Tag: Donovan McNabb (Page 9 of 27)

T.O. and McNabb to reunite in Washington?

According to ESPN.com’s Ed Werder, Donovan McNabb is lobbying for the Redskins to sign free agent Terrell Owens. Per Werder, Mike Shanahan says that the Skins aren’t actively pursuing Owens, but the team does want to upgrade their wide receiver corps so the possibility remains open.

T.O. and McNabb have since reconciled their differences stemming from their days together in Philadelphia, but I’m not sure why McNabb would want to go back down that road. It’s not like Owens is a productive No. 1 receiver anymore; why take on the potential baggage?

That said, there’s no doubt that the Redskins have to upgrade their receiving corps at some point this offseason. Santana Moss is coming off a rough year, while youngsters Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas have only shown vague flashes of potential. Owens always keeps himself in great shape and if Washington were to sign him for one year, he could at least breathe some competition into the wideout position. Plus, a lot of his struggles last year can be attributed to the fact that the Bills didn’t have a quarterback.

Still, the Skins would be better off taking a pass on T.O. He’s a 36-year-old headache waiting to happen and there’s no telling how he and Shanahan would mesh. Washington has seven rounds to add another receiver into the mix and it just makes sense for them to go younger.


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If teams are interested in Jason Campbell, they’re not showing it

The Redskins re-signed restricted free agent quarterback Jason Campbell to a one-year, $3.14 million contract on Monday, but if both parties are still hoping to part ways via a trade, other teams will have to show interest.

Campbell is still relatively young at 28 and is coming off a career-year in which he threw 20 touchdown passes, racked up 3,618 yards and compiled a completion rate of 64.5. Those numbers should be good enough for Campbell to garner interest from other teams, but if anyone is interested they’re playing their cards close to their vest.

The Bills, Raiders, Jaguars and Panthers are four teams that have a need at quarterback and Campbell could be a fit for any one of those squads. That said, Oakland (No. 8 overall) and Buffalo (No. 9 overall) are in position to possibly select Notre Dame signal caller Jimmy Clausen in the first round of this month’s draft, so they may choose to sit tight instead of opening a dialogue with Washington about Campbell. Jacksonville picks 10th, so they too could have an opportunity to select Clausen if he gets past the Raiders and Bills.

Campbell may have to wait until the draft before his fate is determined. And even then, he may have to wait until teams get desperate about their quarterback situation this summer before he’s moved. (If he’s moved.)

Of course, Campbell might not be going anywhere. Donovan McNabb’s contract expires at the end of the 2010 season and while the Redskins are hoping to sign him into an extension soon, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to lock him up long-term. If talks between the Skins and McNabb go south, maybe the team will hang onto Campbell as an insurance policy in case McNabb bolts at the end of the season.


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Will the Bills take Clausen at No. 9?

As I’ve discussed throughout the past couple of days, the Donovan McNabb trade is likely to cause a ripple effect in this month’s draft. While head coach Mike Shanahan said recently that the Redskins could still take a quarterback with the fourth overall pick, it’s hard to imagine that they’d select a signal caller that high when they have so many other pressing needs.

The Bills, however, are another story. They’ve seemingly given up on Trent Edwards and while Ryan Fitzpatrick is a fine backup, he’s not the solution either. That makes them an interesting possibility for Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen if he falls to them at No. 9.

But will he fall? Assuming the Rams take Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford at No. 1, the Seahawks, Browns and Raiders – three teams that could be interested in quarterback – all pick before the Bills. Seattle traded for Charlie Whitehurst a couple of weeks ago and the Browns added Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace early this offseason, so both of those teams could be out of the running. (In fact, the Seahawks most definitely are – Whitehurst is their future.) But Oakland was presumably in the mix for McNabb, so they could snag the Notre Dame product at No. 8, one spot ahead of Buffalo.

Of course, even if Clausen is available, the Bills still may take a pass. They have a glaring need for a left tackle and if they pass on someone like Anthony Davis or Bryan Bulaga at No. 9, they run the risk that a starting-caliber LT won’t be available when they pick again at No. 41. That said, if they believe that Clausen is a franchise quarterback, then they can’t pass on him. Having a good left tackle is vital, but quarterback trumps all other positions.

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Did the Redskins offer Eagles Haynesworth in McNabb deal?

Via Adam Caplan of Scout.com, Sheil Kapadia of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Redskins offered defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to the Eagles as part of the Donovan McNabb deal, but Philadelphia didn’t want him.

“The Redskins actually offered – I’m told by two league sources – Albert Haynesworth, the outstanding defensive tackle, but Albert Haynesworth has an enormous contract,” Caplan said, adding that Haynesworth was a pain to the Redskins’ previous coaching staff.

Haynesworth, who will turn 29 in June, signed a $100M contract last offseason with the Redskins, which included $41M in guaranteed money. He received – get this – a $21M roster bonus on April 1. His 2010 and 2011 salaries of $3.6M and $5.4M are guaranteed, according to contract details.

As the article notes, the Eagles already have two good defensive tackles in Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley, but neither of them play at the same level Haynesworth does. (Or at least, neither of them play at the same level Haynesworth did before he received that huge contract from Washington last year.)

It’s not surprising that the Haynesworth deal is already blowing up in Daniel Snyder’s face. Shoot first and ask questions later has always been Snyder’s plan of attack and I’m sure it never crossed his mind that Haynesworth wouldn’t be a good long-term fit in Washington. He just knew that the massive DT was the best free agent available, so he had to have him. Now Snyder has to deal with Haynesworth finding out that he was temporarily on the trade block. (I would love to be a fly on the wall for that convo.)

What I would be interested in finding out is what the Redskins would have given up if they parted with Haynesworth. Because obviously they wouldn’t have given up Haynesworth and two draft picks. Would it have been a straight up deal? Or would the Redskins have to pay part of Haynesworth’s salary? Would they have given up a late round pick as well as Haynesworth? I guess the world will never know.


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Donovan McNabb traded to Redskins for two draft picks

In a deal that will not only shake up the dynamics in the NFC East but also this month’s draft, ESPN is reporting that the Eagles have traded quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Redskins in exchange for Washington’s second round pick this year and either a third or fourth round pick in 2011.

It’s unclear at this point whether the Redskins are working on extending McNabb’s contract, which expires at the end of the 2010 season. If he were traded, McNabb said that he wanted to play for a contender and considering he’s familiar with the NFC East, he might be comfortable finishing his career in Washington. He may also relish playing the Eagles twice a year, too.

It’s a little perplexing why the Eagles would trade him within the division – especially given the importance of McNabb’s position. There’s an unwritten rule that states that teams shouldn’t trade within their division because it could wind up haunting them in the long run. But maybe this was the best deal Philadelphia was offered and they jumped on it before the opportunity passed them by.

Now that the Redskins have their starting quarterback, what happens to Jason Campbell? The Skins will likely try to trade him, but they might not find many suitors considering other teams now know Washington doesn’t need him. Still, if they can get a mid round pick for Campbell, it would be better than releasing him and getting nothing in return. (Or keeping an unhappy Campbell on the roster.)

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