THE POSITIVE
SHORT-TERM: Realistically, I think we could plan on 2 or maybe 3 years out of a healthy Peyton Manning. So in the short term, we could not have a better leader on the field in 2012 and 2013.
WIDE RECEIVERS: If we signed Peyton Manning, that may give us an inside edge to sign an elite level free agent Wide Receiver to go with him. If we also signed WR Reggie Wayne, Peyton's longtime teammate, or Vincent Jackson, Santana Moss could move to the #2 slot where he is best suited and could thrive. That would leave Jabar Gaffney as a solid #3 and Anthony Armstrong along with the two young up-and-comers, Leonard Hankerson and Niles Paul, to fill out the squad. That would be the best overall group of wide receivers the Redskins have fielded in over a decade.
DRAFT PICKS: Another big advantage to signing Peyton would be saving our draft picks and using them to fill out several other big areas of need. The Redskins could stay at pick #6 and select someone like CB Morris Claiborne, which would certainly make sense. They could also follow last year's plan and trade back in the draft to accumulate picks. If they were able to trade back to the 12-15 range, they could add badly needed help to their interior offensive line by selecting either of the available Guards, David DeCastro or G Cordy Glenn, and hopefully pick up an additional second round pick in the process.
WINNING: Most importantly for fans, we could have a legitimate chance of going from worst to first in the NFC East. Last year, we all saw how much better Peyton Manning single-handedly made the Colts and he could do the same thing for the Redskins. He could instantly transform our anemic offense with no big play ability into a feared unit with a realistic chance at the playoffs and more.
THE NEGATIVE
There are always upsides and downsides to every free agent and Peyton Manning is no different.
MONEY: The first obstacle the team will have to overcome will be the mountain of cash they will be giving away. Obviously Peyton Manning himself will not come cheap, but that is not the only check we will have to write. In addition to Peyton's contract, we will have no choice but to dole out a second big contract for an elite free agent wide receiver. Then, there is the offensive line. Assuming G Kory Lichtensteiger returns and is healthy, the Redskins would need to add at least one free agent Guard to the offensive line. And, since we are protecting a fairly fragile Peyton Manning, we should probably invest in one of the best free agent Guards that are available like Ben Grubbs or Carl Nicks, rather than selecting an unproven lineman out of the draft and expecting him to perform at an elite level right out of the gate.
FREE AGENTS: If the Redskins sign Peyton Manning, they are officially going into Win-Now mode for the next two years. That means you cannot necessarily use last year's strategy of selecting key players to build the team for the long-term. Instead, we will have to go for broke and sign the best free agents available to plug the many remaining holes on the team as quickly as possible, regardless of their age.
LONG-TERM: Of course, Peyton is not a long-term solution for us at quarterback. While we should be covered for the next two seasons, we should immediately invest an early round 2012 draft pick in a young quarterback that can begin developing and learning from the absolute best and groom him to take over the reigns when Peyton ultimately retires.
LOGIC
There is no easy answer. We could sign Peyton Manning and catch lightning in a bottle for the 2-3 years and have a shot not just to get into the playoffs, but make a legitimate push for the Super Bowl.
However, there is no way fans can possibly block out what Dan Snyder has done to the Redskins over the last miserable decade. The team could dish out huge contracts to not only Peyton Manning, but several other 30+ veterans. Peyton could get badly hurt in the very first game and have no choice other than to retire. Then, we will have missed out on quarterbacks Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Matt Flynn and be staring at yet another season long nightmare dreaming about picking USC Quarterback Matt Barkley in next year's draft.
All in all, logic tells us to pass on signing Peyton Manning and, instead, to continue last offseason's smart approach of building the team for the long haul with high quality, young players that best fit our system. If we follow logic, we should select a young quarterback in the upcoming draft or try to sign the younger free agent quarterback with upside, Matt Flynn.
Since Dan Snyder has followed anything but logic since he bought the team, who knows what will happen. Decisions, decisions.
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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog
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