I like long titles. But really, the aftermath of the Donovan McNabb trade is relatively clear: With a new sheriff in our nation's capital, there's a 6'5", 230 lb. elephant in the room - Jason Campbell.
A former first round draft choice (chosen 25th overall by the Washington Redskins in the 2005 draft), Campbell has been a full-time starter for the last 3 years and posted the following career statistics:
Year | Team | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Yds | Cmp% | TD | Int | Rat |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | WAS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
2006 | WAS | 7 | 7 | 110 | 207 | 1,297 | 53.1 | 10 | 6 | 76.5 |
2007 | WAS | 13 | 13 | 250 | 417 | 2,700 | 60.0 | 12 | 11 | 77.6 |
2008 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 315 | 506 | 3,245 | 62.3 | 13 | 6 | 84.3 |
2009 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 327 | 507 | 3,618 | 64.5 | 20 | 15 | 86.4 |
Total | WAS | 52 | 52 | 1002 | 1,637 | 10,860 | 61.2 | 55 | 38 |
82.3 |
Statistically, Campbell ranks around 15th or so among starting QB's in the league in the 3 years he's been at the helm in Washington. An 82.3 career QB rating, and a 61.2% completion ratio certainly will not hurt his stock. A TD/INT ratio of 55-38 show he is an accurate passer, with good speed and evasive ability.
In the wake of Donovan McNabb's arrival to DC, something has to be done with Campbell, if not for the fact that he's unneeded there now, then the desperate need for talent Washington has on it's roster. With potentially 5 of the top 10 drafting teams needing a quarterback, and 3 more down the draft board, Campbell could cause quite a stir in this year's edition of the draft. Listed below are potential landing destinations, by order of draft selection in the first round: (reported interested teams are listed in BOLD)
St. Louis
Seattle
Cleveland
Oakland
Buffalo
Jacksonville
Carolina
San Francisco
Arizona
Minnesota
The biggest implication would obviously be in a trade with St. Louis. If the Rams opt to make a trade for Campbell, then the draft basically gets blown wide open. They take a mobile QB with experience (and someone Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo has seen in action extensively) and at a bargain price, rather than the expensive QB Sam Bradford, and Spags gets his man in DT Ndamukong Suh. If that happens, a cascading effect goes across the whole draft, with Detroit more than likely opting to trade down with either Cleveland, Buffalo, or potentially even Seattle, if they value Bradford highly enough.
In any case, Campbell is definitely the top remaining quarterback on the market currently. Washington is allowing him to explore trade talks with other teams, and reportedly the four teams bolded above, plus a mystery team are interested. My expectation is that mystery team has to be the Rams, keeping their hand a secret so as not to upset negotiations with Sam Bradford. Whatever happens will be interesting, to say the least, and could change the landscape of the draft immensely. We'll just have to wait and see.