Crowded receivers

I was going to do a roundup of what's been going on in Redskins-land lately, but decided that the wide receiver situation was a bit too beefy to gloss over. So ..

After two long stints with the Redskins, receiver James Thrash is cut by the team after failing a physical.

I suppose this was the only way Thrash was going to get out of the picture. He's been dealing with a bad neck injury. But Joe Gibbs praised him year after year because of his work ethic. So has Jim Zorn. So it goes. Word is, he'll get some sort of job perhaps as a coach with the team.

This makes the receiver situation a little more clear. Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El, Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly will make the team, no questions asked. Behind them, Keith Eloi, Marques Hagans, Marko Mitchell, Trent Shelton, Jaison Williams and Roydell Williams are contending for one or two roster spots.

There are a lot of talented people there, and I'd love to keep all of them. Moss and Randle El will probably start again, for better or for worse. I'd like to see more out of Thomas and Kelly. Kelly especially needs to step up, if he ever gets over his knee injury. It's not promising for the receiver out of Oklahoma. And because of that, I think it's fairly important to keep an extra body or two to be ready in case Kelly is never ready.

As for the others, I'd suppose that Mitchell has a leg up on the others since the team drafted him. I actually really like Eloi, but I don't see him making it. If you haven't seen this Eloi video, it's pretty funny.



Hagans is a lot like Randle El, and that's probably not good for him. Hagans was a quarterback at Virginia, but is trying to make it in the NFL as a receiver. Talented, but pretty sure the team isn't looking for someone with his particular skill set since they already has Randle El.

Jaison Williams and Roydell Williams are similar - big, tall, fast. They both have a lot more experience than the others, so that might give them an advantage.

I still say that it'll be Mitchell making the team, and if they keep a 6th (I think they should), it'll probably be Roydell Williams.

Adios for now.

Adios, Rock

It's always sad to see a Redskin go, especially when it is a potential starter.
But Jon Jansen, the longested tenured dude around, ... I didn't expect him to depart quite so suddenly.

I guess the thing with Jansen has to do with his age, and the fact that he was making too much for his quality of play. I've always liked him - he seemed to exude confidence - so it's sad to see him go. Plus yeah, I did think he could recover from his recent injuries and play to a Pro Bowl level. Call me crazy.

Mistake or not, the Redskins are now heavily banking on either Stephon Heyor or Mike Williams stepping up and starting (and performing well) at right tackle.

And yes, that's Mike "I weight 400 pounds" Williams. You know, the guy who hasn't practiced in two years and is currently eating nothing but salads (seriously) in an attempt to lose 40 pounds by training camp.

And while Heyor played alright over a short period, it'll be interesting - and potentially key - for him to keep it up. He had to sit out for an injury last season, and Jansen came in as a replacement and never gave up the spot last season because he was playing so well.

Anyway, Jansen, good luck to ye. You signed with the Lions. Hope Matthew Stafford works out, or else it could be another long year in Detroit.