In the Denver Post, columnist Bill Williamson regurgitates some trade and free agency rumors that have been floating around ever since the end of the season:
Believe the reports that the Redskins are going to try to pry receiver Chad Johnson from Cincinnati. Johnson has been vocal about his desire to be dealt but Bengals coach Marvin Lewis recently said the Pro Bowl player will not be traded.
If Johnson isn't traded, the Redskins could turn their attention to Javon Walker, who, like Johnson, wants to be traded. Yet, unlike Cincinnati, Denver wants to accommodate Walker with a trade.
Washington and Denver have been willing trading partners in the past and could easily make a deal. If not Walker, Washington could pursue Oakland's Jerry Porter.
Rumors also are making the rounds that the Skins are after Lance Briggs and that they are going to give him the $20 million guaranteed and $7 million annual contract that his agent is seeking.
In other words, the Redskins are going to party like it’s 2000.
All of these tales are forgetting one little fact that will seriously hamper the Redskins if, indeed, they wanted to go raiding other teams of their veteran talent. When it’s 12:01 AM this Friday, the Redskins will be under the salary cap by the slimmest of margins.
It’s only slightly more than the value of the spare change I have sitting on my dresser right now.
Certainly, we’ve seen the Redskins work some magic with the cap in the past, reworking a deal here and guaranteeing a bonus there and, boom, there’s room on the credit card to go shopping. And the Skins undoubtedly will make a move or two for depth or perhaps a second-tier receiver with size and they will need to rework deals to accomplish that.
It’s not that they can’t create enough space to take on Johnson’s salary or to work something with Lance Briggs. And, with the Redskins the key phrase always is “never say never.” But every year the writers lap up whatever Drew Rosenhaus and the other cadre of agents gathered at the combine feed them and this year is no exception.
No sense in letting the facts get in the way of a good story.
7 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Mike Arrowsmith about 1 year ago
In many ways, the skins could have the money to sign premire players such as Johnson, Walker, and Briggs. Mark Brunell's expected release will no doubt open up some extra cash for Washington. Plus, Rock Cartright and Todd Collins are not by any means guarunteed locks to be resigned in the offseason. We're also talking about Dan Synder here who has always shown the ability to bring in some of the most talented players in the league. Sometimes it works (ex: Santana Moss, Clinton Portis) and sometimes it's a bit of a bust (ex: Brandon Llyod, Dieon Sanders, Adam Artuleta). My point being in Synder and Zorn want these players bad enough, then they'll find a way to overcome any salary cap woes that may cross their path.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I mostly agree with Mike. I was surprised that Jansen renegotiated, but the Skins are quite adept at pushing cap charges into the future and keeping current year cap charges as low as possible - there will likely be a couple more restructurings by the end of the week (specifically Portis). My expectation is that they'll cut both Brandon Lloyd and Todd Wade this week.
I doubt they'll acquire more than one or two big names, but they won't be silent in free agency. As a fan, I'd prefer they build more through the draft, but Snyder's young enough that I'm working on accepting that this is how this franchise is going to operate for at least the next decade, barring any drastic changes to the salary cap system. I'd prefer they stick to the draft and unrestricted free agency, but this talk of pursuing Ocho Cinco or Javon Walker sounds like they'll continue to throw away draft picks in trades for veterans that have already peaked and may or may not have a couple pro-bowl caliber seasons left in them. They have consistently undervalued draft picks and are very generous in giving them away in trade packages.
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Aaron Schwartz about 1 year ago
I don't think there is any doubt that the Redskins will get a big name receiver this off-season, but I wanted to bring up a name that hasn't been mentioned here yet. And that would be Randy Moss. He could very well be a free agent if he and the Patriots can't work something out soon, and he could be a target for the redskins to go after. There wouldn't be anything holding Moss back from going to Washington if he becomes a free agent, because as stated, they have plenty of cap room to work with. I wouldn't be surprised if they go for Moss rather than trying to get a trade done.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
It should be noted that Jansen didn't renegotiate, he restructured his deal which simply means he's taking a signing bonus payment in exchange for his current year’s salary or other bonus. He didn't take a pay cut.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I don't think we'll see the Skins be very agressive at all this offseason. I think they'll continue with what they did last year, and that's sign a few moderately priced free agents and focus more on the draft. The free agent market has gone sky high and the Skins have been burned one too many times.
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Bryan Wolfe about 1 year ago
As an outspoken Redskins fan these rumor do get my hopes up for the next season to come if they can pull something with one of those guys. Although i am reminded of all the other big names that have come through D.C. and didn't have much of an impact at all. I don't feel that my Skins should start dealing with big names untill they have players that can stand up along with those big names. Sure a big time reciever like Johnson or even Moss (as Aaron mentioned) will but fans in the seats again but will it really help them get past an NFC championship game? So many teams make the mistake of getting big name players and not have a strong supporting cast to go along with it. The Redskins already have recievers that can play as well as a Johnson or Moss but they don't have the support they need to let their talents out. It will be interesting to see what Snyder will do but as a Skins fan i'm still going to have that little bit of doubt. I predict as the person above me says, they'll have a mediocre off-season and may only get a somewhat above average player once it's all said and done.
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rob godwin about 1 year ago
the redskins do not have any recievers the caliber of moss or johnson not to many teams do one has set the touchdown record the other led the nflin reciving yard the past 3 years before the last one. they need a tall possesion reciever and another corner or two springs will be back but doesnt have much left in the tank. they need help on the d line and maybe give the o line a little more depth. also briggs would be a great addition to the team with rocky out( even though he has made great progress) who knows if they sign briggs we could be looking at a 3-4 defensive style with rocky london lance and marcus thats pretty legit to help in coverage and a big name corner like samuel or hall would almost solidify the defense we can only hope cambell adapts to the new offense pretty quickly
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