The Redskins agreed to terms with free agent running back Larry Johnson on a three-year deal with a maximum of $12 million reports Jason La Confora.

Johnson will compete with Clinton Portis and Anthony Alridge for carries in Mike Shanahan’s zone blocking system, although Washington could also add another back before training camp. In fact, there’s a good chance that the Skins will add a back via the draft.

Johnson only managed 3.2 yards per carry last season and appears to have lost most of his burst and explosion. Seeing as how he’s already 30, it’s a little perplexing that the Redskins gave him a three-year deal, especially considering he was so ineffective last year. But hey, this is just par for the course for Daniel Snyder. He was bound to make at least one head-scratching decision this offseason.

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Here’s a shock: Daniel Snyder might be ready to throw a ton of money at an unrestricted free agent.

According to sports talk show host Lance Zierlein of 1560AM in Houston, the Redskins are “charging hard after” Julius Peppers. Zierlein writes that today’s “bloodbath” in which the Redskins released 10 players will help pave the way for the team to sign Peppers by tomorrow.

Zierlein brings up a good point that Washington took similar steps last year, right before signing DT Albert Haynesworth to a mega-multi million deal. Although I don’t know how Zierlein would have inside information on the Redskins seeing as how he works in Houston, nobody will be surprised if Snyder signs the biggest free agent of the offseason. (And for that matter, nobody would be surprised if Peppers signed with whatever team offered him the most money.)

Oh, the rumor mill is churning now that the NFL scouting combine has kicked off.

In the wake of Adam Schefter’s prediction that the Rams are set to take quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick, ESPN.com is reporting that the Redskins may want to trade up to the top spot so that they could nab the Oklahoma product.

With word that the Rams might be taking Sam Bradford No. 1 overall this April, the other team that thinks quite highly of him risks missing out. We’ve been hearing for a while now that the Redskins value Bradford as a potential franchise QB, and he would not get past their spot in the first round.

Speaking to the press at the draft combine, Rams GM Billy Devaney indicated that the team was still weighing the merits of Ndamukong Suh vs. Gerald McCoy, as well as Bradford vs. Jimmy Clausen. In order for the Redskins to ensure that they could get Bradford — and all indications seem to indicate that they value him ahead of Clausen — they might need to trade up to that No. 1 slot. Bradford’s price tag as the No. 1 overall pick might not be an issue for perennial big spender Daniel Snyder, especially if Mike Shanahan sells him on Bradford as a legit stud.

If the Rams have Clausen rated ahead of Bradford, this makes sense. But if they don’t, then there’s no way St. Louis is going to pass on a franchise quarterback that they like in order to take a franchise quarterback that they kind of like. The Rams hold the cards here – not the Redskins.

That said, if the Rams have Bradford and Clausen rated similarly, then it makes sense that St. Louis would want to trade down to acquire more picks and still have a shot to take a franchise quarterback at No 4 (which is where the Redskins pick).

It’s way to early to tell what intentions the Rams have with the top pick, but I love that the NFL draft rumor train is now picking up steam.

In other Redskins-related news, Mike Shanahan indicated on Friday that Clinton Portis will be his running back in 2010, despite rumors that the team would like to rid themselves of the 28-year-old back.

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As part of our 2010 NFL Draft coverage, I will be breaking down positional needs for all 32 teams, starting in reverse alphabetical order. First up, the Washington Redskins. Check out other team needs by clicking here.

1. Offensive Line
People can blame former head coach Jim Zorn for all of the Redskins’ offensive woes last season, but the fact of the matter is that if the team doesn’t re-build their offensive line this offseason then Mike Shanahan won’t succeed either. Shanahan will implement the zone blocking scheme in Washington, but the problem is he doesn’t currently have the right players to fit the scheme. Chris Samuels (neck) career is in jeopardy, Randy Thomas isn’t durable and is aging, and the team lacks serious depth at all five positions. There’s a large contingent that thinks the Skins should draft a quarterback in April, but offensive line is far and away their biggest need and might be addressed with the No. 4 overall pick in the first round.

2. Running back
Clinton Portis has clearly lost a step, but what’s worse is that he began the offseason by criticizing Jason Campbell for not being a leader and just recently, he admitted to asking for fullback Mike Sellers to be benched during a game last season. The problem is that even if the Skins did want to rid themselves of Portis, he’s guaranteed $6.43 million in 2010. Regardless, running back remains a need, as Laddell Betts, Quinton Gantehr and Marcus Mason should be viewed only for depth purposes.

