The word is.... Thrash is being traded to us for NEXT year's 5th round pick....

I guess SOMETHING has to give.... We have Coles, we will re-sign McCants most likely... Gibbs has praised Taylor Jacobs so far in camp saying he has impressed... and then there's Rod Gardner.

Why we need Thrash is beyond me...

Maybe we are going to trade Gardner after all?? I don't know...

Even with Gardner gone we just signed that new receiver (who's name escapes me at the moment), plus we have Scott Cloman, who I would definitly like to see get some play time, along with Richmond Flowers (or did we lose him last year?) I think these guys could be really good given the oppurtunity.

I think Taylor Jacobs and Coles will be our starters by the end of this year.

Since I don't read minds, I don't know why the Skins felt a need to try to acquire James Thrash but let me offer a couple of possibilities:

1. The coaching staff has looked at the game tapes from last year and decided that outside of Coles, there are no top-shelf receivers on the squad. Hence, the need to find an experienced WR who is a "solid citizen" to help develop one or two of the young recievers.

2. Maybe James Thrash shows himself to be the kind of player that Joe Gibbs wants on his team in terms of the way he plays the game.

3. Maybe James Thrash is the punt returner that the Skins ought to seek because Morton is not nearly as good returning punts as he is kickoffs.

It's close to being a done deal, Thrash for a late round pick in 2005 per the Times

[url]http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20040330-122047-3841r.htm[/url]

I know it seems like an odd move, but Thrash is definitely a Gibbs kinda guy. He gives 110% effort and is a solid locker room presence. Look at it this way, we lost Patrick Johnson and replaced him with Thrash. I say that's a win for us.

He's a solid special teams guy, I think that's the main motivation for bringing him in.

[QUOTE=portis26]Maybe we could get Albert Connel too if he's not in jail!!!! :food-smil[/QUOTE]

Albert Connell would be a great pickup. His experience and leadership will....wait, hold on a second, has anyone seen my wallet? I'll finish this post when I find it.....


:joke:

Gardner is gone gone gone. Gibbs liked what he saw in Jacobs and Cloman and fully intends to resign McCants (they started negotiations). There's no more room on the roster for a WR that doesn't play special teams. I think we could probably get a 4th rounder for him.

[QUOTE=Daseal]Even with Gardner gone we just signed that new receiver (who's name escapes me at the moment), plus we have Scott Cloman, who I would definitly like to see get some play time, along with Richmond Flowers (or did we lose him last year?) I think these guys could be really good given the oppurtunity.

I think Taylor Jacobs and Coles will be our starters by the end of this year.[/QUOTE]


Richmond Flowers is gone. I was pretty impressed by him the couple days I was at camp though. Overall, I think this trade dosent make much sense at all. If Thrash came in here, he would already be the #5 or #6 reciver! Note to all NFL teams: All in-division trades are screwjobs.

Before we give all the credit for personnel to Beathard back in the day let's realize that Gibbs also had significant input into shaping his roster. Beathard was a draft wiz and was great at trading down and finding draft gems, but don't think for a second that Gibbs wasn't heavily involved in personnel decisions. He definitely was.

I don't understand what the big stink is about, like I said in another thread, what this move boils down to is we lost Patrick Johnson and replaced him with Thrash.

Thrash is a very good special teams player and he also has a very good work ethic. Pairing him with Morton on kickoffs will give us a damn good return duo.

Remember that Gibbs stresses special teams, he understands that 2-3 games per season can be won or lost on special teams alone. Losing Bryan Johnson was a significant blow to the unit, picking up Thrash helps negate that loss.

Plus throw in the fact he's a decent WR and it seems like a solid pickup to me. He was overmatched in Philly as their #1, he's clearly not #1 material. But as a #3 or 4 guy he could be very effective, especially working out of the slot. He's also a very good blocker for a WR, another aspect that is very important in this offense.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]....Thrash is definitely a Gibbs kinda guy. He gives 110% effort and is a solid locker room presence. ....He's a solid special teams guy, I think that's the main motivation for bringing him in.[/QUOTE]

Mattyk72,
I agree with you...finally someone who understands this move! This was purely a special teams/role player move. None of our WR's are very physical blocker/special teams player (except for Coles) and Coles is not going to play Special teams. Our third, fourth and fifth WR's need to contribute more on special teams or else they are dead weight on the roster.
I think everyone might have missed another possibility...if Gibbs did watch last years game tape, Chad Morton looked terrible last year and Morton is making big money.
Anything Thrash contributes at WR position is a bonus.. but we desperately needed some more physical play from special teams and with the recent addisitons of Thrash and Sellers, we just got instantly better on special teams.

