In a big twist of irony, running back T.J. Duckett was dealt to the Washington Redskins on Tuesday while disgruntled wide receiver Ashley Lelie will end up playing in Atlanta this season according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
In exchange for Duckett, 25, the Redskins sent a third- or fourth-round pick to Denver, who, in turn, shipped Lelie, 26, to the Falcons.
As for Duckett, he could finally get the chance to be a featured back — for a few weeks. Redskins’ tailback Clinton Portis is out with a shoulder injury but is not expected to be out for the entire season.
The irony of the situation is that Duckett and Lelie were both apart of the same 2002 draft in which many analysts and talking media heads thought that the Lelie was a guarantee to land in Atlanta that season. The opposite obviously happened, but now here we are just five seasons later and Lelie winds up in Atlanta anyway.
This doesn’t surprise me that Duckett was traded since that rumor mill has been spinning since the draft. The surprise comes that he is going to Washington, where the Redskins already have a number one back in Portis.
The move is obviously clear that nobody in the Redskins’ brass knows when exactly Portis is going to return from the shoulder injury he suffered a week ago and maybe the shoulder is worse than what they’re letting on. This is a move in effort to win now.
The Falcons needed a third wide receiver bad with Brian Finneran suffering a season ending knee injury in training camp. The move was apparent after the 38-10 drubbing that the team took in Green Bay this past weekend, considering veteran Jerome Pathon looked nothing close to a reliable option.
The real question becomes what are the future plans? Both players are still unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. I can’t see both of them signing for the teams they’re with now if they both want to be number one’s at their respected positions.