3. Quarterback
This is all contingent on whether or not Shanahan views Jason Campbell as the right player to run his offense. Campbell isn’t Joe Montana, but he would be fine if he had more weapons at his disposal and played behind a real offensive line. But if Shanahan wants to draft a quarterback at No. 4, then Campbell will likely serve as the starter until the young signal caller is ready to take over. But if the Redskins do go that route, they run the risk of alienating Campbell (which Daniel Snyder did last year too by pursing free agent Byron Leftwich), who may request a trade. We’ll see what Shanahan decides.

Cornerback and overall depth in the secondary are also needs for the Skins this offseason.

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During a recent radio interview with ESPN980, Redskins running back Clinton Portis questioned why quarterback Jason Campbell was made a team captain and he wasn’t, then essentially questioned the signal caller’s leadership ability.

From NFL.com:

Asked on ESPN980 why Campbell was a team captain and he wasn’t, Portis replied: “I wonder the same thing. It’s no disrespect to Jason, but everybody in that locker room will tell you — you will never see Jason mad, you will never see Jason’s tempo change.”

Portis continued: “(He’s) going to give you everything (he’s) got. But as a leader … it was always, ‘Jason couldn’t take control of the huddle,’ or ‘He didn’t do this’ or ‘He didn’t do that.’ That wasn’t Jason’s character. … I think Jason, you can’t place so much on somebody who’s not ready for that situation. I think Jason has enough trouble in getting the plays in and worrying about this, compared to controlling the huddle.”

Portis told ESPN980 that Campbell isn’t the type of player who would go to a coach and say, “‘Well, we need to do this or we need to do that,’ or ‘This is how the players want it.’”

Campbell wasn’t pleased about Portis’ comments and responded to them during a Tuesday telephone interview with The Washington Post.
“How is he going to say I’m not a leader?” Campbell said. “I mean, that’s just not true. To me, that’s somebody who shows that they don’t know what a real leader is. A leader is not someone who leads by the wrong example. A leader is someone who is trying to do the right thing and trying to lead by example, and not just [being] about themselves.

“There’s a reason guys get selected as captains, and there’s a reason guys don’t get selected as captains. Obviously, he doesn’t have the respect of the locker room to be a captain. For someone to try to take a shot at me at the end of the season, after they haven’t even been around, only speaks about their character anyways.”

Campbell informed The Post via text message Wednesday that Portis had called him to clear the air. The text read: “We’re just going to move on. We don’t want to have any issues out there between us for the offseason, so we’re just going to squash all of this right now.”

I agree with what Campbell said. Leaders don’t talk about internal matters with the media, even if they sandwich what critical comments around positive reinforcement. It’s great that the two of them cleared the air, but Portis was still in the wrong here.

That said, maybe there is something to what Portis said about Campbell’s leadership skills. Nobody can argue that Campbell doesn’t work hard and give everything he has for his team. That guy took a beating this year behind a bad offensive line and he kept showing up the next Sunday. But there’s a major difference between being a good teammate and being a leader.

There’s a good chance that neither of these players will be back in Washington next year. With Mike Shanahan taking over the reigns, one would assume that he’d make wholesale changes and clean house. But we’ll have to see what transpires in Washington over the course of the next couple months.

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Albert Haynesworth isn’t happy with the way things are in Washington and expressed his frustrations shortly after being sent home early on Friday for missing a team meeting. Haynesworth, who was given $41 million in guaranteed money last offseason, mainly expressed his frustration with defensive coordinator Greg Blache.

From the Washington Post:

In a lengthy phone interview shortly after he was sent home from practice by Coach Jim Zorn for disciplinary reasons, Haynesworth for the first time discussed his poor relationship with Blache and provided his most detailed explanation yet about the flaws, in his opinion, of Blache’s disciplined scheme, which has helped the Redskins rank ninth overall in defense. Haynesworth expressed fear that owner Daniel Snyder’s major investment in him — the Redskins guaranteed Haynesworth $41 million in signing him this past February — would be wasted unless he again is given freedom to “create havoc” as he did in his first seven seasons with the Tennessee Titans.

“If they keep this system the way it is, then they would label Albert Haynesworth a bust who didn’t live up to the contract,” Haynesworth said. “Everybody would say he just took the money and ran off. And I’m still playing as hard as I possibly can. But you can only do so much within the system that’s put around you. And I’m not talking about the players. The players have been great. I couldn’t ask for any better guys. I’m talking about the system. And [the coaches] can say whatever they want about that [the reason he was sent home Friday]. The main thing it’s coming from is what I said after the game about leadership and about the team.”

Haynesworth will likely get his wish if he wants to see Blache gone, because once Zorn is fired in the offseason the new head coach (Mike Shanahan?) will clean house and bring in his own coordinators. So Haynesworth’s frustrations will probably be short lived.

That said, it isn’t good when a team invests $41 million in guaranteed money in a player and he gets sent home early, then openly complains about his defensive coordinator.

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