The case for trading DeSean Jackson - no, wait, hear me out...

[Red_dawg_one]

This thread gives me a head ache.  Trade away the best offensive player we have for a lottery ticket... I'm sure that's how the good teams do it, because you know, New England has traded away some guys that were pretty good before so yeah it must work!  Let's ignore that part where those teams that trade high, already have talent behind them thanks to years of good drafts.  Clearly having someone to step up is not an essential part of this trade high plan. 

 

NO!  A THOUSAND TIMES, NO! 

 

You can't develop a QB without having him surrounded by weapons and you don't want a team that's too young on either side of the ball all at once.  You want vets and young players, assuming the plan is to actually win one day. 

 

You know what this thread wants?  A short cut.  They want more draft picks sooner because, hey if we are suddenly a team that drafts well, the faster we draft a lot of players the faster we'll have all these awesome young players right?  No.  NO! 

 

 

 

We aren't the Philadelphia Eagles..He has been a loyal soldier ...Philly let him go for nothing ...try to get a pick for him is just fool hardy...The same group that are saying trade him will be belly  aching  during losses in 2015 like this ~~> "We don't have a deep threat to balance the running game and stop teams from playing 8 in the box stuffing the run"

People told Jimmy Johnson the same thing about Herschel Walker.  How did that work out for him?

We won't be getting 9 draft picks for Desean Jackson.....SO your comparison ends here  

[Rufus T Firefly]

The same group that are saying trade him will be belly  aching  during losses in 2015 like this ~~> "We don't have a deep threat to balance the running game and stop teams from playing 8 in the box stuffing the run"

You want to tell me some more things I will say in the  future? As long as you're spewing nonsense. 

[Gart Monk]

Trade him while he's hot. Why take the chance of letting his value drop? It's useless to be overloaded at skills positions and have nothing else. Hell, at this point, it's be content just to get a 2nd rounder for him.

A strong foundation will bear enormous weight.

[NoCalMike]

In the salary cap era it will always be about the value of the player, not the actual dollars.  Right now D-Jax has been great for us, but at the same time you have to look at where the franchise is as far as rebuilding.

 

Personally, I don't think we lose either way.  If we keep him, we keep a great WR that takes the top off a defense.  If we trade him (for a good haul) then we hopefully will be getting pieces that help for the future.

 

The one caveat I will say though is that nothing is certain about draft picks or free agents.  Even signing Jackson was somewhat of a risk, but so far he has panned out and played great for us. So at this point he is a sure thing.  Not always wise to give up a sure thing.

[MartinC]

I don't think that's true.  The team that takes him takes all of the liabilities.

 

If we CUT him, we take an 11M cap hit.

 

If we TRADE him, that hit is 3.75M, the savings are 5.5M.

Did some research (which I should have done before I posted originally) and your right.

I still would not trade him though - he's one of the few players we have who is a top end talent in his prime. We need more of that kind of player not less.

[THE HAMMER'IN HOG]

So Djax causes no problems, and was our best offensive player, so......let's get rid of him????? Reason; he will eventually lose his speed???????? Guy's like Djax keep their speed a long time, reason; they are light framed type bodies, I bet he's still running past DB's when he's 38, that is the type of speed he possesses! We need more talent, not less, good luck finding a better WR in the draft, maybe after 2 years of seasoning, but good luck, you will need it!

 

Wait and see how fast he looks when our QB's have some time and comfort in the pocket!!!

 

[Taco Bell]

I've been a big Desean supporter since he's been here. And I never looked past his clear faults, I just take them as part of the overall package and in the end still prefer him on the team than not, given his contract and more importantly his play.  When the Eagles fans still daily bring up "what might have been" with desean on their team, you know that this is a coveted player in certain aspects.  

 

Now, I'm not saying to keep him only because other fans think he's good, but usually other teams' fans are a nice "unbiased" opinion to hear as a counterpoint.  Unbiased in that oftentimes you hear who they would rather have you start/keep/play/etc, since they know which player in their opinion is "worse" etc, or they just don't have preconceived notions, whatever. 

 

Now anyways, three reasons why I'd keep him with the intent to extend him 1 more time.

 

1.  This guy actually delivered for us as a FA, which never happens, on offense at least.  If he delivered for us with an atrocious QB situation week in week out, I can only imagine he will be as lethal or more next year, since it's almost impossible for the collective QB/O-line play to be worse than it was this season.  And this trickles down in equity for the years after until he proves otherwise.  

 

2, yes, he's not a spring chicken at this point, but he's not a wise elder either.  He's young enough that we could extend him 1 more time and still keep him in his productive years, ending maybe 33 or 34.  Remember, he's an offensive player, so rules will continue to benefit them, less and less contact, etc.  

