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Redskins Outline 1st-Round Plans
By Gary Fitzgerald
Redskins.com
April 19, 2005

The Redskins will use their first round pick to select a player in this weekend's upcoming draft, the team announced Tuesday.

"We have no intention of trading the ninth pick of the draft," said Vinny Cerrato, vice president of football operations. "Anything reported to the contrary is incorrect."

The Washington Post incorrectly reported on Tuesday that the team was in discussions to trade the pick to the Oakland Raiders in return for cornerback Phillip Buchanon.

"That is not true," Cerrato said. "We are not trading that pick."

The Washington Redskins are exploring several trade scenarios regarding their first-round pick in this weekend's NFL draft, and several league sources indicated that one involves obtaining cornerback Phillip Buchanon from Oakland.

Vinny Cerrato, Washington's vice president of football operations, denied any talks with Oakland late last week. While Coach Joe Gibbs has declined to comment on particular trade discussions, he said the team is speaking with other teams to gauge interest in pre-draft trades.
League sources said trade talks between Washington and Oakland are ongoing, and the Redskins are considering a handful of other avenues as well, including trading down. No deals were imminent as of last night, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. The Redskins often dealt high draft picks during Gibbs's first stint as coach -- which included three Super Bowl titles -- and the team has made a practice of trading draft picks in recent years.

A move with the Raiders could include the Redskins swapping their first-round pick (ninth overall) to Oakland in exchange for Buchanon, 24, and Oakland's second-round selection (the Redskins lack a second-round pick). The Redskins spent the past month evaluating a trio of cornerbacks expected to go in the first round of the draft -- visiting with Adam "Pac-Man" Jones, Antrel Rolle and Carlos Rogers -- but the club's desire for an experienced cornerback able to start immediately in Gregg Williams's complex defensive system could result in a trade instead.

Buchanon expressed an interest in playing elsewhere during the season and league sources said the Raiders are trying to oblige; his name surfaced repeatedly during earlier trade talks when Oakland traded its first-round pick for Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss. Buchanon, the 17th overall pick in 2002, has slipped in recent years, playing on a poor defensive team. The Redskins lost stalwart cornerback Fred Smoot in free agency last month, dealt perennial Pro Bowl corner Champ Bailey the year before and currently have only two veteran corners, one of whom, Walt Harris, is a year removed from recovering from a career-threatening knee injury.

While team sources have indicated the Redskins think highly of the young corners available, there are no guarantees the team would get one of them with the ninth pick, and team sources say Washington is not inclined to trade up and pay substantially more in salary and signing bonuses. Washington could address its need at wide receiver early in the second round -- the team also brought in a host of wide receivers for pre-draft visits -- with Oakland's pick at 38th overall.

"Let me tell you something. In the NFL, they ought name April 'National Liars Month.' Because you're not getting the truth out of too many teams when they're talking about the draft."
-- Gil Brandt, former Dallas player personnel director and current NFL.com and Sirius NFL radio analyst, on changeups being thrown to the media and other teams before the draft.

Let me tell all of you something: Truer words have never been spoken.

Jake wrote:If they say they won't trade the pick, I'll believe them.

I believe them 100% that they don't INTEND TO trade the #9, but I don't discount the possibility that their intentions could change, for the right price.

Joe and co. ain't lying. They just aren't revealing all the facts.

Whatever they decide to do with the #9 pick will definitely be kept under wraps and won't be broadcast thru the media, until after the pick/trade is done.

Gibbs, Cerrato Offer Different Ideas for Top Pick

By Jason LaCanfora and Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 19, 2005; 12:31 PM

Washington Redskins vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato issued a statement today saying that the team has decided to keep the No. 9 pick in the NFL draft after Coach Joe Gibbs said Monday night that the team is still exploring many trade options.

"There's a lot going on out there," Gibbs said in an interview Monday night at Redskins Park.


In his statement today, Cerrato said, "We have no intention of trading the ninth pick of the draft. Anything reported to the contrary is incorrect."

As team president, Gibbs has final say on all personnel decisions. He was not immediately available for comment today on Cerrato's statement that the team is no longer interested in trading the pick.

The Washington Post, citing league sources, reported this morning that the team is exploring several trade scenarios and one involved obtaining Oakland Raiders cornerback Philip Buchanon and the Raiders' second-round pick, the 38th overall, for Washington's first-round pick.

