Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

I'm still laughing at Courney Penn?

F*ckin priceless.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

Where was it engraved that after the Rdskins traded for Erasmus James that we were done looking for depth at any position? We are deficient in pass rushing depth and the Skins saw an opportunity to grab a player who is very familiar with our D-Line coach. If they don't like him or he simply can't play at our anticipated level then he's cut. Just because we traded for him doesn't mean we are most certainly not keeping our eyes open for potential DB depth.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=RIGGO/NYC;450235][B]huh, actually I have more than 10 posts[/B], QUOTE]

Hahaha, your post questioning how to start a thread was your 10th post. Therefore when you were trying to start a thread you would have had only 9 posts. Wow.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=RIGGO/NYC;450235] I know some idiot is going to say washed out is inaccurate, due to his age of 25, but he is washed out and will do absolutely nothing with the skins. Just to show you how stupid this front office is, he will make the team, costing us a 7th rounder and have no more than 2 sacks. This is Jerome Mathis all over again, but at least Mathis was the vet min and did not cost a pick potentially.[/quote]

Everybody who disagrees with you is an idiot. That's pure genius. Why are you so worked up newbie?

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=wilsowilso;450243]Everybody who disagrees with you is an idiot. That's pure genius. Why are you so worked up newbie?[/QUOTE]

Isn't the expression washed up, not washed out? As in, Courney Penn is all washed up?

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

I like this move a lot, all upside with virtually no downside.
Most seventh rounders dont make the team anyway and we only have to give one up if he makes the squad.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

Erasmus James is probably more washed out than washed up because he is still very young and while the luster on his first round shine has faded(washed out) his career might not be over(washed up) by a long shot. If his knee doesn't allow him to resume his career then James is both washed out and washed up, but we have no way of knowing that right now. Athletes can of course make comebacks from injury and this guy was a player.

Courney Penn is washed up. If he is who I think he is? If not then I have no opinion of Courney Penn.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=12thMan;450240]I'm still laughing at Courney Penn?

F*ckin priceless.[/quote]

Courtney Penn is on our school board-see below, I got him mixed up w/courtney brown & misspelled his name cause the 'h' on my keyboard gets stuck a lot. Glad it brought some laughs! Also glad we got E. James, maybe he'll regain his form w/time.

[FONT=verdana][B]Courtney A. Penn[/B]. Effective July 1, 2007, Mr. Penn began his second three-year term on the School Board. He is the Special Assistant to the President of Roanoke College. Mr. Penn is involved in a wide range of civic activities including the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Beta Phi Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he serves as co-chairman of the United Way Community Engagement Program and is a member on the State Board of Juvenile Justice. Mr. Penn has served as a member of the Roanoke City Advisory Board for Human Development and the Roanoke City Arts Commission and was chair of the education committee of the Roanoke Branch NAACP. He has three children, and two who are school-age attend Roanoke City Public Schools. [/FONT]

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=freddyg12;450252]Courtney Penn is on our school board-see below, I got him mixed up w/courtney brown & misspelled his name cause the 'h' on my keyboard gets stuck a lot. Glad it brought some laughs! Also glad we got E. James, maybe he'll regain his form w/time.[/quote]

We didn't pass on Courney Penn that year freddy. He was the number 1 overall pick to Cleveland. We took Lavar second and Samuels third.

Edit: Someone already pointed that out my bad.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=skinsfan_nn;450213]There's nothing about this move that has me jumping for joy, like[B] problem answered OR we now have some stud at DE[/B], couldn't be any further from the truth. This guy has proven he can not stay healthy could not even pass a recent physical in Minn., what makes me think he all of a sudden will? Nothing!

I will take a wait and see approach on him, first off just see if the kid can pass the physical tomorrow. If so we didn't as it appears give up much of anything for him IF he happens to make the team. If we get VERY lucky maybe the kid can provide depth at DE for us something that surely would not hurt. But with his injury track record I'm not very optimistic about him providing much of anything to our team.[/quote]

It's not often you can "answer" a problem or find a "stud" at DE for a conditional 7th round pick. I would be content if this guy could be a 3rd down pass rush DE. It brings up an interesting point...how many sacks/tackles/hurries etc does James have to produce before ppl will be saying that this guy was "worth it"?

