It wouldn’t be the worst thing if Rex Grossman remained the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback next season. A win in one of the final three games might prevent the Redskins from obtaining one of the top quarterbacks in the April 26 NFL Draft. Even if Washington loses all three to finish 4-12, it might not pick better than fourth overall.
There probably are four quarterbacks worth taking that high if Matt Barkley opts to leave Southern California early. Andrew Luck is certainly headed to Indianapolis no matter how Peyton Manning tries to manipulate his team. In the next two slots, Minnesota and St. Louis have young quarterbacks and won’t take one, but they could make a trade with teams that do. Cleveland reportedly is willing to trade its two first-rounders for a shot at Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. Maybe other teams will move up to grab Landry Jones or Barkley before the Redskins can.
This is the optimistic version of the draft order. Strength of schedule is the tiebreaker among teams with similar records. Even if it fails to win again, Washington could fall to eighth. Beating hapless Minnesota on Dec. 24 or unmotivated Philadelphia on Jan. 1 could bounce Washington into the double digits.
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Coach Mike Shanahan’s draft board must include a contingency plan in case none of the marquee quarterbacks is available. At best, the Redskins need to find one in the second round. No one in the organization wants that, though — especially the owner, who has been unusually quiet during Shanahan’s reign, which is starting to look worse than the two-year Jim Zorn and Steve Spurrier eras. Who would have guessed that?
The Redskins desperately need a cornerback and big receiver. Absent a quarterback, the first-round pick could be used on LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne or Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon.
Of course, neither of those players will please a shrinking fan base. The Redskins already conceded 10,000 seats this season to create a party deck. Just wait until next spring when they are trying to sell Grossman as the starter once more. The whole upper deck might as well become a shopping mall.
For the most part, Grossman hasn’t been terrible. With no veteran tackles on a makeshift offensive line, the third-string tight end in the starting lineup, a blossoming reserve running back and receivers who don’t make tough plays, Grossman still nearly upset New England on Sunday.
Grossman is certainly a journeyman. There will be good plays such as his 51-yarder to Donte Stallworth on Sunday vs. New England. And there will be turnovers such as the blind-side sack and fumble in the end zone that resulted in a 7-0 Patriots lead. The late interception was Moss’ fault, but an earlier pick was negated by a penalty.
If running back Roy Helu can become the featured offensive player, offensive tackle Trent Williams doesn’t test positive for marijuana and tight end Chris Cooley returns healthy next season, the Redskins could survive another year with Grossman.
It’s better to add another strong player as they did with linebacker Ryan Kerrigan this season than force a high pick on a quarterback who doesn’t merit it. Maybe the Redskins will get lucky and land Griffin, Barkley or Jones, but Grossman still will be needed.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
