The Redskins have acquired 25-year old RB Tim Hightower from the Cardinals for 35-year old DE Vonnie Holliday and a conditional late round draft pick.  Hightower played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he carried the ball 153 times for 736 yards (4.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 21 passes for 136 yards (6.5 avg) last year for the Cardinals.  Hightower has now played in 48 games (36 starts) in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 439 times for 1,733 yards (3.9 ypc) with 23 TD runs.  He has also caught 118 passes for 801 yards (6.8 avg) in his NFL career.  Despite only being 25-years old, Hightower has the most playing experience of any RB on the Redskins’ roster.  He could very well win the starting job at RB for the Redskins with a solid training camp.  Hightower is a good runner and he will likely be a solid fit in the Redskins’ scheme as far as the running game goes.

35-year old DE Vonnie Holliday played in 15 games in his only season with the Redskins and he had 29 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and he defensed 3 passes.  The Redskins won’t miss Holliday in 2011 as he is running on fumes. 

This was a great trade for the Redskins as Hightower still has a nice upside if he can cure his fumbling problem.  The Redskins certainly didn’t give up too much to take a shot on Hightower.

The Redskins have released 31-year old offensive guard Mike Williams.  Williams didn’t play at all last season due to injury.  He played in 8 games (all starts) in his two years with the Redskins.  He has now played in 59 games (56 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL.  Williams just can’t stay healthy and that’s what led to his release.  The Redskins won’t miss him at all going forward.

The Redskins have released 27-year old punter Sam Paulescu.  Paulescu played in 3 games for the Redskins last year and he punted the ball 17 times for 700 yards (41.2 avg).  He also had 1 touchback (5.9%) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 2 times (11.8%).  Paulescu played in 4 games in his two years with the Redskins and he punted the ball 20 times for 850 yards (42.5 avg).  He also had 1 touchback (5%) and pinned 2 punts inside the opponents 20-yard line (10%).  This is no loss for the Redskins.

The Washington Redskins have released 33-year old center Casey Rabach.  Rabach played in 16 games (all starts) for the Redskins last year.  He played in 95 games (all starts) in his six years with the Redskins.  Rabach didn’t adjust well to the new blocking scheme in Washington, so the coaches decided to go in a different direction at center.

The Redskins have released 30-year old WR Roydell Williams, 25-year old RB Chad Simpson and 24-year old RB Andre Brown.  Roydell Williams was the most productive player of this motley crew last year.  Williams played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Redskins last year and he caught 8 passes for 109 yards (13.6 avg).  Chad Simpson didn’t get any carries in his three games for the Redskins last year.  He returned 2 kickoffs for 59 yards (29.5 avg) last year for the Skins.  Andre Brown didn’t get into any games for the Redskins as a rookie last year.  Brown played in 4 games for 4 different teams last year and he carried the ball 2 times for -1 yard (-0.5 ypc).  All three of these guys were one year and done in Washington but they won’t miss any of them.

The Redskins have released 38-year old DE Phillip Daniels and 32-year old DT Ma’ake Kemoeatu.  Daniels played in 14 games for the Redskins last year and he had 21 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 sacks.  Daniels played in 82 games in six seasons with the Redskins and he had 182 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 17.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 1 interception and 23 passes defensed.  The Redskins think that Daniels is running out of gas.  Ma’ake Kemoeatu one lasted one season in Washington.  He played in 14 games for the Redskins last year and he had 29 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  This was just the Redskins getting rid of some money of the salary cap to make more moves.

The Redskins have traded 30-year old DT Albert Haynesworth to the Patriots for a 5th round pick in 2013.  Haynesworth played in 8 games for the Redskins last year and he had 16 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  He played in 20 games in his two years in Washington and he had 53 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery and 6 passes defensed.  The Redskins were smart to deal Haynesworth to avoid the drama between him and head coach Mike Shanahan.

The Redskins have dealt 34-year old QB Donovan McNabb to the Minnesota Vikings for a 6th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and a conditional 6th round pick in 2013.  McNabb played in 13 games (all starts) for the Redskins last year and he completed 275 of 472 passes (58.3%) for 3,377 yards with 14 TD passes and 15 INTs (77.1 QB Rating).  McNabb also carried the ball 29 times for 151 yards (5.2 ypc) last year.  The Redskins were only 5-8 (38.5%) in games started by McNabb at QB.  The Redskins didn’t get much for McNabb, but at least the tension will be gone from the sidelines (providing that they can also get rid of DT Albert Haynesworth).  The Redskins still have work to do at QB as John Beck is the only QB left on the roster right now.

The Redskins have released 35-year old punter Josh Bidwell.  Bidwell played in 4 games for the Redskins last year and he punted the ball 15 times for 625 yards (41.7 avg).  He pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 3 times (20%) and he didn’t have any touchbacks.  The Redskins have decided to go in a different direction at punter so they won’t miss Bidwell one bit going forward.

The Washington Redskins have released 30-year old guard Derrick Dockery.  Dockery played in 5 games (2 starts) for the Redskins last season.  He played in 85 games (79 starts) in six seasons with the Redskins.  The Redskins think they will be able to do better in free agency.