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 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 Washington Redskins have acquired 30-year old WR Jabar Gaffney from the Broncos in exchange for 23-year old DE Jeremy Jarmon.  Gaffney played in 16 games (11 starts) for the Broncos last year and he caught 65 passes for 875 yards (13.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 139 games in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has caught 375 passes for 4,675 yards (12.5 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 6 times for 56 yards (6.2 ypc) in his career to date.  Gaffney will likely be the Redskins’ #3 WR in 2011 and he should do a good job.

Jeremy Jarmon played in 5 games for the Redskins last year and he had 3 tackles and 1/2 a sack.  Jarmon has played in 16 games in his two years with the Redskins and he had 11 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  He wasn’t going to get much of a chance to play in Washington, so I really like this deal from the Redskins’ end.

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 traded 26-year old cornerback Justin Tryon to the Colts.  What the Redskins got back has not been made public as of this time but it’s probably not much as they were getting ready to release him when the trade went down.  Tryon played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Redskins last season and he had 27 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 sack and 1 interception.  Tryon played in 29 games (2 starts) in his two years with the Skins and he had 31 tackles, 1 sack, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception. 

The Redskins have acquired rookie DE Hall Davis from the Rams for a conditional draft pick.  Davis was picked in the 5th round (#149 overall) last April.  He played in 12 games (all starts) at Louisiana-Lafayette last season and he had 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, he had 3 sacks, 1 batted ball and he forced 1 fumble.  He played in 48 games (26 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 59 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, he batted down 2 passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Davis has a huge upside as many draft experts pegged him to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round so they got great value with this pick.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) - The Redskins must not have liked what they saw out of Davis as they cut him.

The Redskins have acquired 28-year old QB John Beck from the Ravens for 24-year old cornerback Doug Dutch.  Beck’s only game experience in the NFL came in 2007 with the Dolphins.  He played in 5 games that year for the Fins and he has completed 60 of 107 passes (56.1%) for 559 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs (62.0 QB Rating).  Beck also carried the ball 9 times for 12 yards (1.3 ypc) with 1 TD run that season.  Beck will replace Colt Brennan as the #3 QB as he has been released after being on the Skins for two seasons in which he didn’t get into any games.  24-year old CB Doug Dutch didn’t get into any games as a rookie for the Redskins and he won’t be missed much if at all.

The Redskins have acquired 29-year old OT Jammal Brown and a conditional late round pick from the Saints for either a 3rd or 4th round pick in 2010.  The Redkins will also have to send a 6th round pick to the Saints if Brown plays in at least 90% of the offensive snaps in 2010 or he makes the Pro Bowl.  Brown is a big guy at 6’6″, 313 pounds who will likely be a starter right off the bat as long as he is healthy.  He missed all of last season due to injury.  Brown has played in 58 games (all starts) in his five years in the NFL so far.  The Redskins will send the Saints a 4th round pick if they win at least 9 games or Donovan McNabb makes the Pro Bowl with the Eagles getting a third rounder from the Redskins.  If neither happen the Skins will send the Eagles a 4th rounder and the Saints a 3rd rounder.  I like this trade for the Redskins as Brown will help them protect Donovan McNabb.

The Redskins have traded 28-year old QB Jason Campbell to the Raiders for a 4th round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Campbell played in all 16 games for the Redskins last season and he completed 327 of 507 passes (64.5%) for 3,618 yards with 20 TD passes and 15 INTs (86.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 46 times for 236 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  In his time with the Redskins, Campbell played in 52 games in which he completed 1,002 of 1,637 passes (61.2%) for 10,860 yards with 55 TD passes and 38 INTs (82.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 153 times for 786 yards (5.1 ypc) with 3 TD carries in his career.  Campbell was definitely expendable as he wouldn’t be happy holding a clipboard watching Donovan McNabb play.  I think they got the best they could for Campbell but it seems like they sold him a tad low.

The Redskins have acquired 25-year old DT Adam Carriker and a 5th round pick (from the Eagles) for a 5th round pick in this weekend’s NFL Draft.  Carriker did not play last year because of injury.  He has played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has made 53 tackles, defensed 1 pass and he has 2 sacks.  With the Redskins looking to move DT Albert Haynesworth in a trade this weekend it was worth taking a shot on Carriker who is a former first round pick.  Switching picks in the 5th round was a small price to pay for a chance to see if they can get Carriker back on track.