Washington Redskins Post-Lockout: Bruce Allen Is About To Prove His Worth

With the NFL lockout apparently a week away from being lifted, the bedlam that will follow will be keeping GMs and owners awake at night.

Depending on the agreement set forth, the GMs will have perhaps as little as three to five days to handle player negotiations and free-agency moves. In addition, a larger crop of free agents may be available if the guidelines for restricted free agents returns to four years of service as opposed to the six years of service that it switched to under last year's rules.

Keeping this in mind, Redskin's GM Bruce Allen will finally get a chance to show what he can do. Under last year's rules, he didn't have much to work with, with most quality free agents falling into the "restricted" category. But now there could be a virtual Christmas list of players available through free agency—and a lot of holes on a Redskins team still in the process of switching personnel for offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan's system and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett's 3-4 style.

But where does he start?

Donovan McNabb—The McNabb situation is a peculiar one. He was acquired in exchange for two draft picks last year, got pulled at the end of the Detroit game and was then demoted to third string for the final games of the season in favor of Rex Grossman.

A decision needs to be made about what to do with him. He's due a relatively large chunk of money at the start of the season, but how much will he fetch in trade value? Given the shortened offseason, other teams may not even want a new quarterback of his age.

The Redskins also only have one other quarterback on their roster in John Beck. I'm of the opinion that the best option for the Redskins is to keep McNabb and have a truly open competition at quarterback between him, John Beck and a re-signed Grossman or younger available option.

You don't sell your assets when they're at their lowest value. If a good deal doesn't present itself, McNabb needs to stay, at least for now.

Albert Haynesworth—Here's another example of a once-valuable asset bottoming out. And as a business man, Bruce Allen needs to decide whether Haynesworth's attitude and the circus that he seems to create with the media is worth taking the big loss.

How Haynesworth is handled could also define coach Shanahan's tenure with the Redskins. Haynesworth is not a team player and the coaching staff is preaching a team-first mentality. Unlike the McNabb situation, I'm of the opinion that Haynesworth should be dealt for whatever they can get for him—the key being that he's dealt to any team not in the NFC East. 

Cornerback—Assuming Carlos Rogers is not re-signed, the biggest need for the Redskins is at corner. There are a lot of good free-agent corners out there, but one name in particular will draw a lot of attention and speculation: Nnamdi Asomugha. He's what the Redskins WERE all about, not what they are all about now. Allen needs to make a statement and quickly sign another free-agent corner, possibly Ike Taylor, who is used to playing in a 3-4 system.

Sure up the offensive line—There is obviously a plan to grab several offensive linemen in the free-agency market, as they were glaringly missing from the draft.

With a short training camp impending, Allen should look for at least one top-tier blocker (most rumors suggest Yanda), then fill out the line with guys that have played for Mike and Kyle Shanahan, as well as offensive line coach Chris Foerster and new assistant Chris Morgan.

The addition of Morgan this year strongly suggests that Raiders tackles Langston Walker or Khalif Barnes might be on the Redskins list. Bringing Jamaal Brown back might also be in the plan.

Avoid the big names—I already touched on the need to avoid Asomugha, but other big names such as free-agent WRs Santonio Holmes and Sidney Rice just don't make sense. Holmes is a personal liability and Rice doesn't have the proven track record to justify the contract that he's going to demand. Signing them was something old GM Vinny Cerrato would do. Getting value and youth is what Bruce Allen's goal should be. 

Only time will tell how this free-agency frenzy will play out. But two years from now, Redskins fans will certainly look back on these coming days as a determination of whether Bruce Allen was a success or a failure in his first true offseason.