The Washington Redskins were active today on the third day of free agency, signing RT Jeremy Trueblood, a 6'8" and 320 right tackle who was benched and then injured in 2012 in Tampa Bay, where he finished the season on injured reserve. 

The Redskins also re-signed backup LB Bryan Kehl, a move that became necessary when the team lost LB Lorenzo Alexander to the Arizona Cardinals yesterday. The signing was first announced by AM 980, the radio station owned by Redskins owner Dan Snyder. 

Kehl can back up at multiple linebacker positions, like Alexander, and will almost certainly be asked to make up for some, though not all, of the special teams contributions lost when Alexander signed elsewhere. 

Trueblood is a huge man whose strength is run-blocking, but he started only one game in 2012 before being benched and later went on injured reserve. His last full season, in 2011, was a poor one and he did not play well in 2010 either. In fact, I haven't seen Trueblood play well since 2008-9, which is ages ago by NFL standards. 

In other words, Trueblood would have to turn his career around to get back up to starting-caliber playing status, but considering the salary cap situation the Redskins are in and the moves they hope to make at cornerback and, hopefully, retain TE Fred Davis, Trueblook was probably the best they could afford. 

I was a guest on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt on News Channel 8 today to discuss the Washington Redskins, NFL free agency and the struggles of the Washington Capitals as the NHL season enters its home stretch. Note that I mentioned the Redskins would be trying out free agent RT Jeremy Trueblood at Redskins Park today. They did that and earlier today he signed a contract to play in Washington. 

Watch and enjoy.

The Washington Capitals front office was busy today, consummating two trades that will likely benefit the AHL Hershey Bears, but do little to help the struggling Washington Capitals.

Washington acquired D Chay Genoway from Minnesota for a conditional seventh round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.  Genoway has played in 53 games this season at AHL Houston and has recorded 19 points, including 4 goals.  He also is a +11.  The left-handed defenseman will help bolster Hershey's blue line after losing Steve Oleksy, Cam Shilling, and Tomas Kundratek, all promoted to Washington.  The knock on Genoway is his 5'9" size.  

The Caps also dealt Kevin Marshall to Toronto in exchange for Nicolas Dechamps. The left winger has recorded 16 points this season, inclduing 7 goals, for Toronto in the AHL. Last season he played in all 17 Calder Cup playoff games for Toronto, recording 12 points (three goals, nine assists). He also appeared in 40 regular season games registering 30 points (seven goals, 23 assists) and 14 penalty minutes. The strength of Descamps is his speed, the knock on him can be lack of grittiness.      

UPDATE:

The Nationals have assigned three others to the minor league system.  Assigned were OF Eury Perez, IF Will Rhymes, and C Sandy Leon.  With a healthy Wilson Ramos and Kurt Suzuki, L:eon,w ho saw major league time last season, was destined for the system.  Perez is a prospect who could very well begin to see time in Washington this season.  in 8 games and 23 at bats, Perez batted .348 in spring. 

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The Nationals have made another round of moves as they continue to reduce their roster with an eye on Opening Day, just a few weeks away. Former first round pick Anthony Rendon has been sent to AA, where he will begin the season at Harrisburg. Also sent to minor league camp; pitchers Nathan Karns and Pat McCoy, as well as, infielder Matt Skole.

Rendon, the Nationals top prospect, has had a torrid spring, hitting .375 with four home runs and 11 RBI. Rendon is a third baseman, but has been learning to play second base as well. The re-signing of Adam LaRoche sealed Rendon's fate, as the move kept Ryan Zimmerman at third base for at least two more seasons.

Skole, the Minor League Player of the Year, will also begin the season with Harrisburg. Skole has big time power, evidenced by his 27 home runs last season at Class A Potomac and Hagerstown. A fifth round pick out of Georgia Tech in 2011, Skole is a natural third baseman, but like Rendon, is blocked by Zimmerman (and LaRoche).

The Nationals are set at the corners on the bench with Tyler Moore and Chad Tracy. General Manager Mike Rizzo would prefer Rendon and Skole play every day, so even if the corner reserves were not set, they may have been destined for the minors anyway.

