It’s hard for the Redskins to miss a player they never had, but losing out on T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the NFL team slightly to the north of Washington D.C. has to be frustrating.
Housh was the rare September pickup that could have improved the Redskins roster immediately. It’s not like he would have been in the way of young players developing; the expected starter across from Santana Moss on Sunday is 38-year-old Joey Galloway.
It’s hard to overstate how surprising this is. Galloway was an unmitigated bust in New England last season, and sat “on the street” for a few months last season after unsuccessful tryouts before finishing the year with the Steelers. He has 20 catches in the last two seasons combined.
When Galloway signed in Washington -- they also picked up other veterans Mike Furrey and Bobby Wade -- he looked unlikely to make the team. To put it another way: It would be a very bad sign for the young Redskins receivers if he made the team.
Now Galloway is not only on the team, he’s expected to start.
This isn’t a team rebuilding. The Redskins have only two draft picks on their 53-man roster. Much like the Joe Gibbs 2.0 version Redskins, it’s an aging, hodge-podge, free-agent laden roster hoping for 9-7 or 10-6 and a Wild Card loss before the bottom falls out again.
If the Redskins are going to sell out to win now, they should at least do it with better players.