Redskins sign CB Phillip Buchanon

The Redskins signed free agent CB Phillip Buchanon to a 1-year deal worth $1.5 million with another $750,000 in incentives that could be earned. Buchanon tweeted: "I'm a Redskin!!!"

Last week I wrote about the Redskins possibly signing Buchanon and wasn't incredibly enthused about it.

Buchanon began his career with the Raiders with great promise, but he never became much of a football player. He's been a starter on and off with the Raiders, Texans, Buccaneers and, last year, the Lions, but he's never been able to stand out much. He seemed like a terrific athlete in college, but he's one of those guys who got into a league full of great athletes and he began to look ordinary -- or less than ordinary....

I suppose Buchanon may be of some use as a backup cornerback and punt returner, but that's about it.

That still seems right to me. Once again, here is the Scouts, Inc. report on Buchanon:

Buchanon has been with three teams over his seven-year career and has been a starter off and on. He started all 16 games for the Buccaneers last year and had one of his better seasons. He is athletic with quick feet and supple hips. He can re-align and change directions to mirror most receivers, but lacks the premier top-end speed to stick with fast receivers deep. He likes to sit on underneath routes and tries to jump on routes, but will get out of position at times. He can flip his hips to turn and run with receivers, but due to his lack of top-end speed he will fall behind on go routes. He is not real physical in run support and will often back off to let a teammate make the play. He shows some competitiveness and willingness to get physical when trying to press receivers at the line of scrimmage, but lacks the size and strength to jam effectively.

In other words, Buchanon is strictly a depth guy. I wouldn't expect him to beat out DeAngelo Hall or Carlos Rogers and he might not be able to beat out Justin Tryon. We'll see about that. Overall, though, he's probably an upgrade over Fred Smoot and also earns less money than Smoot.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see Buchanon get a shot at returning punts. The Redskins don't seem to have a punt returner right now and I'm not sure where they will find one among the players currently on the roster.