MVN: Most Valuable Network

Carlos Rogers

Rogers' name has surfaced in trade talks, and the Redskins are reportedly looking for a 2nd round pick.

I believe these rumors are bogus for two reasons.  Number one, Rogers' contract is a perfect example of one of those deals that the Redskins made to help offset the cap pain back in 2005 when they were really close to cap armageddon.  Rogers' deal is effectively a five year thing, meaning 2009 is a contract year for him, but his bonus were effectively prorated over seven years because of the way the deal was structured.

Lets' try to put this in simple terms.  Rogers was a top ten pick in 2005.  Top ten picks get an obscene amount of guarenteed money, of which Rogers got 15 million dollars worth.  The Redskins prorated that through 2010, because they could.  That means, just under one-third of that 15 million dollars Rogers earned has yet to count against the cap.

Even though Rogers will be a (restricted) free agent next year, it would still cost the Redskins 1.5 million to trade him this offseason.  The Redskins, I'm sure, would rather have that money to spend on making the team better.

So yeah, not buying the rumors on him.  The next guy however, makes a lot more sense.

Santana Moss

Once again, the team is rumored to be looking for a 2nd round pick.  Moss would also cost the team more money to trade than to keep, but a much more negligible 500k.  Considering that's less than the cost of Todd Yoder, it seems far more likely the Redskins would be willing to do that one.

Additionally, Moss carries a lot of value in the minds of other executives and fans right now.  The Redskins almost certainly could get a 2nd round pick for him.  He's 30 years old, and will never garner so much in a trade again the rest of his career.

The obvious problem here is it creates an immediate weakness at WR, but it's a void that the team would hope could be filled by Malcolm Kelly.  I think if the team gets a 2nd round WR offered, they really have to take the deal.  Unlike Rogers, Moss' value will never be higher than it is now.

Kedric Golston

The Redskins are known to be shopping Golston, who has proven to be an excellent young nose tackle in a 4-3 defense, but someone who likely will lose more and more playing time to Anthony Montgomery over the years, and the Redskins want to keep Montgomery.  Golston is a Blache guy, so they might hold on to him, but I get the feeling that the Redskins would rather get a 3rd round pick for Kedric now than have to pay his RFA tender, something the Redskins do not want to have to do with limited cap space.

Chris Horton

Just speculating on this one. 

Have not heard anything about him being in trade talks, but knowing how the Redskins want to approach this draft, and where they want LaRon Landry to play next year, I would not be surprised at all if they tried to get a 2nd rounder for Horton, and then resign Mike Green at the league minimum.

Ladell Betts

Redskins will do their due diligence on Betts, but running backs tend not to have any serious trade value.  They want to look at a more explosive option who is different enough from Portis to have his own section of Zorn's playbook, as Betts' limitations are stunting Zorn from developing a play section for a weapon out of the backfield.

Probably won't get anything for him, and I'm not even sure the Redskins would pull the trigger if they got offered a 4th or 5th round pick, which seems like the best they'll get for Betts.  You never know though, he's got a very team-friendly contract, so someone may bite.

That's what I know about the Redskins' trade talks right now, that they'll likely make some more moves in order to replenish their draft pick stock.  The team will almost certainly trade out of the first round altogether, if at all possible.