Karns, the Minor League Pitcher of the Year, along with the left-handed McCoy, are talented prospects, but like the position players, the Nationals Opening Day pitching staff was largely decided before Spring training even began. Karns spent last season split between Class A Hagerstown and Potomac, where he combined to go 11-4 with a sparkling 2.17 ERA. McCoy spent last season at AA Harrisburg, going 7-3 over 50 appearances in relief. With Zach Duke the only left hander in the Nationals major league bullpen, McCoy bears watching at AAA Syracuse in April and beyond.

Washington Nationals stud youngster Bryce harper appeared on Sports Junkies and was asked about the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.  Here is what he had to say.

"They need to get some Captitude and some Wizitude."

Of course, Harper is referring tot he popular notion surround Washington Nationals baseball, Natitude.  And for what it is worth, at least from the Caps standpoint, they are in desperate need of anything, even Captitude. 

JOHN IS WALLIN'!

The Washington Wizards built a 20-point lead at home against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks tonight, blew it all in the 3rd quarter and then came back with a dominant 4th quarter to win by 13 points, 106-93. The main reason was another big game from Wizards point guard John Wall, who posted a second straight double-double by leading the team with 23 points and 10 assists. Wall also added 5 rebounds, 4 steals and only turned the ball over twice. With starting shooting guard Bradley Beal and backup AJ Price injured and out of the game, Wall responded by taking over the game when it mattered and the Bucks could do nothing to stop him. 

Martell Webster started hot, hitting 3 3-pointers in the first quarter for the second straight game. Wall also began by smoking Brandon Jennings in the lane and Washington led 30-21 after one quarter.

In the second quarter the Wizards went on a 14-0 run to take a commanding lead 60-44 lead going into halftime. Webster had 17 points at halftime to lead all scorers, but he did little in the second half. The Wizards went with a small lineup for much of the second quarter, including playing Wall, Webster, Garrett Temple, Trevor Ariza on the floor at the same time and it worked well, with the Bucks unable to take advantage of their size advantage and instead allowing Washington to get plenty of open looks in a free-flowing game. 

The third quarter was a different story, with Bucks forward Ersan Illyasova scoring 13 of his 21 points to lead the Bucks on a monster run that lasted the entire quarter. Wizards head coach Randy Wittman shuffled his lineup, but nothing worked and the Bucks outscored Washington 34-15 in the third to take a 3-point lead into the fourth quarter. During one stretch of the third the Bucks scored 28 of the game's 35 points. The Wizards had blown a huge lead and it looked as if another disappointing loss was on the way. 

However, Wittman put Nene back in the game to start the final 12 minutes and the Wizards led the fourth quarter off with a 9-2 run to reverse the game momentum and regain their lead. Trevor Booker, rebounding from a poor third quarter, got things going with a big offensive rebound and putback to give the Wiz a two point lead. Fast break layups from Wall and Temple followed a Bucks score and the Wizards were up by four points. The Bucks were not done and hit several more shots, but it didn't matter because John Wall kept responding with fast breaks -- some of them a one-man show -- and key layups wrapped around a jumper or two. Nothing the Bucks did tonight could stop John Wall. 

Washington's lead reached nine points when Nene found Trevor Booker for an uncontested dunk with about 5:30 left in the fourth quarter. Wall remained aggressive, hitting a beautiful floater and combined with Nene to move the ball around nicely. John Wall's defense matched his offense tonight, particularly when he drew a charge with 2:45 left in the game that led to a foul call on Larry Sanders, who flipped his lid at the call and promptly got tossed out of the game by the offended refs. 

The Wizards were remarkably consistent shooting tonight, hitting 50% from the floor, a dismal 50% from the line and a sparkling 50% on 3-pointers. The Wizards won pretty much every statistical category tonight, leading 58-42 on points in paint, 31-21 on bench points

Apart from the 23 points, 10 dimes and all the rest, John Wall held Milwaukee's super-talented point guard Brandon Jennings to only 8 points. Jennings is averaging over 18 points per game this season. 

