McNabb Traded to The Redskins, Now What Happens to Jason Campbell?

In a trade that I boldly predicted, Donovan McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins on Sunday. The terms of the deal included the 37th overall pick in this year’s draft, and either a third- or a fourth-rounder in next year’s. 

The move has several effects, aside from the obvious swing of momentum in the NFC East. 

First off, Clausen is now likely to slip, and may, indeed, free-fall similar to how Aaron Rodgers did in ’05 to 24th overall and Quinn did in ’07 to 22nd.

In fact, if a team doesn’t trade back into the first round to get him, I could see him dropping all the way down to the Minnesota Vikings at 30. Crazier things have happened.

Another player affected by this trade is three-year starting QB, Jason Campbell. Now that there is a new field general in town, Campbell will likely be asked to pack his bags and will be headed on his way out.

The QB was completely blindsided from the trade, and was shocked when a reporter told him about it. Mike Shanahan has scheduled a meeting with him on Monday afternoon, and he will expectantly inform him about their plans to cut their ties with him. 

The Redskins wouldn’t have traded away a second-round pick in an extremely deep draft, if they didn’t expect McNabb to be their starter for another four or five productive seasons.

With that in mind, it doesn’t make much sense to have a former first-rounder, who will be 33 when McNabb is set to retire, sitting on the bench.

Campbell has been under major scrutiny during his time in Washington, and despite ranking 15th in passer rating this past season, he was given little confidence from the fans and, now obviously, the organization, moving forward.

"You have to just hold your head up high and get through it," wide receiver Devin Thomas said of Campbell. "Sometimes you have to find an exit door, but that opens another door for ya, and that's just part of the game. Everybody knows that.

"It's unfortunate with the last couple of years everything Jason has been through. He overcame a lot of stuff, no doubt, and you have to respect the way he's handled it. He'll have an opportunity somewhere else and make the best of it. I know he will."

That said, we have to ask ourselves: where is that “somewhere else”?

In my opinion, Campbell would be an upgrade at QB for four teams: the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, and St. Louis Rams, all of which ranked in the bottom five in the league in terms of overall passing yards.

Of those, I think the Buffalo Bills are the most likely landing spot.

The Rams currently possess the No. 1 pick in the draft, and, with that, they have the opportunity to choose Oklahoma QB, Sam Bradford, who is clearly a much wiser choice than trading for Campbell would be.

Moreover, the Rams are trying to change the culture, and Campbell, a player who continues to draw skepticism, is not the right way to do so.

As for the Browns and Raiders, both drafted quarterbacks in the first round who didn’t turn out the way they wanted them to, to say the least.

Quinn has already been shipped off to Denver, and Russell is buried deep on the depth chart. Sensibly, I don’t think either team would want to endure déjà vu with Campbell, a player who is perceived as mediocre and unproven.

Buffalo, on the other hand, hasn’t invested heavily in the quarterback position, which is primarily why they have struggled through the air in recent years.

Standing at ninth overall in the upcoming NFL Draft, they may have the opportunity to draft Jimmy Clausen. However, I personally believe that Clausen is the most over-hyped quarterback in the draft, and doesn’t belong in the Top 20 picks in such a talented draft class, let alone the Top 10. In addition, the team has much more pressing needs on the offensive line; a unit that deserves a considerable amount of blame for their offensive woes.

Therefore, their best option at quarterback would be to trade for Campbell. They could offer a third-rounder for the veteran, which, realistically, is all the Redskins can expect.

Knowing they’ve resolved their QB situation, the team won’t feel pressured to reach for a quarterback in the first two rounds.

Instead, they would have the freedom to focus on their glaring holes on their offensive line and add defensive playmakers to their newly implemented scheme.

If the hypothetical trade does go through, I think it would put Campbell in a great situation.

He would be given a fresh start, a fair chance in a constructive competition to win the starting job, and would have much less of a burden on his shoulders to succeed than he did in Washington.

Furthermore, the Bills are an underrated team who already have a few pieces of the puzzle already installed in place.

While Campbell isn’t the final piece, trading for him would make them much closer to reaching their ultimate goal of getting back on the track of success and reaching the playoffs and beyond.

However things do turn out, I wish Campbell the best of luck moving forward, and I’m confident that he will someday prove to his critics that he can be a successful NFL starting QB.