Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder watches warm ups before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on August 21, 2010. UPI/Alexis C. Glenn
When Shaun Rogers wants to play, he’s a fine player. He’s versatile in that he can play in either the 4-3 or 3-4 and in the right situation, the 31-year-old would be a good fit as a stopgap for one or two years.
The problem with Rogers is that he’s lazy and someone will be willing to overpay for his services. So naturally Dan Snyder is interested.
Two days after the Browns released him, Rogers was already at Redskins Park meeting with team officials. It makes sense that Snyder and Co. would be intrigued by a player like Rogers, who has a questionable attitude and is unwilling to practice. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes, because of the Browns’ inability to get him on the practice field during the week (in addition to other injuries along the defensive line), coaches had to devise schemes that used as few lineman as possible because that’s how they practiced during the week.
Does this sound like a player that most teams would want to add? Again, if a team was able to sign him to a reasonable contract, then you could do worse than having Shaun Rogers in a defensive line rotation. A team like the Patriots could handle him because he’d shut up and play for the opportunity to win a ring (just like Corey Dillon did in ’04).
But when has Snyder ever signed a free agent to a reasonable contract? In case anyone needs a reminder, the Skins still employ Albert Haynesworth – the same Albert Haynesworth who stole $100 million and who has been a total malcontent since arriving in D.C. Why would Washington want to replace one headache with another?
Redskin fans will argue that Snyder doesn’t run the team anymore – Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan do. But Snyder clearly still sets the tone. A mere hours before the Skins got the beating of a lifetime by the Eagles on national television, the front office signed Donovan McNabb to a five-year extension worth $70 million. Are we to believe that Shanahan was at the forefront of that deal? The same Shanahan who benched McNabb for Rex Grossman late in the year? No? It was GM Bruce Allen? So the GM signed a quarterback to a new deal even though his head coach was unsure whether or not he could run his offense? That…doesn’t…sound…
I know, I know – if they cut McNabb then they only owe him $3.75 million. The bottom line is that the timing of it all reeked of Snyder. There are many problems with the Redskins owner but the biggest issue holding the team back is his unwillingness to rebuild. He says he’s allowing the football minds in his front office to run the show and yet the team is still making questionable decisions. The Packers and Steelers reached the Super Bowl because they’re two teams that draft incredibly well. When was the last time the Redskins had a great draft? Try never under Snyder. His belief is that if you throw enough money at free agents, eventually you’ll buy a Super Bowl. The NFL is a copycat league but instead of trying to copy the success that the Packers, Steelers and Patriots have had, Snyder refuses to do things the right way.
What the Skins need to do is shed their overpriced, past-their-prime talent and rebuild through the draft for the next three years. But they won’t because Snyder has no concept of long-term plans. Maybe things will be different now that Shanahan is in charge and I’ll eat crow in a couple of years. But even having interest in a player like Rogers is like adding a new verse to a very old, familiar tune when it comes to this team.
