The Redskins traded Kevin Barnes to the Detroit Lions on Monday, the veteran cornerback confirmed in a phone conversation.
Four Aprils ago, when the Washington Capitals made the playoffs for the first time in the Alex Ovechkin era, the possibilities seemed endless. Not just hockey possibilities, Stanley Cups and the like. I'm talking about the opportunity for the Capitals — a team that played its games on ice — to move way up in the D.C. sports pecking order.
![The Redskins' draft in 2011 largely paid dividends, with significant contributions from most of their picks. Roy Helu (top left/Preston Keres/Special to The Washington Times) set a franchise rookie record with three straight 100-yard games.; linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (top right/Andrew Harnik/The WashingtonTimes) returned an interception for a touchdown against the Giants in the opener; Jarvis Jenkins (bottom left/(Preston Keres/Special to The Washington Times) tore an ACL in the preseason but figures prominently in their plans and running back Evan Royster (bottom right/Preston Keres/Special to The Washington Times) was a workhorse down the stretch.
"The scouts enjoy working with coach [Mike] Shanahan through the draft more than anybody we've had because he continues up to draft day asking their opinions." Scott Campbell, director of player personnel (center/Associated Press)](http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2012/01/29/scottcampbellredskinsfinal_s101x43.jpg?108a5a70148a1878ae20d4ced75a92973dd591fa){kind=small}
Scott Campbell sat alone on the metal bleacher in Section T, Row 29 of Ladd-Peebles Stadium last Wednesday overlooking the South team's Senior Bowl practice through a pair of dark sunglasses. Wavy brown hair peeked over the rim of the same burgundy visor that distinguishes him on the Redskins Park practice fields each summer during training camp.
The quarterback position figured to be the least of the Washington Redskins' worries when Mike Shanahan took over as coach 21 months ago. Shanahan, after all, is a connoisseur of quarterbacks. He's renowned for getting the most out of them — from John Elway to Steve Young to Jake Plummer to Jay Cutler. Heck, he played the position himself at Eastern Illinois.
Sixty minutes can be an awfully long time in football. As the quarters pass, you can think you're watching one kind of game, only to discover, as events unfold, that you're watching another.
Nobody likes to clean up somebody else's mess. But that's usually the first order of business for an NFL coach. After all, teams that bring in a new head man aren't usually oozing with talent. They're usually oozing with losing.
The Washington Redskins have traded maligned defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth to the New England Patriots for a 2013 fifth-round draft choice, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The rest of the NFL isn't too impressed, it seems, with the talent on the Washington Redskins' roster. When the NFL Network recently ranked the top 100 players in the league — according to a vote of the players themselves — only one Redskin made the list: Donovan McNabb at No. 100 (just below Packers offensive tackle Chad Clifton ... and just above oblivion).
Which is greater cause for celebration, that the Redskins have the 10th pick in next week's draft or that they still have their second-round pick? I'd say the latter. For one thing, having the 10th pick usually means you aren't very good (unless it's somebody else's 10th pick). For another, the Redskins have had an annoying habit of trading their second-rounders - and did again last year when they swung a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles for Donovan McNabb.
