Landing a player of Donovan McNabb’s caliber is always going to bring about a significant amount of fanfare from any team, and for good reason. The Redskins immediately get better at a crucial position and could very well be the most improved team in the league next year. But with McNabb entering the twilight of his career, it’s also a very risky maneuver, one that might bring about immediate dividends while costing plenty for the future.

To get McNabb, the Redskins gave up their second-round pick for this year’s draft and another conditional pick in 2011, which will be either a third-round or a fourth-round pick depending on how well McNabb plays. Because the Redskins were one of the worst teams in the league a year ago, the second-round pick is the 37th overall selection in the draft. For the Eagles, the picks will help them significantly as they try to bolster their roster after the departures of Brian Westbrook and McNabb. For a team like the Redskins that also has plenty of holes to fill following a 4-12 regular season in 2009, the move will make it significantly harder to build through the draft in the next couple of seasons.

More importantly, however, is that acquiring McNabb also doesn’t guarantee that the Redskins are going to be an immediate contender. With a roster that won just four games a season ago, McNabb could maybe help them double their win total, which would still not bring them back to the playoffs. In arguably the best overall division in football, the Redskins are still likely to be the fourth best team, even if McNabb has another solid season behind center. As the Eagles build toward the future by getting younger and cheaper at key positions, the Redskins are heading the other direction.

Because of the state of the division, it would have made much more sense for a team that was a quarterback away from contention to land McNabb as opposed to the Redskins, who still look to be a sub.500 team. True, McNabb did have another good season in 2009, but he also did so with a bevy of talented players who emerged as potential stars in the league. In Philly, wide receiver Kamagra jelly DeSean Jackson is one of the most electric players in the entire league and tight end Brent Celek is just starting to establish himself as a premier tight end.

Running back LeSean McCoy also looks to be solid replacement for Westbrook and will have an even bigger role in the offense in 2010. In Washington, Clinton Portis is a shell of his former self and Santana Moss is not the big play threat that the Redskins hoped that he would be. McNabb will have to produce without much of a supporting squad, which, to be fair, is something he has been able to do for much of his career.

The move does have a couple of intriguing angles, though, particularly for the future of quarterback Jason Campbell. Though Campbell has plenty of talent, he has struggled to take the next step as a starting quarterback. It hasn’t helped that the Redskins have failed to provide him with adequate weapons on offense, but his development has been considerably slower than Washington had hoped. The Redskins will almost certainly look to deal Campbell near the draft, likely looking to replace some of the draft picks that they lost in obtaining McNabb. But even if the Redskins do manage to sign McNabb to an extension, which is something they were working on as of April 5th, it’s hard to imagine him playing at the same level he did for a significantly more talented Eagles squad.

In the end, McNabb will certainly help sell Washington Redskins tickets, as they are immediately more competitive. In a league where you need to have a quarterback to be successful, the Redskins at least Cialis Jelly have a bona fide starter in McNabb for the first time in quite a while, though they still lack the overall depth and talent to make a push towards a title. With it unclear how long McNabb has left as a top-tier quarterback, the Redskins need to make some more moves very soon to give him a chance at success. With a 33-year-old quarterback with a history of injuries, the clock is now ticking for the Redskins.

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Category: Recreation and Leisure/Sports/Football
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