For those of you who have been struggling to find a rational explanation for why Mike Shanahan would bench Donovan McNabb for Rex Grossman two days before the Redskins took on the hated Cowboys, you may have finally found it. If you ask some people, the Redskins are doing this "evaluation" period with a whole different goal in mind: taking to get a better draft pick.
↵Mike Lombardi of NFL Network was on TV today and said that, based on people he's talked to within the Redskins' organization, the team is tanking to get a higher draft pick to draft a young quarterback. Via Pro Football Talk:
↵↵↵↵↵"They're really thinking about drafting a quarterback," NFL Network reporter Michael Lombardi said. "The move to Rex Grossman, I've been told reliably by people in the Washington organization, has nothing to do with him being the quarterback of the future. It's about them being in position next year to draft a quarterback."
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That sentiment was backed up by all the NFL Network TV analysts, though they have no inside information. Considering all the bumbling explanations about "evaluating" Rex Grossman, even though he's been in this league and been bad for a long time, maybe this theory isn't so farfetched. It's easier to draft Andrew Luck at 5-11 than at 8-8.