One key area that has yet to be addressed is the wide receiver position. Santana Moss has been the team's staple #1 WR for several years now and he is back again this season and should be a solid contributor. However, Moss has two issues working against him. First, his best asset has always been his speed and, at age 31, that advantage is slowly becoming less and less. Second, there is still the quietly looming HGH scandal that he is involved in. While other star athletes in and outside of the NFL have been thrust into the lime light and made spectacles of for steroid use, the HGH scandal involving Santana Moss has been uncharacteristically quiet. Despite a lack of publicity, Moss may be facing a significant suspension from the NFL if the looming investigation turns up evidence against him.
The best case scenario for Redskins' fans is that Moss is cleared in the investigation and lines up to start the season as their starting #1 WR. The worst case scenario is that Moss is suspended for 4 games (or more) and the Redskins' starting WR's are Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly. Thomas and Kelly have been disappointing to say the least in their first two seasons with the team. Although, when the Thomas was drafted in 2008, he was thought to be a raw talent and would take some time to develop, so he does still appear to have some upside still.
Malcolm Kelly, on the other hand, was supposed to be "NFL ready" when he was drafted. Of course, as fans know, Kelly showed up for his first training camp out of shape, got hurt, and hardly played at all in his first season. Kelly then came out in his second season as the starting #2 WR and proceeded to lose that job after mustering only 7 catches in his first 6 games. Now, Kelly is again hurt with a bad hamstring, is missing badly needed offseason work, and the rumors of him actually being released by the team are beginning to circulate.
Needless to say, Thomas and Kelly would be a less than ideal 1-2 punch at the WR position. And who knows what would happen if Kelly is still hurt or released and cannot even play. So what else has the team done to add depth and help solidify the WR position?
The Redskins signed Bobby Wade who is a quality veteran probably best suited as a #4 or #5 wideout at this point in his career. The 33 year old Mike Furrey was a good special teams signing who can help out in a pinch at WR or even on defense in the secondary. The team also signed the 38 year old veteran, Joey Galloway, who caught 7 passses last season and only 13 in 2008 and is hopefully only being used to mentor the team's younger WR's during training camp. They also signed Roydell Williams who has not played in the NFL since 2007 and, again, is hopefully just filling in as a warm body in practice. Top the list off with a few unproven undrafted rookies and there you have the entire Redskins' WR core. Not exactly what we were hoping for.
As painful a pill as it may have been to swallow, the Redskins should have signed WR Terrell Owens. Yes, he has been a great deal more trouble than he was worth in the past. Yes, he did also once play for "Team Evil" in Dallas. Yes, he is getting older, a little slower and he does drop some passes. With all of that said, he still would have provided an actual threat down the field. He also appeared to mellow a bit last season after perhaps being humbled a bit on a poor team with the Buffalo Bills. Bills' WR James Hardy shared how Owens took him "under his wing" and helped teach him how to prepare for the season and for games. If he did this for Hardy, couldn't he have done it with Thomas and Kelly?
While it may have seemed impossible a few years, it is possible that Owens has matured a bit and could actually be a positive asset to a team now. Now, of course, it is too late as T.O. has already signed with the Cincinnati Bengals for a mere one year $2 million contract.
Lately, there are rumors of the Redskins possibly trading for disgruntled Chargers' WR Vincent Jackson, but do not hold your breath. Jackson is probably not worth the money he will demand and he is already showing now what type of distraction he can be to a team. Plus, if the Redskins trade anymore draft picks, they may not even be invited to attend next year's college draft because they will not be involved in it.
With all that said, the Redskins need help at the WR position and they need help pretty badly. Unfortunately, that situation will probably not be addressed until next offseason. For now, thank goodness for the team's outstanding TE combination of Chris Cooley and Fred Davis. Without them, Donovan McNabb might be in for a very long season.
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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog
