Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney led the Redskins in most receiving categories last season, but he says the team doesn’t want him back in 2012.
In an interview with Chris Russell of ESPN 980 Radio on Wednesday, Gaffney said that he wants to remain with the team. The feeling doesn’t seem to be mutual as Gaffney said that Mike and Kyle Shanahan told him he didn’t need to report to work for the first two weeks of the offseason program. That timeframe would take him through the end of the draft, a period that would indicate what the Redskins are looking for in a deal.
“I want to be playing,” Gaffney said. “Unfortunately, it’s not going to be with the Redskins. They are trying to trade me.”
With Santana Moss still around, Leonard Hankerson expected back from a hip injury and the additions of Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan in free agency, the Redskins obviously feel they have a strong enough core at wide receiver to go without Gaffney. Gaffney made 68 catches for 947 yards last season, but few of those yards came after the catch and that’s a trait the Redskins are emphasizing this season.
Gaffney’s not sure it’s totally a football decision, though. He made some headlines last week when a series of ugly tweets about his ex-wife and free agent cornerback Lito Sheppard, his cousin, showed up on his Twitter account. Gaffney said was the result of the account being hacked, but it probably didn’t do him any favors within the organization.
Gaffney, who was acquired in a trade with Denver for defensive lineman Jeremy Jarmon, could land the Redskins a late-round pick next week if they’re able to find a trading partner who doesn’t want to wait and see if Gaffney gets released.