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=Ade Jimoh Fan Club;450189]I just saw on Redskins.com that we TRADED for James. A conditional 7th round pick. Wasn't he cut? That's BS. Only the Redskins could trade for a player that was cut. Also, what does that mean for salary? Instead of picking him up as a FA and giving him a vet. minimum, are we now liable for the rookie 1st Round salary that he's supposed to get paid? Anyone know what that is? This doesn't smell right...[/quote]

Redskins executive vice president Vinny Cerato called Vikings coach Brad Childress Tuesday and convinced him to trade James instead of releasing him. In exchange for James, the Vikings will receive a conditional seventh-round pick in 2009.

I wounder how much convincing it took? Otherwise the artical points out we wouldnt of got him as there was likely a team with a worse record that was attempting to sign him. Everything Ive read sounds like Vinny was real high on him when he came out and with Palermo on the staff it made James a must have for a 7th.

[URL="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3414445"]ESPN - Vikings send injured DE James to Redskins for conditional pick - NFL[/URL]

A lot of articals are kinda vauge on his injuries, and I didnt know, but it sounds like he tore his ACL and sprained his MCL in September 2006. Then retore his ACL on Dec 2 2007, having surgury in early/mid December. But I keep hearing 3 knee surgeries, sounds like 3 injuries and 2 surgeries?

Dont know about his hip injury in college though. Maybe he just has bad joints? Hopefully just a case of bad luck ending in 2007.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

I am a little iffy on this one....originally, I thought we should go after this guy....then I looked at his stats...and his injuries.
His injuries I can understand....and certainly for a conditional 7th...thats fine.
My concern was his minimal impact when he was playing.
The guy is rather small...so he is no more than a situational DE at best when healthy.

Ya never know...perhaps they can convert him to an OLB?
I know it sounds crazy...but we need a backup there too.

I really think we are trading a 7th for a name at this point.

The main risk is not the 7th....it is his salary...whatever that is.
Someone...please find out what we are gunna pay this dude to be a 4th or 5th DE.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

Now, I would like to see them sign Schwiegert or Doss.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=Rajmahal33;450254]...how many sacks/tackles/hurries etc does James have to produce before ppl will be saying that this guy was "worth it"?[/QUOTE]

That, my friend, depends on how much we are paying him.
I say...1 sack for every 150k...for example, if we are paying him 600k...he better give us 4 sacks

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

To put some perspective on James rookie season, with four sacks, take a look at the sack leaders for 2007. This kid could be a steal. Many players have had this type of injury and came back.

Jared Allen 9 sacks
Patrick Kerney 2.5 sacks
Mario Williams 4.5 sacks
Demarcus Ware 8 sacks
Osi Umenyiora 1 sack
Last years super star pass rusher, Gaines Adams. Picked number 4 overall, had 6 sacks.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=freddyg12;450252]Courtney Penn is on our school board-see below, I got him mixed up w/courtney brown & misspelled his name cause the 'h' on my keyboard gets stuck a lot. Glad it brought some laughs! Also glad we got E. James, maybe he'll regain his form w/time.

[FONT=verdana][B]Courtney A. Penn[/B]. Effective July 1, 2007, Mr. Penn began his second three-year term on the School Board. He is the Special Assistant to the President of Roanoke College. Mr. Penn is involved in a wide range of civic activities including the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Beta Phi Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc., he serves as co-chairman of the United Way Community Engagement Program and is a member on the State Board of Juvenile Justice. Mr. Penn has served as a member of the Roanoke City Advisory Board for Human Development and the Roanoke City Arts Commission and was chair of the education committee of the Roanoke Branch NAACP. He has three children, and two who are school-age attend Roanoke City Public Schools. [/FONT][/QUOTE]

Courtney Penn meet Norman Einstein ;)

Where's the "H" in Courtney Penn (or Courtney Brown for that matter)?

