The best time of the year is about to begin for the Washington Redskins — the offseason.
The Redskins mercifully end the season on Saturday versus the New York Giants at FedEx Field, which may be a neutral site given the massive ticket sell-off by Washington fans. Parking passes are drawing more interest on Ebay than some tickets. The Giants (7-8) still have a postseason chance despite nearly matching the Redskins meltdown so New Yorkers might turn Landover into Meadowlands South.
Giants running back Tiki Barber is heading into retirement. A few Redskins might join him — just not voluntarily. Mark Brunell may be waving good-bye. Troy Vincent could be moving on along with Kenny Wright and Warrick Holdman and maybe Phillip Daniels and Shawn Springs. There might have been more defenders left at the Alamo than the Redskins keep in coming months.
Don’t forget to watch Adam Archuleta stand on the sidelines one more time. This poor guy has been publicly shamed even more than LaVar Arrington.
The Redskins will probably flip 30 players before next season. That’s not many more than most years, but the axe will fall so many times in Ashburn that “8 Heads in a Duffle Bag” will be the in-flight movie on Dan Snyder’s Redskin One.
While other teams are in the playoffs, the Redskins will be envisioning new ways to mess up even more. Trading draft picks for duds. Overpaying useless free agents. Maybe even sneaking in a few more obstructed-view seats behind pillars.
Yes, the team is once more on the brink of winning the offseason. Free agency, the draft, minicamps — who needs the regular season when there’s just so much of the offseason to savor? And the Redskins definitely stretch the offseason by being the first team done this year.
Who needs a proven general manager when the braintrust includes an owner whose amusement parks’ finances resemble a roller coaster and is financing Tom Cruise’s next venture that somehow smells of a bust? Who needs a real personnel man who would choose former Maryland stars Shawne Merriman and D’Qwell Jackson before the Redskins drafted Carlos Rogers and Rocky McIntosh, respectively, instead.
Yes, the real excitement will be coming soon. Lots of press conferences. Plenty of promises. Endless expectations.
Too bad the Redskins have to play the games. They’re the darlings of downtime.
The only upside of the season-ender is Redskins fans who normally can’t afford tickets may buy them well below face value. The downside is you’ll have to sit next to a Giants fan and endure his cheering. Just tell them to wait until March when nobody beats the Redskins. Who knows, maybe next year they’ll finish 8-8.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
