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WASHINGTON REDSKINS MORTGAGE FUTURE IN BLOCKBUSTER TRADE WITH ST. LOUIS RAMS

By Rock Mayock 10:30 p.m. from somewhere on the road | The 2012 NFL Draft only six weeks away however the first blockbuster trade has already taken place. With the contenders for the Peyton Manning sweepstakes being whittled down the list of teams out of the running has become quite clear. Sitting atop that list of teams out of contention is the Washington Redskins. Due to last season’s abysmal QB play of Sexy Rexy Grossman and John Beck the Skins had to do something to shore up the most important position in sports. With their needs identified the only question remaining is how much the Redskins would sacrifice to fulfill these needs. Tonight we have our answer.

Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports, ABC, Washington Post and BSPN have all reported that the Rams have reached an agreement to trade the #2 pick to the Redskins. In typical Daniel Snyder fashion the Redskins paid a hefty price to acquire the rights to the #2 overall pick which is presumably intended for Robert Griffin III. What did the Redskins give up for the rights to acquire their franchise QB? Let’s take a look:

The price paid is significant for a team that has more needs than just a quarterback. The Redskins gave up 4 overall picks inclusive of three first round picks for a player they did not get to see throw a the Combine, at a pro day or any reported personal workouts. Granted the upside for RGIII is undeniable the question marks about his size, durability and ability to play in Mike Shanahan’s under center pro style offense are legitimate. We can only assume the combination of game tape and Combine interviews must have been compelling enough to convince the Skins to make the leap of faith.

Although the logic behind the decision to pull the trigger on this trade is questionable it is not unprecedented. As recently as last year the Falcons made a similar leap of faith by trading their first, second and fourth round picks in the 2011 Draft as well as their first and fourth round picks in this year’s draft to move up and draft who the FOOTBALLPHDS believed to be the best wide receiver prospect Julio Jones.

Since Washington State Cougar alum Mark Rypien led the Redskins to a win over the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI the franchise has wallowed in a cesspool of mediocrity and irrelevance. Perhaps the charisma and talent of RGIII will salvage the Redskins from the depths of mediocrity. Just to put things in perspective, here is a list of the other charismatic and talented QBs that were drafted since 1992:

The first question that likely comes to mind is “Who in the hell is Gibran Hamdan?” Quite frankly nobody knows. What is known is that the Redskins have swung and missed on 10 straight QBs they drafted not to mention the ridiculous free agent signings highlighted by Rex Grossman and Donovan McNabb.

Although the FOOTBALLPHDS are rarely wrong we do appreciate a pleasant surprise from time to time. Hopefully RGIII and the Redskins organization pleasantly surprises us with years of success.

rock@footballphds.com

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