Portis is signing with Redskins, while Bailey is leaving
Running back Clinton Portis agreed to an eight year $ 50.5 million contract with the Washington Redskins as cornerback Champ Bailey nears signing a deal with the Denver Broncos.
The decision to trade Bailey in order to acquire Portis will bring a young top-notch running back to the Redskins. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs has shown his interest in acquiring a talented running back. Portis, 23, the 2002 rookie of the year posted impressive numbers last season with the Broncos running for 1,591 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Redskins would be loosing one of the NFL's top cornerbacks in Bailey. Bailey has made the pro Bowl in four of his five seasons in the NFL. Bailey has been a powerful force in the Redskin's secondary and has consistently covered the opposition's star receivers. Trading Bailey will hurt the Redskins defense, as he will be very difficult to replace. Bailey has many more seasons left in his career, but he will now be spending them somewhere other than Washington.
Trading a proven player in the height of their career is always a risky move. The Redskins traded running back Stephen Davis to the Carolina Panthers. Davis made the pro-Bowl team and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl last season. If the Redskins had hung on to Davis they would not need to trade Bailey for Portis.
Redskin's running backs Trung Canidate and Ladell Betts showed promise last season. However, Portis is beginning to emerge as one of the premier running backs in the NFL. Still the Redskins must be careful to stay within salary cap limits and still fill all the gaps on the team, particularly on defense.
Erik Kojola. Erik Kojola is a senior in the Communication Arts Program at Blair. He plays both lacrosse and soccer for Blair and hopes to continue his lacrosse career in college. He writes sports for SCO and a variety of other topics. More »
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