McCants thinks he's gone
 

Per the WP:

Wideout Darnerien McCants said that he probably won't return, based on being inactive 10 games. Coaches have said that Taylor Jacobs and James Thrash will take increased roles next season, an indication that Gardner may finally be dealt after incessant trade rumors the past two seasons.

McCants would cost the Redskins a cap hit of $1.3 million if he is released before June. Being waived after June 1 would spread the figure out evenly over the next two years. "Paying me the money they did, not to play me, is basically giving away money," said McCants, who signed a three-year, $4.5 million deal in the offseason. "So with Thrash and Taylor ahead of me now, I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't here."

Mccants thinks he's gone
 

I think he's right....

he may not necessarily be gone, but he'll basically be either trade bait or he'll be active for 1/3 to 1/2 the games next season

Sorry, but I don't see him drawing much interest in a trade.

He was inactive for 10 games, the staff clearly soured on him very early, chances are he's going to be cut, why would a team want to give up anything for him?

Sounds like the writing is on the wall for McCants.

Maybe it's the lack of seeing him play for many, many games but I remember in 2003 when he was a reliable receiver who caught some tough touchdown passes and long passes. Maybe that year has clouded my vision, but I would like to see what he can do in 2005, UNLESS having him is going to stand in the way of drafting another top receiver.

I think McCants basically put the bullet in his own gun when he openly admitted that he didn't care much for practicing or playing special teams. And McCants, for all his talent, isn't exactly Randy Moss that he half-ass it during the week then be the stud receiver on Sunday

Meanwhile, Jacobs and Thrash worked their asses off on special teams this year, earning the praise of Gibbs. Remember the game (against the Lions I think) when Jacobs had a blocked punt and afterward Gibbs said "I know a lot of our receivers want to be out there catching passes, but this shows that if you work hard you can make a difference even if it's in some other aspect of the game" I'm sure that was a message to DM

Real estate agents all over the DC area are calling McCants to try to get the listing for his house. Chances are about 98% that he will be "elsewhere" next season.

Too bad. He has the physical skills to be a posession receiver in the NFL. Obviously, his idea of practice and preparation and mental focus on the things that lead up to a game are not what this coaching staff things they ought to be.

It's very weird how the coaches opinion of a player could change so drastically in less than 9 monthes. But if Gibbs didn't want to use him after talking so highly of him in the spring because of Mccant's attitude then I'm totally fine with that. As Gibbs has said repeatedly, he wants players who are true Redskins and think team first. Anyone wonder what we might have gotten for him this spring if we'd done a sign and trade?

I wonder if the complexity of the offense caused Gibbs to think there wasn't any way McCants could contirbute if he wasn't praticing and preparing mentally?

Weren't the Ravens trying to get McCants from us last year when he was a free agent? Maybe we could get a pick from them at least.

Ok, I agree that he's probably gone, but what about this:
This year was for Gardner's chance to prove himself in the "Monk posession receiver" role, and Gibbs knew he had McCants waiting in the wings if RG didn't perform up to par. Similar to how Gibbs used to keep young players on the IR list until he felt they were ready to play. Remember that DM was fairly inexperienced when he first came in, and came from a smaller college. My thought is that maybe Gibbs viewed him like he viewed Ramsey (early on)....too young for now, but given some time, he'll get a shot. I know it's probably not the case, but I thought I'd put it out there...

[QUOTE=PSUskinsfan11]Weren't the Ravens trying to get McCants from us last year when he was a free agent? Maybe we could get a pick from them at least.[/QUOTE]
I think there were rumors, but I don't know if there was any truth to them. That said, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see either Gardner or McCants in a Ravens uniform in 2005...

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]It's very weird how the coaches opinion of a player could change so drastically in less than 9 monthes. But if Gibbs didn't want to use him after talking so highly of him in the spring because of Mccant's attitude then I'm totally fine with that. As Gibbs has said repeatedly, he wants players who are true Redskins and think team first. Anyone wonder what we might have gotten for him this spring if we'd done a sign and trade?[/QUOTE]
I think Gibbs liked what he saw from McCants on film and that's why he was re-signed, but once he saw him in practice it was a different story.

I think Gardner is gone, but there's still hope for McCants. I read somewhere that Muhsin Muhammad might be someone the Skins target, but I agree with skinsrock in that it was McCants youth and relative inexperience that kept him glued to the pine. That plus the two guys ahead of him were busting their hump week in and week out on special teams while McCants decided that practice was beneath him. Riiight...

I'd much rather keep McCants and 50/50 just for the sake of continuity, which we all know we haven't had since Norv Turner was roaming the sidelines and finding new ways to lose games each week. Our cap situation is not in dire straights, but it just seems to make more sense to develop a guy we have signed to a very reasonable deal instead of giving Muhsin Muhammad a big payday.