During the interview Monday night, Gibbs was told what the sources had said to the Post about Buchanon and was asked if that information was incorrect. "I never said there was nothing to it," Gibbs said Monday night. In the past, Gibbs has told reporters when he believed information they presented to him was incorrect.

Gibbs said on Friday that the Redskins were discussing trade scenarios with "four or five teams" and that trading down was possible. He reiterated that Monday.

This morning, the Post contacted another source with direct knowledge of the discussions who confirmed that the Redskins and Raiders had talked about a deal for Buchanon.

The relationship between Cerrato, owner Dan Snyder and Gibbs has been controversial because the team does not have a general manager to handle personnel issues.

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles believed he had been promised his release by the team's front office in January and instead said he was threatened by Snyder when Coles refused to immediately accept a trade.

Coles was eventually traded to the Jets.

Linebacker LaVar Arrington remains mired in a dispute with the front office over a $6.5 million bonus payment he believes the team agreed to give him but then left out of his contract. A date has not been set for Arrington's grievance hearing against the team.

Even so, Cerrato's statement went beyond quashing the Buchanon story and ruled out any trade whatsoever for the No. 9 pick. The Redskins were thought to be a top contender to trade down to pick up a later first-round pick and a second-round selection. The Redskins currently don't have a second-round pick.

Yet such a deal could still happen. Cerrato was not available for further comment, but coach and team president Joe Gibbs later clarified the Redskins' position.

``Right now, we've had no discussions with anyone about trading away the ninth pick,'' Gibbs said. ``Are we considering any options we are presented with? Yes. We'll consider anything, but no one has presented a compelling scenario.''

In essence, Tuesday's statement was a signal to the rest of the league that the Redskins do not consider Buchanon worthy of a first-round pick. Buchanon has said he is unhappy in Oakland, wants a trade, and Washington doesn't want the price tag to go too high.

washingtonpost.com
Gibbs, Cerrato Clash Over Plans for Top Pick
Statements Raise Questions Over Who Is Running Redskins

By Jason LaCanfora and Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, April 19, 2005; 4:19 PM

The Washington Redskins issued a series of contradictory statements today about whether they were willing to trade their first-round pick in Saturday's NFL draft, adding to the uncertainty about the fate of the selection and raising questions about who is running the team.

Coach Joe Gibbs found himself in the odd position of refuting a statement released earlier in the day by vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato and a story on the team's own Web site.

The team's Web site, matching a news release sent out by the team this morning, reported that the Redskins "will use their first-round pick to select a player in this weekend's upcoming draft" and Cerrato said, "We are not trading that pick."

But in his own statement Gibbs provided one of those contrary reports when he said the team will "consider anything."

"Are we considering any options we are presented with? Yes, we'll consider anything," Gibbs said. Team officials said Gibbs was unavailable to be interviewed because he was out of the office.

As team president, Gibbs has final say on all personnel decisions. Gibbs said on Friday that the Redskins were discussing trade scenarios with "four or five teams" and that trading down was possible. He reiterated that Monday.

The Washington Post, citing league sources, reported this morning that the team is exploring several trade scenarios and one involved obtaining Oakland Raiders cornerback Philip Buchanon and the Raiders' second-round pick, the 38th overall, for Washington's first-round pick.

This morning, the Post contacted another source with direct knowledge of the discussions who confirmed that the Redskins and Raiders had talked about a deal for Buchanon and that the Raiders favored the deal.

The Associated Press this afternoon confirmed the Redskins-Raiders talks about Buchanon but said the Redskins might trade a lower-round pick for Buchanon. But the Redskins don't have second-round pick and few starting NFL cornerbacks in their prime can be had for anything lower.

Cerrato has denied since Thursday that the Redskins have even talked to the Raiders about Buchanon, saying "there is no truth to it."

The structure of the Redskins' front office has long been a source of controversy. The team is run by the triumvirate of Cerrato, owner Dan Snyder and Gibbs and does not have a general manager, which critics say is to blame for the team's inability to make the playoffs since 1999.

Wide receiver Laveranues Coles believed he had been promised his release by the team's front office in January and instead said he was threatened by Snyder when Coles refused to immediately accept a trade.

Coles was eventually traded to the Jets.

Linebacker LaVar Arrington remains mired in a dispute with the front office over a $6.5 million bonus payment he believes the team agreed to give him but then left out of his contract. A date has not been set for Arrington's grievance hearing against the team.

"That is not true," Cerrato said. "We are not trading that pick."