[QUOTE=Daseal]Even with Gardner gone we just signed that new receiver (who's name escapes me at the moment), plus we have Scott Cloman, who I would definitly like to see get some play time, along with Richmond Flowers (or did we lose him last year?) I think these guys could be really good given the oppurtunity.

I think Taylor Jacobs and Coles will be our starters by the end of this year.[/QUOTE]

Are you talking about Kevin Swayne? Because I'm trying to figure out where he fits in now

Thrash has gotten an amazingly bad deal from the Philly press. He was miscast as a number one receiver, but he's a good blocking WR, he runs precise routes, and doesn't drop a lot of balls. That, to me, is a good addition. For a team like the Eagles, they like the "upside" of Pinkston and Mitchell more than the consistancy of Thrash.

Possibly this may be their motive, get thrash for special teams now. The reason we may have traded to get him is because he may have a cheap contract that plays in our favor he'll most likely demand more money after june 1 if he was cut.

Gardner may be gone but i doubt it. There was no indication of this in minicamp, he was invited. The post said that gibbs really likes McCants he said he reminds him of Art Monk. So we could possibly send gardner to the chiefs who need a big possesion reciever for a pick. Maybe this is an indication that we will take one of those great WR comming out of the draft i hope not because Taylor sounds so good at FS for the skins next year.

The starting line up at wr wil be McCants, Coles, and possibly Jacobs if healthy. thrash might be in the mix if he can show he is more than a bust but who knows

I don't think the Thrash addition has much of an effect if any on the WR corps. We have a solid 4 in place with Gardner, Coles, McCants and Jacobs.

I'm thinking that Thrash was purely a special teams acquisition, and like Defensewins said, anything he gives us at WR is a bonus.

We've already lost Patrick Johnson and Bryan Johnson who were both big contributors on special teams last year. Thrash is an upgrade to the unit.

I agree Matty. We might see him returning punts? Is he espcially fast or anything? Maybe him and Morton could be a nice kickoff duo as well.

this is the only report I've seen yet. I don't want to get into the slinging of mud, but I believe in Gibbs. He gives us much more credibility that Spurrier, and a proven winner. The bottom, line is, we can speculate all we want, but we won't know until the season starts. Lets have a little faith. We are a MUCH better team today than we were the day Spurrier left, and we have a Hall of Fame coach at the reins. For THAT I am TRULY thankful.

[quote]Report: Redskins acquire WR Thrash from Eagles
March 30, 2004
WASHINGTON (Ticker) - It appears James Thrash is headed back to the Washington Redskins.

The Washington Times is reporting that the Redskins have re-acquired the veteran receiver from the Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick in 2005.

The trade is expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Thrash has two years left on his contract - he is due to earn $1.6 million this year and $2 million in 2005.

Washington cleared up $2 million in cap space when it traded fullback Bryan Johnson to the Chicago Bears on Monday.

Thrash, 28, spent his first four seasons with the Redskins and caught 50 passes for 653 yards in 2000. But he signed as a free agent with Philadelphia in 2001 and had 164 receptions for 2,026 yards and 15 touchdowns in three years with the Eagles.

However, Thrash became the odd man out after the Eagles acquired Pro Bowl receiver Terrell Owens from the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the month. The Eagles plan to start Owens and Todd Pinkston with Freddie Mitchell as the third receiver.

Thrash likely will serve as the third receiver in Washington behind starters Laveranues Coles and Rod Gardner and can also return kicks, although the Redskins have Chad Morton in that role. Darnerien McCants, Washington's third receiver last season, is a restricted free agent who still can sign an offer sheet with another team.[/quote]