Glad you have a sense of humor :)

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let's recap:

If he doesn't make our 53 man roster, we don't give up any picks/compensation to the Vikings.

If he doesn't make our 53 man roster, we don't carry any salary cap charge. If he makes the team, we're only responsible for his $1 million base salary this season, which is non-guaranteed.

After signing rookies, we will have $4-5 million in cap space. So if he beats out a Ryan Boschetti or an Alex Buzbee and makes the team, salary cap space will not be an issue.

So... what exactly is the downside here? Nothing. You either got yourself some DE depth with upside, or you say bye bye to him and you've still got the same personnel (and draft picks) you had yesterday.

Will it change our season, almost certainly not. But there's no downside at all.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

I'm still concerned about what we are paying this guy.
From everything I'm reading...he was due 1 million this year....which is probably why they are dumping him...and probably why no one offered a pick like the skins for a 4th DE....if thats the case...and we are picking that up....thats fine, but we are way overpaying for his value....but this could be overweighed by having leverage over him for future years if he does better than Chris Wilson or something.
If he does....and were all hoping that....expect an extension mid year so we don't lose him.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

Erasmus James' career has been very similar to the beginning of Kyle Vanden Bosch's career, who is a pro bowler now. Vanden Bosch was a second round pick of the cardinals, who tore 2 ACLs and an MCL in his first 3 seasons and got cut after his 4th season(2004). Then in 2005, the Titans picked him up for the vet minimum and he started all 16 games and got 12.5 sacks.

James was a first round pick who tore 3 knee ligaments in his first three seasons and now he got traded to the Redskins to try to resurrect his career. It might take all of this year to get healthy, but it is definitely possible for him to come back and play very well. I'm not saying he is gonna be a pro bowler like Vanden Bosch, but it is possible. It has been done before.

[URL="http://www.nfl.com/players/kylevandenbosch/profile?id=VAN378810"]Kyle Vanden Bosch[/URL]
[URL="http://www.nfl.com/players/erasmusjames/profile?id=JAM188263"]Erasmus James[/URL]

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;450268]Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let's recap:

If he doesn't make our 53 man roster, we don't give up any picks/compensation to the Vikings.

If he doesn't make our 53 man roster, we don't carry any salary cap charge. If he makes the team, we're only responsible for his $1 million base salary this season, which is non-guaranteed.

After signing rookies, we will have $4-5 million in cap space. So if he beats out a Ryan Boschetti or an Alex Buzbee and makes the team, salary cap space will not be an issue.

So... what exactly is the downside here? Nothing. You either got yourself some DE depth with upside, or you say bye bye to him and you've still got the same personnel (and draft picks) you had yesterday.

Will it change our season, almost certainly not. But there's no downside at all.[/QUOTE]

Schneed, you never cease to amaze.
Excellent analysis on the cap...this makes me feel better...since I think this guy is only worth about 500k

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=steveo395;450271]Erasmus James' career has been very similar to the beginning of Kyle Vanden Bosch's career, who is a pro bowler now. Vanden Bosch was a second round pick of the cardinals, who tore 2 ACLs and an MCL in his first 3 seasons and got cut after his 4th season(2004). Then in 2005, the Titans picked him up for the vet minimum and he started all 16 games and got 12.5 sacks.

James was a first round pick who tore 3 knee ligaments in his first three seasons and now he got traded to the Redskins to try to resurrect his career. It might take all of this year to get healthy, but it is definitely possible for him to come back and play very well. I'm not saying he is gonna be a pro bowler like Vanden Bosch, but it is possible. It has been done before.

