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On Wednesday evening, the Detroit Lions announced that they have tendered exclusive rights free agent (ERFA) Charles Washington.
For the past two years, Washington has been a staple of the Lions’ special teams unit. He first joined the team as an undrafted rookie in 2016, but didn’t crack the gameday roster in 2017. He was used sparingly on defense that year, but he really started to get his feet wet as a gunner on special teams.
In 2018, Washington was exclusively a special teamer and finished the season with six total tackles. Unfortunately, his season ended in Arizona when he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury.
Now that Washington has been tendered as an exclusive rights free agent, it pretty much guarantees he’ll be back in 2019. Washington now has two options: either accept the ERFA tender—which is a one-year, non-guaranteed contact at the minimum salary—or sit out the entire 2019 season. It’s a rough deal for Washington, but with another season under his belt next year, he will no longer be eligible to become an ERFA and could score a bigger contract.