McNabb Traded To Redskins in Curious Move, Could it FINALLY Be the End of Campbell?

On the day of Tiger Woods' press conference and baseball's opening day (Nationals already coming out swinging with an 11-1 loss to Philadelphia) the big story in Washington is...football. Last night the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins reached a deal sending quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Redskins for a second round draft pick and a fourth round pick in 2011 which could turn into a third round pick.

This trade caught many completely offguard. Last week Oakland and Buffalo emerged as the front runners and even if they couldn't close the deal, who would have expected that Philadelphia would trade McNabb to a division opponent? The Eagles will now have to face the best quarterback in franchise history twice in 2010 as both teams are in the NFC East. Usually teams will not make big trades within their division. Take for example, Green Bay, who refused to trade Brett Favre to a team within the NFC Conference in an attempt to avoid playing against him at all. But Philadelphia decided to take the plunge after McNabb's agent made it clear that he did not want to go to Oakland or Buffalo. Still, you have to wonder. Ok, so it was clear Philadelphia wanted to move forward with Kevin Kolb so McNabb needed to go. That's understandable. But even with McNabb making objections and encouraging talks with Washington, Philadelphia still needs to look after its best interests. I'm sure that Philadelphia could have found someone outside of the division willing to make a deal other than Oakland and Buffalo so why help make a division opponent better with a major trade? If Philadelphia really made this deal strictly because of McNabb's wishes, that's honorable I guess, but it's pretty foolish.

Another possibility is that they know something that the rest of the NFL doesn't. I'm not into conspiracy theories, what I'm saying is that Andy Reid and the Eagles' organization know McNabb better than anyone in the NFL. They may be expecting a dramatic drop off in play, which would explain setting up a Kolb/McNabb matchup and putting together a trade package that included a 2011 draft pick. Just a thought.

What also made this deal surprising was the fact that this did not seem to be the route the Redskins were taking this offseason. With quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, and Tim Tebow all available in the draft and the Redskins in full rebuilding mode, most expected the team to bring in a young quarterback to replace Jason Campbell or at least force him to perform. Instead they brought in a veteran quarterback who most likely has already peaked.

This trade will certainly change their tactics come draft day. Both Bradford and Clausen have met with the Redskins, so perhaps head coach Mike Shanahan didn't see what he wanted to out of the pair. In any case, the Redskins now have to take an offensive lineman with their number one pick. There can be no debate here. Their offensive line was absolutely atrocious last season. McNabb is 33 years old, which is advanced for most NFL players, and has been plagued with injuries throughout his career. Without building that offensive line up then the Redskins are playing with fire. They need to start taking a look at Russell Okung from Oklahoma State, Trent Williams from Oklahoma, and Bryan Bulaga from Iowa. Any of the three would provide a major boost to that weak offensive line.

So was this the right move? One worrying aspect is that this trade reeks of Dan Snyder. Trading for a big name player already in his 30s as a quick fix? I certainly hope this is the work of Bruce Allen and Shanahan, but it really seems to have Snyder's finger prints all over it and we've seen how well those moves have worked. Even so I like this trade if the Redskins follow through and build that offensive line. If they don't then this trade was a waste of time, draft picks, and money. McNabb can't take the kind of beating Campell did last season. While McNabb may be a more mobile quarterback, this does not make up for the complete lack of consistent blocking up front. Sitting with that number four overall pick, the Redskins may well find themselves having to choose between an offensive lineman and the real popular Ndamukong Suh, but they MUST ignore the flashy pick and take what they need. I like this trade only if you get the line to protect McNabb, otherwise it's only a matter of time before Campbell is called in as McNabb is carted off the field.

A lot of curious thinking allowed for this big trade. With one trade the Redskins took a big step forward towards making themselves competitive again. I've been very vocal with my criticism of Campbell and I truly believe he was holding this team back. I will also admit, however, that the offensive line was an even bigger problem. Bringing in McNabb means nothing if they do not continue to improve on the line because McNabb cannot handle the pressure and the beating he will receive throughout the season without it.