Donovan McNabb Continues Trying to Build the Redskins

Former Eagles' running back Michael Westbrook just visited the Washington Redskins and is now headed to Denver for another team visit. Westbrook was invited at the behest of his former teammate Donovan McNabb, the newly acquired Redskins' quarterback. Despite the fact that the Redskins have already signed Larry Johnson and Willie Parker this offseason to backup Clinton Portis, McNabb thought Westbrook would be just a super fit. Mr. McNabb, with respect, please focus on throwing the football and let the front office worry about what players to sign.

Since coming to the team, McNabb has suggested bringing in loudmouth wide receiver Terrell Owens and now Michael Westbrook. Now I understand that McNabb was brought in to be a vocal team leader, that I have no problem with. As a prominent leader and acquisition for the team, the Redskins cannot simply discount the suggestions he makes, but the reality is that McNabb has not played a single game for the Redskins and his suggestions stink.

As soon as I heard McNabb talking about Owens I was terrified. If there was any owner in the league that would over pay a controversial wide receiver who constantly drops the ball and struggles to make an impact it would of course be Daniel Snyder. While Owens clearly has talent, he expects to receive a superstar contract and the offense to revolve around him. At this point in his career Owens is a number two receiver and deserves a comparable contract. He will never accept that and so he finds himself currently out of a job. Snyder has a history of overpaying big name players (Deion Sanders, Albert Haynesworth, etc) and so I thought this might happen. Luckily the team came out and said they had no interest.

McNabb, however, is talking again! To be fair, I thought Westbrook would be a great acquisition when the offseason began. Portis is getting older and the team needed a more reliable backup than Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright. I think Portis is still good enough to be a great running back in the league, but last season made it clear he needed another running back to handle some of the offensive load and take some of the pressure off. Westbrooks' injury concerns are what led him to be cut by Philadelphia and I think his future in the league will be as the number two running back. This made him a great fit for the Redskins. Now he's not. The team should be dismissing this as quickly as they did with Owens, not inviting him to visit. Washington's need for a running back ended when the team signed both Johnson and Parker. Both will contribute, both will make an immediate impact, both have already signed, and both will struggle for as many carries as they feel they should be getting. Both of these players are former starters who were let go by their former teams. Sometimes starters can struggle accepting reduced roles. I expect that by the end of the season, between Portis, Johnson, and Parker, one of them will be unhappy believing their talents are not being fully utilized. Now you're talking about bringing in a fourth running back? This makes no sense.

McNabb was signed after Johnson and Parker. He knows he has three backs ready to play and he is still talking about Westbrook. What does this say about the confidence he has in the running backs? What must Johnson and Parker be thinking now that McNabb is talking about bringing in another guy? I understand trying to help out a friend, but McNabb has been a Redskin for about a month. He has not played a single game. He is also on a team with a new head coach and new general manager. The Redskins do not need McNabb talking about who he thinks they should bring in.

Because McNabb is a quarterback and very talented, he is constantly interviewed and what he says quickly becomes very public and teams have to take note. I hope that the Redskins brought in Westbrook just out of respect for McNabb and are not seriously considering signing him. If they do, the Redskins will have two or three upset running backs by the end of the season thanks to a quarterback who has yet to prove himself in DC.