As the Redskins begin to assemble their team for the 2017 season, they have tendered restricted free agents Chris Thompson and Will Compton. Both experienced career years in 2016.
The Washington Redskins on Wednesday tendered restricted free agents Chris Thompson and Will Compton.
The pair can still negotiate with other teams, but if they receive an offer sheet from a team other than the Redskins, Washington has seven days to match.
Thompson, 26, was selected in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Redskins out of Florida State.
After his first two years in the NFL were split between the practice squad and Injured Reserve, the 5-foot-8, 195 pounder caught on as Washington's third-down back in 2015, playing alongside Alfred Morris and Matt Jones.
He finished the year with 35 carries for 216 yards along with 35 receptions for 240 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
With Morris joining the Dallas Cowboys last March, Thompson was pushed into a veteran leader role in a young running backs room, providing guidance for Jones along with first-year Florida product Mack Brown and rookie Robert Kelley.
On the field, Thompson set career highs across the board, tallying 68 carries for 356 yards and three touchdowns along with 49 receptions for 349 yards and two receiving scores.
In a 41-21 victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 16, Thompson became the first member of the Redskins to score a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same quarter since Kelvin Bryant in the second quarter at Dallas on Oct. 9, 1998.
"It was big, but you know I just saw as it all being a part of my journey," Thompson said of his 2016 performance. "Rookie year had surgeries, second year practice squad and third year I was trying to find my way. And I missed a couple of games. Now to this year having the best season of my career so far. So, I think it was all a part of the process and just me growing as a player and as a man."
Compton, meanwhile, originally joined the Redskins as a college free agent out of Nebraska in 2013.
After spending nearly the entire 2013 season on the practice squad (he appeared in the regular season finale), Compton earned a spot on the 53-man roster in 2014.
Compton served as a backup to starter Keenan Robinson and Perry Riley Jr., before cracking the starting lineup full-time in Week 10 of the 2015 season.
The 27-year-old was named a defensive captain for the Redskins in 2016 along with veteran safety DeAngelo Hall.
Despite missing a Week 15 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, Compton finished the season with the second most tackles (128) and second most defensive snap counts (938) on the team.
"I'd love to be here," Compton said in January. "I just had meetings and I feel like they're going to love to have me back. In my eyes, I'm coming back next year and, again, I just need to get healthy now and get ready to put a good product on the field for them next year and I'll be the same leader I have been."
