[sportscurmudgeon]

bigdaddy2348:

Funny you should mention Trotter because there is an interesting parallel here.

Recall how the Skins got to sign Trotter to that big deal - - at the time. Trotter had been given the "franchise tag" by the Eagles and he was pissed about that. He and Andy Reid had a public war of words and when Reid refused to take off the franchise tag - - or to guarantee in the one-year deal that he would not use it on Trotter again the next year - - Trotter made a real annoyance of himself.

Once Reid and DC Jim Johnson realized that they had a viable back-up at MLB, the Eagles took the tag off of Trotter and let him become a free agent.

The Skins signed him and asked him to do something he had never shown he could do well in his entire NFL career - - pass coverage. After a while, that did not work out here and the Skins cut him. Where did he go? Back to Andy Reid who told Trotter they had a job for him doing what he was suited to do - - but at a much lower rate of pay. Trotter took the job and spent a couple more years in the league.

Andy Reid and his coaches made a decision on Trotter to franchise him. They stuck to it; they never insulted him or humilated him - - but they franchised him and never wavered on how they were going to do business with him. When the Trotter/Redskins marriage fell apart, there was a professional relationship still in place for Reid and Trotter to act upon.

I seriously doubt that is the case with Shanahan/Haslett/Haynesworth/whomever...