Luckily I wasn't at Redskins camp yesterday (I loathe oppressive heat), instead opting for serene North Dakota and a quick visit to the parents before getting ready for the Olympics. But that didn't mean I wasn't glued to the email and Internet yesterday getting information on a wild day at Redskin Park.

A couple of thoughts on the Jason Taylor trade:

*It's hard to bash the trade because Taylor instantly becomes the Redskins pass rusher and the front office was again pro active when an injury happened (Phillip Daniels goes down on the first play of training camp, Taylor's a Redskin by the end of the night). The price was reasonable (second- and sixth-round picks) and Taylor gave Vinny Cerrato the impression he's ready to play two seasons. But it's easy to bash the reason why the Redskins had to make the move -- they don't develop a lot of their own players and have refused to address the defensive line in the draft.

This isn't the first time a serious injury left the Redskins scrambling. 2004 -- RT Jon Jansen goes down, the team signs graybeard free agent Ray Brown. 2006 -- RB Clinton Portis gets hurt, the Redskins trade two picks for T.J. Duckett. 2007 -- RG Todd Wade's transition from tackle is a failure, the Redskins trade two picks for Pete Kendall. And now this.

*The Redskins are without a second round pick in next year's draft so unless the season falls apart and they get a top 10 pick, expect them to do what they did this year -- keep trading down and down and down until they're eventually out of the first round and have a few second-rounders to play with.

*DE Andre Carter has no excuses if he doesn't reach 10 sacks. Teams didn't really double team him last year when the Redskins put Chris Wilson opposite him on third down. Now he has a Hall of Famer opposite him and Taylor will be double teamed. It's up to Carter to thrive without getting chipped by a tight end or running back.

*The two players whose playing time will be impacted by the Daniels injury/Taylor trade are Wilson and Anthony Montgomery. On passing downs, Daniels projected to play DT and Wilson would be a speed rusher. Now, Taylor will undoubtedly be an every-down player, meaning less time for Wilson and likely more time for Montgomery and Kedric Golston.

*The Redskins started Sunday with $9 million in cap room. They ended the day with less than $1 million. They fired their desperation bullet with the trade. If another starter goes down, they have to replace him in-house. There isn't a lot of money left, unless, of course, Taylor re-works his cap number.

*Shawn Springs was a no-show during off-season workouts. You think Taylor will want to spend three days a week in Ashburn when he could be in south Florida or Hollywood? Me neither. If Taylor plays in 2009, I expect him and Jim Zorn to come to a gentleman's agreement that sees Taylor make an occasional appearance at Redskin Park but not be a regular.

*I still have the Redskins last in the NFC East.

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