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 1 yard (0.1 ypc) in his career with the Skins.  The Redskins will now be in the market for a backup QB in either free agency or the draft.

The Redskins have released 30-year old RB/KR Rock Cartwright.  Cartwright played in all 16 games for the Redskins last season in which he carried the ball 64 times for 228 yards (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 27 passes for 242 yards (9.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Cartwright also returned 39 kickoffs for 868 yards (22.3 avg) last season.  Cartwright played in 123 games in his 8 years with the Redskins in which he carried the ball 215 times for 889 yards (4.1 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he also caught 59 passes for 555 yards (9.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Cartwright also returned 222 kickoffs for 5,332 yards (24.0 avg) with 1 TD return for the Redskins.  With his dual role at RB and on special teams, Cartwright might be hard to replace.