 

3. Straight line speed is one of the few things that seem to linger longer than other physical traits associated with football.  Look at Darrell Green.  Being 34 (which is the far end of my proposed potential extension contract period) for a guy that literally blazes past people at 28 probably won't see a tremendous dropoff to the point where he is completely worthless, assuming he continues to train as he should.  I know quickness can go faster, and that's part of his game too.  But in all honesty, he was more lethal for us on intermediate to deep routes as opposed to quick throws where he had to "make a play" anyways.  Getting a good release/obtuse angle route cuts (lol) is probably less quickness intensive than what a RB needs, or a possession  WR like Wes Welker requires.  34 is also the far limits of where I am talking about, so I am being generous by even defending that point because I am aware that I could very well be wrong and am putting it out there.  Like others said, he's not here for top notch blocking, physical strength dissipating is not quite as big of a deal.  He's a very specific case.  Id rather have Desean over Garcon at 34, in theory. 

[Burgold]

I agree. The other side is that people are suggesting making an unfair trade.  That is, a trade in which the Redskins wind up losers.  I mean what is the likelihood that a third rounder will produce like Jackson does?  A third rounder might be a starter, but often is a back up/blue collar starter. So, what the trade folks are saying is trade one of our few blue chippers on a talent starved team for a potential back up?  That's how you regress.

 

Now, if someone offers a first (middle or higher) than you can consider whether this guy could become a Desean Jackson...  Maybe even a high second, but ask yourself with the value of knowledge... if you placed Desean in the draft today where he would be picked, with his speed, production, ability to track the ball, and catch or even his weaknesses in blocking and size... where would you pick him?  He's a first rounder easily.  That means if you trade him and you're not desperate to move him because he's a malcontent, you have cap concerns, etc. then you should at least get replacement costs.

 

That's my 2 cents  anyway (On top of all the other 2 cents I've put in I think I've invested a dime)

[Taco Bell]

Yea that makes sense.  If you are disregarding age, and you look at where a player like Tavon Austin went, Desean is easily a prospect in today's nfl that goes in the top half of the first round.  If only he were 22 however.  

 

The line in the sand seems to be the bottom of the 2nd round that most are either one side or the other on.  I feel as though given his age, what we know about him in terms of production/character/etc, the 64th overall pick is where I actually start to think about it. I probably don't argue trading him away until you get to about the 47th pick.  Like you and others have said, this guy actually produced for us, and makes no sense to trade him away on our end anyway unless we are doing a basketball or baseball level firesale. It would be tempting at the mid 2nd level for me, since that's when you're starting to discuss players who are relatively safe picks on the interior O line, or front 7 on D, and could be potential long term starters.  

 

But, I don't think we'd get offered better than a low 3rd anyway (playoff type team who is doing a 1 piece away type trade, but has draft fundamentals so wouldn't pay too much), which is why I say flatly not to trade.  

[isle-hawg]

I am a HUGE fan of DJAX, but we are (hopefully) in rebuild mode, and his speed will not likely still be there when we actually have a good team .  If the compensation in draft picks is deemed good by our new GM than yes trade him so we can build for the future. 

[pjfootballer]

Darrell Green ran the 40 in 4.3 seconds....

At age 50.

He takes care of his legs, he won't lose speed.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Darrell Green ran the 40 in 4.3 seconds....

At age 50.

He takes care of his legs, he won't lose speed.

Yeah, there was once a guy who aged well, so let's bet all our cap on someone else doing the same.

 

People complain about the way we went about FA under Snyder, but I don't think many people have any idea why it was so bad.

[pjfootballer]

Yeah, there was once a guy who aged well, so let's bet all our cap on someone else doing the same.

People complain about the way we went about FA under Snyder, but I don't think many people have any idea why it was so bad.

I could see your point and others points if we were barely under the cap or over the cap, but when we could possibly be 36 million or more "under" the cap and with a new GM saying he won't go after free agents, DJs cap hit won't "hinder" us/him from acquiring players.

If Scot is going to use the draft, then the 9 million won't matter and we still will have plenty of money to re-sign our own guys. Snyder didn't sign Jackson or do his contract. That was Bruce. If one thing I wish more fans would give Bruce credit for is his contract work that has never harmed our cap.

[Rufus T Firefly]

I could see your point and others points if we were barely under the cap or over the cap, but when we could possibly be 36 million or more "under" the cap and with a new GM saying he won't go after free agents, DJs cap hit won't "hinder" us/him from acquiring players.

If Scot is going to use the draft, then the 9 million won't matter and we still will have plenty of money to re-sign our own guys. Snyder didn't sign Jackson or do his contract. That was Bruce. If one thing I wish more fans would give Bruce credit for is his contract work that has never harmed our cap.

Well, now you're talking about Jackson's cap hit and out space now in context of Jackson aging, when the issue with Jackson aging and losing a step is whether we re-sign him.

 

If you don't re-sign him, then many of us are saying trade him now to get something rather than just keeping him for 2 rebuilding years. 

 

No one is saying he won't be worth his cap hit the next two seasons.

[pjfootballer]

Well, now you're talking about Jackson's cap hit and out space now in context of Jackson aging, when the issue with Jackson aging and losing a step is whether we re-sign him.

If you don't re-sign him, then many of us are saying trade him now to get something rather than just keeping him for 2 rebuilding years.

