Redskins trade for Jabar Gaffney

Well-liked but superfluous (in this defensive scheme) Jeremy Jarmon has been shipped off to Denver for Jabar Gaffney. It's a move that seems to benefit both Jarmon and the Redskins greatly.

Shortly after the trade Examiner beat report John Keim tweeted "talked to one scout who saw Gaffney often. his take: 'just a retread. Nothing special.'"

Actually, that works for me because I don't think the Redskins were looking for special. They were looking for competent. A three receiver set consisting of Gaffney, Moss, and Anthony Armstrong is not exactly scintillating, but it will get the job done. Gaffney is a reliable possession receiver who should always be exactly where John Beck, or whoever the quarterback is, expects him to be.

This move quite nicely solves the problem I wrote about yesteday: needing rookie Leonard Hankerson to thrive as a starter right off the bat. And the beauty of it is, the investment in Gaffney is small enough that if Hankerson does earn playing time, the job of only one of the three guys clearly ahead of him on the depth chart (Santana Moss) is clearly untouchable. So if Hankerson excels, he isn't blocked. If he's not ready, the Redskins aren't stuck with a gaping hole of non-production in their offense.

I had advocated passing on the top tier free agent receivers and instead focusing on adequacy at this position. In a perfect world Santana would have been replaced by a younger slot receiver. Nonetheless, this position is looking reasonably stabilized right now. At least sufficiently so that the lack of receiver production won't directly hinder the development of other parts of the offense. Not quite how I would have done it, but I'll take it.

[The Redskins have, to great comic affect, also added both Donte Stallworth and Brandon Stokeley today via free agency. Each seems much less likely to compete for top-three playing time than Gaffney. I'm sure we'll talk about them later.]