Gibbs: Redskins, Holdman Agree

I would think that this pretty much puts the final nail in the coffin of Barrow's Redskin career. And I'm guessing Holdman and Marshall battle it out for the starting MLB position

Does anyone have any idea why we have this many LB's on our roster when, from what I can think, we have two probowlers on the outside who will be more than just mainstays in the lineup to say the least! I like the Holdman move.....with Blache and Lindsay being familiar with him......does anyone think that Lavar is going to be coming off the edge A LOT more this year....just a strange thing to pick up another LB when we run the 4-3.......could Williams mix the 3-4 a little this year since we haven't really looked hard at DT's or DE's.....except for UDFA???? I know its a long stretch....but just wondering what others thought??????

Nice post. Good thoughts. Welcome to the board!

Holdman can play; this is a valuable addition - - assuming of course that he doesn't break his leg or go into a coma between now and Labor Day.

Signing him tells me that the Skins are not counting on a lot of participation from Mike Barrow this year. If Holdman catches onto the system, Holdman can be the starter in Game 1; if it takes a while, he ought to be the starter by mid-October.

As to all the LBs on the roster, several will play special teams and nothing else. And don't be surprised if more than one of them is released before the opening kickoff.

Holdman can play; this is a valuable addition - - assuming of course that he doesn't break his leg or go into a coma between now and Labor Day.

Signing him tells me that the Skins are not counting on a lot of participation from Mike Barrow this year. If Holdman catches onto the system, Holdman can be the starter in Game 1; if it takes a while, he ought to be the starter by mid-October.

As to all the LBs on the roster, several will play special teams and nothing else. And don't be surprised if more than one of them is released before the opening kickoff.
Good points all, Curmudgeon. Holdman was the guy they wanted before Barrow. Greg Blache made the push for him, and he was his coordinator for several years in Chicago. We should assume that they expect him to step into an active role.

Yeah this is ominous for Mr. Barrow. But, depending on contract terms, this could be one their best off season moves. If they got him at a bargain price (read:less than pierce), they got a quality starter with versatility at a value. Of course the terms aren't public yet to my knowledge so that is TBD. I like it. I know I feel better immediately about our LB corp. Marshall is a fine player and all but I don't know if he was the answer they need at MLB. Now he can be a total miss and it is not a huge deal.

Anyone got the past stats on Holdman?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?statsId=4756

Sweet, I get lazy sometimes. ;)

Judging by stats alone, this guy is a great pickup. I guess we need all this depth because of how important the LB is in Williams' defense.

I agree the writing is most likely on the wall for Barrow

The Barrow situation is terribly disappointing. He was a good pickup, real production guy with little to no injury history at all. Shows how older guys just deteriorate at sucha great speed. Especially at high impact positions.