Saturday, April 4, 2009

Redskins trying to sign Bryan Leftwich (UPDATED)


To prove that the team has no faith in Jason Campbell in 09, and the team statement regrading Campbell status with the team is completely false, the skins brought on Bryan Leftwich this morning to work with the club according to Jason La Canufora from the Washington Post.

"Leftwich, 29, worked out for the club and is seen solely as a possible younger and cheaper replacement to backup Todd Collins, 37. The Redskins informed Leftwich that he would not be competing with Jason Campbell during their meeting, according to NFL sources, and made it clear that he would play only if Campbell were injured or ineffective during a start.

The Redskins are offering only one-year veteran minimum contracts to free agents at this time, and made no offer to Leftwich, according to a source. Leftwich, the seventh overall pick in 2003, was once considered a potential franchise quarterback but has received little interest in free agency. Leftwich flourished in a second-half performance against the Redskins in a Monday night game last season and has said in the past that he aspires to start again.

The timing of his arrival here was odd, considering how long Leftwich has been available, and given that owner Daniel Snyder, executive vice president Vinny Cerrato and Coach Jim Zorn spent Friday trying to smooth over relations with Campbell after the team solicited interest in Campbell last week while engaged in deep negotiations to try to acquire Denver quarterback Jay Cutler.

With Collins here, there is a distinct pecking order (although he led the team to the playoffs with Campbell hurt in 2007). The dynamic with Leftwich might be more complicated, given tht he is much younger than Collins and has considerably more starting experience (he has started 46 NFL games, Campbell 36). The Redskins operate in a hybrid West Coast offense; Leftwich struggled when Jacksonville implemented that system under Bill Musgrave, a former Washington assistant, and he is a less mobile dropback passer (at 6-feet-5, 250 pounds) who has been more effective in a vertical passing game.

However, signing Leftwich for the veteran minimum would allow Snyder to save over $1 million with Collins due a $1.9 salary and a $100,000 workout bonus. He is to make $3 million in 2010 and received a $3 million signing bonus in 2007. Releasing Collins would result in a nominal cap hit, but would save actual dollars."


Wow, why don't the team just release Campbell, and get it over with. They are really embarrassing themselves by meeting with him for two hours to strengthening up the situation, and then they bring in a QB to work out with them the next morning. Seriously, Snyder, and Cerrato should stop playing stupid with the media and the fans and decide either these two things.


UPDATE: It appears I jump the gun on this story. According the Jason La Canufora, the team schedule to workout with Leftwich weeks in advance , and Campbell was aware of it, even before the trade rumors to get Jay Cutler swirl in.

Redskins Confrim Leftwich Visit

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