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illdefined:
This is not a conspiracy against the Redskins by the evil geniuses in the NFL offices.
Every year, two teams are "invited" to play in the Hall of Fame Game. It becomes a 5th pre-season game for those two teams and the NFL tries to spread it around because some coaches find that extra game a big positive. Teams may decline the invitation; I dont' recall that any have ever done that.
When Carolina and Jax entgered the league, those two teams played in the Hall of Fame Game. That was purely a PR show. The league tries to have one NFC and one AFC team each year, but they do not always find a good storyline to put such a match-up together.
The Broncos being invited made sense because the NFL was "pretty sure" that John Elway would be an inductee to the HoF in this year - his first year of eligibility. So, Denver was a natural invitee. After the blockbuster trade of Portis for Bailey, the Redskins became the logical opponent for the game.
Just remember, Danny Boy and/or Joe Gibbs could have politely declined that invitation if they had chosen to do so.
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