[B.F. SKINner]

Pierce, the cerebral leader and top tackler in the third-ranked defense in the league last year, was poised to sign a six-year, $26 million contract, including a $6.5 million signing bonus, with the Giants. Pierce had said all along that he wanted to stay in Washington, but he also said he expected the type of payday that the Redskins have thrown at incoming players over the years.

The Redskins, however, are limited because of their spending splurges of recent seasons, including the $49.6 million they spent in bonuses to six new players over a four-day period a year ago.

In the end, that made Pierce's asking price too high. The team also noted that his deal with the Giants turned out to be better than the six-year, $24 million contract the Redskins gave linebacker Marcus Washington last year. Washington went on to make the Pro Bowl, while Pierce was a second alternate.

"We thought it was very important to have a salary structure here that makes sense for all our players," Gibbs said. "We went as far as we could go, I felt like."

Two years after we let Smoot and Pierce go because we wanted to keep a "salary structure that makes sense for all our players", our biggest needs in free agency are: MLB and CB. One step forward and two steps back.