[URL="http://www.nfl.com/players/kylevandenbosch/profile?id=VAN378810"]Kyle Vanden Bosch[/URL]
[URL="http://www.nfl.com/players/erasmusjames/profile?id=JAM188263"]Erasmus James[/URL][/QUOTE]

I hope youre right...one major difference is size though.
This dude is like 280....James is closer to 260.
That impacts whether he is situational or not

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

When you have a rookie year like Erasmus James was able to, 4 sacks in only 9 starts, you have the skill set to be a successful NFL pass rusher.

Will he ever be healthy for us? History says he won't, but it was only two knee injuries...so maybe he's healthy and its in the past.

Either way, great, cheap deal for us, and some much needed line depth. 100% money back if James gets beaten out in camp too.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=skinsnut;450272]Schneed, you never cease to amaze.
Excellent analysis on the cap...this makes me feel better...since I think this guy is only worth about 500k[/quote]

Thanks for the kudos.

I'm thinking it honestly wouldn't matter if the guy makes $2.5 million this year (he doesn't, he makes $1.0). We're going to have plenty of cap space going into this season, he could make starting DE money and we'd have no problem carrying it. You would theoretically only lose out on the opportunity to sign someone else to an extension to make use of that space, or lose out on the opportunity to bolster next year's cap limit by playing with incentives for your current players. But other than that, the guy could make a buttoad and it wouldn't matter, as long as he fits under our cap. Which is no problem.

The way I see it, Vinny saw this as an opportunity to get a guy who played for one of the coaches who sees talent in the guy, with nothing to lose from a cap standpoint, with little to lose from a pick standpoint, and who could potentially add depth. It's not hard to understand from my perspective, the bottom line is:

- James is talented
- James is always injured
- Who knows how James will look in camp
- If he looks good and healthy, a 7th rounder and $1.0 million is a small price to pay for a young hungry talented DE
- If he looks hurt/crappy, you cut him and lose nothing

No brainer. Good move.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=RIGGO/NYC;450226]I don't have much of a problem with taking a chance on him, except for the fact that we could have paid him the vet min, instead of 1 mil base he is do now, due to the trade. I hope he does not make the team because I think Wilson will be a 6-9 sack guy and I want Evans and Buzbee to be the other 2 DE backups. WE NEED A NICKLE DB!!!!! We were 16th in pass defense last year and we had Taylor and Rogers for half a season(ranked No.1 before they went out). We are going to have our season ruined by bad pass defense!!!! That is the only issue I have with Cerratto is that he is not good at evaluating a roster. Any GM would notice this glaring need, but Cerratto sees Springs and Smoot and thinks we are set, when any elite football guy would say wow we are thin at DB. We can not put our season on the hope that Springs will play 16 games, which he has only done 1 time, since signing with Washington. We should have drafted Carl Nicks instead of Tyron and then got Tyron in the 6th, where he was projected to go, or drafted Scandrick in the 4th over Tyron because he is so much more physically gifted. I like Synder's enthusiasm, but he and Vinny just do not know how to properlly evaluate a roster, particullarly depth and they do not understand the value of certain positions, just the obvious positions like WR and RB.[/quote]

You can't fix everything in one year. The FO felt that the offensive players we picked were better than any corners that were on the board. In case you didn't notice, we've had trouble scoring points around here so let's just wait and see. Let's hope Springs, Smoot and Rogers can hold up. Chances are they won't so we'll just have to go with what we've got.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=Schneed10;450268]Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Let's recap:

If he doesn't make our 53 man roster, we don't give up any picks/compensation to the Vikings.

If he doesn't make our 53 man roster, we don't carry any salary cap charge. If he makes the team, we're only responsible for his $1 million base salary this season, which is non-guaranteed.

After signing rookies, we will have $4-5 million in cap space. So if he beats out a Ryan Boschetti or an Alex Buzbee and makes the team, salary cap space will not be an issue.

So... what exactly is the downside here? Nothing. You either got yourself some DE depth with upside, or you say bye bye to him and you've still got the same personnel (and draft picks) you had yesterday.