No one is saying he won't be worth his cap hit the next two seasons.

Check your post. You said "lets bet all our cap." Your words.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Check your post. You said "lets bet all our cap." Your words.

Yep, because if you re-sign him for his age 31 season on, you'd be betting a big chunk of cap on his not declining.

 

Any talk of Jackson's age or decline has been in the context of his next contract. If you come in to that conversation and talk about how he's not going to lose speed, that is the discussion you're entering.

[pjfootballer]

Yep, because if you re-sign him for his age 31 season on, you'd be betting a big chunk of cap on his not declining.

Any talk of Jackson's age or decline has been in the context of his next contract. If you come in to that conversation and talk about how he's not going to lose speed, that is the discussion you're entering.

I wouldn't re-sign him beyond this contract. I just doubt that he'll lose his speed in the next two years. I believe he won't see that 4th year of his contract as we'll have his replacement by then if Scot does what he says he'll do. I just think it's premature to make a move now. I'm anxious to see in a few weeks when the season is officially over, what assessments he'll have made to our roster by February.

[LightningBuggs]

In all likelihood, Desean will not be a Redskin when this team becomes a playoff contender again.

 

So, yes, if you get an offer for him you can't refuse, don't refuse it.

 

This is going to be a long process.  And now that we have a GM who knows how to work the draft, give him as much ammo as possible.

[Rufus T Firefly]

I wouldn't re-sign him beyond this contract. I just doubt that he'll lose his speed in the next two years. I believe he won't see that 4th year of his contract as we'll have his replacement by then if Scot does what he says he'll do. I just think it's premature to make a move now. I'm anxious to see in a few weeks when the season is officially over, what assessments he'll have made to our roster by February.

No one is doubting he will still be the same player the next two seasons and  year 4 voids automatically.

 

My belief was, and will remain, that if you're building for years down the road then you make decisions based on that time frame. We're not going to win the next two years and Jackson shouldn't be here after that. Therefore, he doesn't help this team by the time they can be winning. A draft pick, plus the cap space saved should help by then.

[pjfootballer]

No one is doubting he will still be the same player the next two seasons and year 4 voids automatically.

My belief was, and will remain, that if you're building for years down the road then you make decisions based on that time frame. We're not going to win the next two years and Jackson shouldn't be here after that. Therefore, he doesn't help this team by the time they can be winning. A draft pick, plus the cap space saved should help by then.

Only IF the offer is right. I'm not closed to any ideas he'd have for trading him. You always keep all options open, but if I were a betting man, I'd say he's here at least next year and possibly 2016. I just don't see him getting traded. But that's just my opinion.

[PlayAction]

I certainly understand the logic of trading away players of value who won't be there to contribute when the team as a whole becomes competitive.  The new GM is going to need several drafts (with good results) before the Skins can hopefully have sustainable success.  The 2015 draft class will just be hitting it's stride in 3 years. 

 

On the other hand, if ANY of the QBs on the roster can develop into a quality starter they are going to need WRs on the roster now that give them an opportunity for success. 

[NoCalMike]

Quickness vs. Speed.  DeSean is such a weapon not because he is fast when running full speed, but because he has the 1 step....GONE, quickness.  That is the attribute that makes him who he is.  Plenty of WR's are fast if they have open field to build up their stride.  I remember in 2012 the Cousins pass to Moss....Moss caught the ball in open space and was gone, but Jackson can catch the ball in the middle of coverage and if he has room to take a step without being touched, he is gone.

 

His speed will never go as long as he is playing, the quickness though is what will deteriorate in a few years.

[88Comrade2000]

Trade anyone of value and get as many picks as you can.  This team won't be competitive until 2017; if done right and Dan
Snyder allows it to happen.

[lovemaskins]

I find this thread laughable but if we're really considering trading away players shouldn't Kerrigan be on the table as well.  It's not like he made a difference in the win/loss column and his salary would hinder us from the rebuild process and we could possibly get a number 1 for him whereas Jackson would at best get us a third. 

 

A first could actually help the team the same way the Rams used our top picks by trading down, etc...  But trading Jackson which gets you realistically a fourth is just stupid considering his production, but some of you are in Madden la la land. So glad we have a real GM now so threads like this one can cease to even be considered logical. 

[Red_dawg_one]

Yeah, there was once a guy who aged well, so let's bet all our cap on someone else doing the same.

People complain about the way we went about FA under Snyder, but I don't think many people have any idea why it was so bad.

While your spewing nonsense again let me information you..

Darrell Green has a workout program he has always used to maintain his leg strength and foot speed.

Desean Jackson also has a special set of conditioning drills he incorporates to maintain his speed ....These are the exact type of football players that excel in their position ..and the type SM wants on this team ..These are football players...not club hoppers like Plaxico Burress

Jackson is also good for developing receivers joining the team to pass the torch..Reggie Wayne..to Ty Hilton.... Dez Bryant to Terrance Williams..you need veteran leadership even Darrell Green was a mentor to Champ Bailey our drafted cb before we foolishly traded for Portis.