50/50, he's probably out of here. He's shown flashes of being a decent wideout, although we'd probably have to dramatically edit his highlight tape to get anyone to give us anything higher than a 3rd rounder for him. I love his athleticism, but he's just way too inconsistent.

Is it me, or did Gardner thrive when the lefty was in there while Coles took off when Ramsey played? If so, does playing Hasselbeck mean that Thrash and Jacobs are going to get more catches?

If he is refusing to play special teams, that is the reason right there that the coaches have soured on him. How much money does he get paid to be a football player? How many millions of dollars? And he doesn't want to play special teams! No, McCants is too good for the special teams.

It's a shame that we signed him again, but you can't predict that a player will take such a separative, non-team first attitude.

All those millions of dollars he got. The gall he has!

I think McCants has plenty of potiental, but wasn't there a question about his work ethic in practice? If you're going to be coached by Joe Gibbs or someone like him, you had better do what you're expected to do....in the NFL, you cannot do the bare minimum and expect to make a difference. Maybe McCants felt that once he got into the NFL, everything would be easy going from there...but I think possibly he found out that there is much expected out of the players and not just on the field during a game.

As far as Rod Gardner...I will be very surprised to see him back next year. Pretty much what I expected to happen is going to happen: Trash and Jacobs getting more playing time on offense. I honestly feel the combination of Coles, Trash, and Jacobs gives us our best chance on offense. I wouldn't be surprised if we went after another veteran WR in the offseason....someone who wouldn't be expensive but could still be effective.

I also heard about Muhammed becoming available. Even with all the talk to the contrary about Snyder's typical spending sprees. I can see him finding Muhammed a tantalizing offer even though he obviously would demand to be paid as one of the top 5 receivers in the league. I hope maybe we could trade Gardener for a pick and just develop someone as a receiver.

i dunno about muhammad, hes like 32 or something, thats pretty old for an nfl reciever. he would also want a lot of money, and i think it would be better spent elsewhere. if it was like a 2 year deal or somehing it would be better than a 5 year deal.

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]I also heard about Muhammed becoming available. Even with all the talk to the contrary about Snyder's typical spending sprees. I can see him finding Muhammed a tantalizing offer even though he obviously would demand to be paid as one of the top 5 receivers in the league. I hope maybe we could trade Gardener for a pick and just develop someone as a receiver.[/QUOTE]


I like Muhammed but he is getting old. He had a nice year this year but I don't know about next year. I hope he becomes the first Panther to Retire as a Panther.

Muhammed has already said he's looking for a lucrative deal, I wouldn't want to dish out very much for a WR over 30.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Muhammed has already said he's looking for a lucrative deal, I wouldn't want to dish out very much for a WR over 30.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. We don't need him.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Muhammed has already said he's looking for a lucrative deal, I wouldn't want to dish out very much for a WR over 30.[/QUOTE]

We need a good bargain veteran.

I think Gardner will be gone before McCant's, he has more value right now [which isn't saying much] McCant's may have more of an opportunity once that happen's, I don't see Thrash as more than a 4th and sometimes a 3rd reciever, if Jacob's can step up and be a #2 than that would slot Thrash at 3 but I do believe we need a physical reciever at the #1 or 2 slot who can take the ball away from the defender's, Muhammad is exactly that, but I agree with the rest I wouldn't give him the megabuck's contract to get him.

The thing I don't understand is why Rod Gardner got a free pass to start every week when there were plenty of uninspired performances, dropped balls, and one-catch or non-factor games. Why didn't any other receiver get a chance to start and get extended playing time if Gardner was in a slump?

Essentially, McCants will be shown the door for doing in practice what Rod Gardner did for much of the season during actual games. What proof do we have, by the way, that McCants was actually slacking off during practice? I mean, that seems to be the general consensus at the Warpath. But does anybody really have evidence to back up this claim? Were there actual reports from newspapers that I missed?

They know better about McCants than me, but Man, I sure hope he doesn't turn out to be another Frank Wycheck.

[QUOTE=Beemnseven]The thing I don't understand is why Rod Gardner got a free pass to start every week when there were plenty of uninspired performances, dropped balls, and one-catch or non-factor games. Why didn't any other receiver get a chance to start and get extended playing time if Gardner was in a slump?

Essentially, McCants will be shown the door for doing in practice what Rod Gardner did for much of the season during actual games. What proof do we have, by the way, that McCants was actually slacking off during practice? I mean, that seems to be the general consensus at the Warpath. But does anybody really have evidence to back up this claim? Were there actual reports from newspapers that I missed?

They know better about McCants than me, but Man, I sure hope he doesn't turn out to be another Frank Wycheck.[/QUOTE]


I agree Beem's Excellent point!