Will it change our season, almost certainly not. But there's no downside at all.[/quote]

Great post! Now everyone can calm down. Very good move by the FO IMO. The rewards totally outweighs the risk.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=RIGGO/NYC;450235]huh, actually I have more than 10 posts, but please do not refer to this passing of time as a carreer. But back to my point, this trade should have been done for a nickle, instead of a washed out pass rusher. I know some idiot is going to say washed out is inaccurate, due to his age of 25, but he is washed out and will do absolutely nothing with the skins. Just to show you how stupid this front office is, he will make the team, costing us a 7th rounder and have no more than 2 sacks. This is Jerome Mathis all over again, but at least Mathis was the vet min and did not cost a pick potentially.[/quote]He's making 1 million.

Do you know how much the 'vet min' is? It's going to be between 650,000-800,000 this season.

Or just a hair under 1 million, which is what James is making.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

Good Point, when I think of vet min, I just don't realize that it is close to 1 mil. Still, the only postitive I see in this move is the low risk factor, but I do not think James will ever do anything or even be healthy. Even if he makes the roster I do not think he will stay healthy and if he did he would not produce because it has to be slower than he was and he never had elite speed to begin with if you look at his scouting report.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

That makes sense, and there is an inherent risk in this deal: oppertunity cost. If James makes the team, the coaches are going to have to play him. If his injury causes him to lose effectiveness, he's going to hurt our defense.

Our coaching staff is going to have to be very careful with him. If he's not going to be a key contributor, we have to release him at the end of the preseason.

Still, a wonderful value deal for the front office.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;450277]Thanks for the kudos.

I'm thinking it honestly wouldn't matter if the guy makes $2.5 million this year (he doesn't, he makes $1.0). We're going to have plenty of cap space going into this season, he could make starting DE money and we'd have no problem carrying it. You would theoretically only lose out on the opportunity to sign someone else to an extension to make use of that space, or lose out on the opportunity to bolster next year's cap limit by playing with incentives for your current players. But other than that, the guy could make a buttoad and it wouldn't matter, as long as he fits under our cap. Which is no problem.

The way I see it, Vinny saw this as an opportunity to get a guy who played for one of the coaches who sees talent in the guy, with nothing to lose from a cap standpoint, with little to lose from a pick standpoint, and who could potentially add depth. It's not hard to understand from my perspective, the bottom line is:

- James is talented
- James is always injured
- Who knows how James will look in camp
- If he looks good and healthy, a 7th rounder and $1.0 million is a small price to pay for a young hungry talented DE
- If he looks hurt/crappy, you cut him and lose nothing

No brainer. Good move.[/QUOTE]

Good points. Let's just hope that if he does look/get hurt that it happens in July and not in early October.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

7th is only spent if he makes the team. we had to go that route, or else we'd be late enough in the waiver line that someone else would take him.

and yeah, we do pick up his rookie salary this way (minus bonus money) to the tune of $1mill this year... though technically we could redo it to a min deal, i doubt he'd be super willing to take the cut.

that $1mill and the 7th give the current DEs the upper hand as to who makes the roster, since the skins won't want to spend that on a guy with injury history if he hasn't shown anything this preseason.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=skinsnut;450260]That, my friend, depends on how much we are paying him.
I say...1 sack for every 150k...for example, if we are paying him 600k...he better give us 4 sacks[/quote]

so for 1.5mill we get 10 sacks? for 3mill we get 20? that's the best value ever :P

i mean, there's not a single team that'd pass on paying a DE 16$mill a year if he got 32 sacks every season (and that's over three times your retail sack value).

the problem, of course, is that the NFL sacks for cash equation isn't linear by any means.

also, such a thing would be a bit shortsighted, since, by that standard, making 8 game winning tackles while having 0 sacks would be a failure to attain value...

