5 Reasons Why The Redskins Picking Up McNabb Is a Mistake

This NFL free agency has been one of the craziest offseasons ever seen. A lot of teams let players go and a lot of teams picked them up at high tenders. Dan Snyder, the owner of the Redskins, has opened his checkbook and taken full advantage of the uncapped year. Their most recent transaction is the acquisition of Donovan McNabb. Is this a good grab for the 'Skins or a bad one? Are the Eagles crazy trading him to a division rival? Well, here are some nuggets on why this is a mistake for the Skins.

Age

Donovan McNabb is 34 years old. That's not exactly a spring chicken, but it's younger than Farve, Warner, or Testaverde. Football is a young man's game, however. The Redskins are basically gambling their hopes on an old QB who may have to start given their current QB status.

Lack of WRs

McNabb had a plethora of guys to throw to in Philly. He had the human TD machine DeSean Jackson. He had talented rookie Jeremy MacLin and TE Brent Celek. Now McNabb finds himself in a situation where his targets are not so reliable. Until the Skins address these WR issues, they may find themselves in the same spot they were in last year. While Moss and Randle El are still dangerous, they are plagued by inconsistency. This may be the cause of my next slide.

Offensive Line

All-Pro OT Chris Samuels announced his retirement earlier this month. He was the anchor on an offensive line plagued with injuries and 28th at one point in sacks allowed with almost three per game! This doesn't give a QB a lot of time to get rid of the ball. While McNabb is good with his feet and elusive, too much puts the 'Skins in the same situation. This can be fixed through the draft however should the Redskins pick Okung with the fourth pick.

Injury Prone

This was put near the bottom so that it would not get confused with age. Age and injury prone are not the same. In McNabbs case, he lack of an O line in front of him cause him to get hit too many times and miss a good part of the season due to an disclosed injury. Should that happen who do the 'Skins turn to? Will Campbell be around? If so, we saw how that worked out. Rex Grossman? That guy was second string for a reason. Once again, is the gamble worth it?

Pending Lockout

Due to the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, this year is an uncapped year. That means that unless an agreement is reached, there could be a lockout in 2011. While the details are lost in the shuffle, the one thing that is clear is that teams that are very checkbook happy might end up paying big down the road. For the 'Skins McNabb becomes an expensive casualty. Or is it so?

Honorable Mention: Familiarity Breeds Contempt

There is an old man's saying that familiarity breeds contempt. All that means is that the more you see/compete against someone, the more you despise them. This also means that you're sure to feel a sense of superiority. The Redskins picking up a QB in the same division is just that. The teams in the East will still see McNabb twice and therefore pretty much assume they know how to stop him. This is definitely true with eagles D coordinator Sean McDermott. However, this could also be a positive for the Skins.