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'Skins Prepping for Big Move?


spyder7

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The recent release of veteran tackle Jon Jansen, who had played his entire career for the Washington Redskins, might be a signal that the 'Skins want to do more than simply infuse youthful competition at the right tackle spot. HC Jim Zorn has stated the Jansen had to go in order to allow competition between third-year player Stephon Heyer, newly acquired Jeremy Bridges, and the NFL's version of Jared Fogel: former 1st-round pick Mike Williams, who only a couple of months ago weighed 410 pounds, but has since shed over 30 pounds in an effort to get back on the field after taking two years off.

However, the timing of Jansen's release was very late into the free agency period, and the 10-year veteran himself expressed to the Washington Post that it could have been "better." You would think that even the impulsive Washington front office would have given Jansen, the longest tenured 'Skin since the inception of Snyder's ownership, an earlier release in order to allow him adequate time on the market to court potential suitors. Finally, the 'Skins let go of Jansen despite a critically thin offensive line which has been quite injury-prone in the last few season. Even more puzzling is that Jansen's release will result in a roughly six million dollar cap hit.

With these realities in mind, the 'Skins may be up to something. Perhaps Jansen was deemed expendable in order to create room for a free agent target. With Snyder in charge, you can never count out the 'Skins when it comes to flashy pickups, and there are still a few players left on the free agent market that could make an immediate impact for the 'Skins at need spots. Plaxico Burress is still available and would provide the physical big play threat at WR that the 'Skins have been coveting for what seems like forever . Also, tackle Levi Jones is available as well and would surely compete for a starting job on the 'Skins shaky O-line. Stay tuned.

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Even more puzzling is that Jansen's release will result in a roughly six million dollar cap hit.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?t=288946

According to this article its not THAT much of a hit...

The Redskins cut Jansen even though releasing him will cost $1.58 million more against the salary cap than it would have to keep him

And he signed with the Lions already, teams are always picking up free agent veteran lineman, doesnt matter if its early or not in the free agent market

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Naw.. I don't see any big moves occurring from the release of Jansen. Zorn was pretty candid in explaining why it would be a waste of time to keep him on the roster. If they were planning something big they would've cut him earlier. Strictly a money thang!

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This makes total sense. We freed up a TON of negative cap space to spend on players from the Bizarro World who will actually pay the team to sign them instead of drawing a salary. Bring on Bizarro Plaxico, who I hear is very responsible, but short.

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IMO we have to go get a solid vet to backup Samuels. He still isn't practicing and we no longer have the luxury of swinging Heyer to the left side.....Levi makes total sense as a reliable backup to Samuels who could also be thrown in the mix for the RT spot.....

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Reading way too much into his release. This is simply a matter of cutting ties with a player that the coaches considered on the bubble, expendable and no longer a contributor.

Zorn came out and said he did not show improvement over last year. Well, he was done last year. The staff decided to let him explore his options now instead of waiting for training camp.

As far as the money goes, the decision to release was made than the cap ramifications came into play.

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Reading way too much into his release. This is simply a matter of cutting ties with a player that the coaches considered on the bubble, expendable and no longer a contributor.

Zorn came out and said he did not show improvement over last year. Well, he was done last year. The staff decided to let him explore his options now instead of waiting for training camp.

As far as the money goes, the decision to release was made than the cap ramifications came into play.

Exactly. As I said in another post, his ankle injury in 2007 gave him an extra year on the team (2008). If he had played a full year in 2007 his skills decline would have been exposed and he would have been gone last spring.

I think a couple of things happened: 1 - The coaches wanted to assess his work in the OTA's. They saw nothing to indicate he was better (or as good) as the other Tackle prospects they have; 2 - His leadership position on the team has deteriorated since the JG II era. Whatever locker room presence he had didn't justify keeping him around even as a backup.

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There definately needs to be some upgrades on the line. I believe the receivers contributed to the OL play with not getting open. If the receivers get open more then the offensive line will look and get better. In m opinion, i think the Redskins too need to look at some young running backs to jump start the offense with competition. I think Portis's production will start to decline in the next couple of years.

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Jansen needed to go. His resigning a couple of years ago at age 30 to a big contract was a major mistake for the organization.

To provide for sane cap management the Redskins needed to let Jansen go when:

1. His body started to break down regularly due to injuries.

2. Chris Samuels' contract was last restructured.

Can't afford to have that many dollars invested in two players that age.

It was obvious that Samuels was a better player and was in better shape physically heading into his last few years in the NFL.

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Zorn came out and said he did not show improvement over last year. Well, he was done last year. The staff decided to let him explore his options now instead of waiting for training camp.

Yeah, he was done as a starter. But he still started several games and was an upgrade with respect to run blocking on the right side. Who are you going to get to fill that spot (oline or not) that helps the team as much?

2 - His leadership position on the team has deteriorated since the JG II era. Whatever locker room presence he had didn't justify keeping him around even as a backup.

That's all I've been able to figure. Sounds like he was going to go cancerous in the locker room. He was whining about not starting enough that we heard about it.

And I still track Jansen's decline to a post on these boards years ago when someone said he didn't look in great shape any more, providing pictures from preseason practices. Good call, whoever you were. Started a firestorm on the board then, but appears to have been right on the money.

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I doubt it has anything to do with bringing new guys and and more to do with the fact that Zorn and the FO have other talented and younger players they'd like to keep because they can mold and teach them and they will not be as injury prone. This includes players like Williams and Bridges (although not that young they have much more upside obviously) as well as Edwin Williams, Rinehart, Clark, Batista, etc.

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Danny Boy is about to bust out with a huge offensive tackle/guard signing b4 wednesday, if it even takes him that long. He's like a gambler in Vegas and the money is burning a whole in his pocket. I cant wait to see what or who he is going to bring in!

:saber::saber::saber:

Hail!!

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