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=That Guy;450296]so for 1.5mill we get 10 sacks? for 3mill we get 20? that's the best value ever :P

i mean, there's not a single team that'd pass on paying a DE 16$mill a year if he got 32 sacks every season (and that's over three times your retail sack value).

the problem, of course, is that the NFL sacks for cash equation isn't linear by any means.

also, such a thing would be a bit shortsighted, since, by that standard, making 8 game winning tackles while having 0 sacks would be a failure to attain value...[/quote]

And by that rational theres little incentive to play the run, since the players livlihood would be based on how many sacks he got.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=Dirtbag359;450298]And by that rational theres little incentive to play the run, since the players livlihood would be based on how many sacks he got.[/quote]It--quite literally--"wouldn't be in his contract".

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=skinsfan69;450221]I remember this guy coming out of Wisconsin a few years ago and he was a monster. But he hasn't been able to do much of anything since he turned pro and [B]there is a reason Minn basically cut the guy[/B]. Good pass rushing DE's in the NFL don't get cut or traded for 7th round draft picks if they're any good. I just don't think this guy can play at the NFL level.[/quote]Yeah, his name is Jared Allen.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=SmootSmack;450265]Courtney Penn meet Norman Einstein ;)

Where's the "H" in Courtney Penn (or Courtney Brown for that matter)?

Glad you have a sense of humor :)[/quote]

damn, this just ain't my thread! I guess I meant to say that the 't' on my keyboard is sticking.

As for other Penns, there was Schoonie (sp?) Penn, pretty good point guard at Ohio State some years back.

I remember now that C. Brown was taken #1 overall as has been pointed out, glad that he was. good point about Vanden Bosch that someone made. That would be sweet if James gets his game back in that fashion.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=skinsfan69;450280]Great post! Now everyone can calm down. Very good move by the FO IMO. The rewards totally outweighs the risk.[/QUOTE]

What changed your mind?

[url]http://www.thewarpath.net/450221-post68.html[/url]

The "conditional" part?

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=SmootSmack;450306]What changed your mind?

[URL]http://www.thewarpath.net/450221-post68.html[/URL]

The "conditional" part?[/quote]

Just wanted to hedge his bets in case James plays well.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[quote=SmootSmack;450291]Good points. Let's just hope that if he does look/get hurt that it happens in July and not in early October.[/quote]

Even if it does happen in October, I'm thinking we still haven't lost that much. If James makes the team, who's the last DL to get cut? Boschetti? Buzbee?

I'm thinking either one of those players are likely to be eagerly ready to answer the phone should we call in October, because I don't think either of them are likely to be picked up by other NFL teams.

Should that scenario come about, all we lose is the 7th round pick. And considering how hard it is for 7th round picks to make your team in the first place, it's still worth the shot (IMO), even in this October injury scenario.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

[QUOTE=steveo395;450271]Erasmus James' career has been very similar to the beginning of Kyle Vanden Bosch's career, who is a pro bowler now. Vanden Bosch was a second round pick of the cardinals, who tore 2 ACLs and an MCL in his first 3 seasons and got cut after his 4th season(2004). Then in 2005, the Titans picked him up for the vet minimum and he started all 16 games and got 12.5 sacks.

James was a first round pick who tore 3 knee ligaments in his first three seasons and now he got traded to the Redskins to try to resurrect his career. It might take all of this year to get healthy, but it is definitely possible for him to come back and play very well. I'm not saying he is gonna be a pro bowler like Vanden Bosch, but it is possible. It has been done before.

[URL="http://www.nfl.com/players/kylevandenbosch/profile?id=VAN378810"]Kyle Vanden Bosch[/URL]
[URL="http://www.nfl.com/players/erasmusjames/profile?id=JAM188263"]Erasmus James[/URL][/QUOTE]

excellent post. i would only add that vanden bosch has one advantage that james, to all our dismay, does not - a highly disruptive force playing next to him.

Re: Updated: Redskins Trade for Vikings DE Erasmus James
 

This trade wasn't even worth mentioning. James was cut by the Vikings because he failed his physical. He had an ACL injury and a torn MCL. He re-injured the ACL. The Skins gave up their last draft pick in 2009 on the condition that this guy can pass a physical. I doubt very seriously if he will play for the Skins.