Martell Webster scored 20 points, Nene scored 13, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished 6 assists and got 3 steals. Garrett Temple got another start in place of Beal and he responded with 13 points on 6-7 shooting and 4 assists. The offense slowed down badly when the Wizards tried to play Temple at point guard, but he didn't embarrass himself when playing next to John Wall. 

Off the bench, Trevor Ariza pushed through the injury that kept him out of the second half of last night's loss and scored 14 points on 11 shots. Trevor Booker shocked everyone -- maybe himself included -- by coming from nowhere to score 13 points on 4-5 shooting and grab 12 rebounds. Booker took 9 free throws, hitting only 5, but his offensive aggressiveness got Illysova in foul trouble [he finished with 5], forcing the Bucks to double team when they didn't want to do it. 

The Washington Nationals had a good day in the Grapefruit league, playing a pair of split squad games.  The two young Nats having sensation springs, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, were back at it today. 

In game one, the Nats defeated the NY Mets 8-5.  Bryce Harper started the Nats out on the right path, smacking a three run home runs in the first inning.  Harper is settling in quite comfortably batting in the third position behind leadoff hitter Denard Span and second batter Jayson Werth.  He ended the game going 2 for 4 with a home run, 2 runs scored and 4 RBI.  Harper is now batting .455 in spring, collecting 18 hits in 40 plate appearances.  Of Harper's 18 hits, h has 7 extra base hits,, including 2 doubles, triple, and 4 home runs.  He has also driven in 12 runs.  Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa also collected two hits apiece.  Zimmerman is batting .478 (11 for 23) this spring.  Zimmerman, Tyler Moore, and Kurt Suzuki each had an RBI.  Jordan Zimmermann put up his best performance on the mound this spring, tossing 4.2 innings and allowing 4 hits and 1 run while fanning 6 Mets. 

In game two, the Nats defeated the Astros 9-7.  2011 6th overall pick Anthony Rendon provided the sparks for the Nats, going 4 for 5 at the plate and driving in 3 runs and smacking his 4th homer of the season, which ties Harper for the team lead.  Rendon raised spring batting average to .432, collecting 16 hits in 37 at bats.  Rendon has 4 doubles and 5 homers.  Pitcher turned position player Micah Owings was 3 for 5 at the plate.  He doubled twice and knocked in two runs.  Corey Brown and Will Rhymes each collected two hits in the 17 hit onslaught by the Nats.    Ryan Ohlendorf allowed 5 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs over 3 innings as the Nats starter. 

The Nats should be making another round of roster reductions soon.  Stay tuned. 

Sources are reporting that free agent linebacker and special teams star Lorenzo Alexander has signed a 3-year deal to play for the Arizona Cardinals. The deal is worth $9.5 million and offers a realistic chance to start at linebacker, something that would not happen in Washington without an injury to a starter.

UDPATE: Alexander is saying he left for Arizona after initially favoring the Redskins because Washington dramatically lowered their offer at the last minute. From Pro Football Talk: 

Alexander, who will turn 30 on the last day of May, played his college ball at Cal-Berkeley before signing with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2005. The Panthers released him in 2006 and he signed with the Baltimore Ravens, where he remained for five days before they cut him, too. He signed with the Redskins and joined the practice squad in October 2006 and made his NFL debut in week 5 of the 2007 season against the Detroit Lions. Five weeks later he got his first NFL start, against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Alexander played defensive line for the team and starred on special teams until 2010 when new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett moved the incredibly versatile player to outside linebacker, where he played for two years. Head Coach Mike Shanahan fell in love with Alexander's special teams play, calling him the best special teams player he had ever been around. Appropriately, midway through the 2010 season, Alexander was named Captain of the special teams. 

In 2012 Alexander was moved again, this time to back up at inside linebacker. Meanwhile, he continued to flourish on special teams and was named to the 2013 Pro Bowl in honor of his work in kick coverage. 

Alexander's absence will leave a hole in the special teams, but the Redskins may be able to cover it up with other players currently on the roster. In addition, inside linebacking depth should not be difficult to find, particularly if the very promising Keenan Robinson, a 4th round pick out of Texas who is rehabbing in that state with Brian Orakpo, comes back fully healthy. 

For me, the play in the video below will sum up Lorenzo Alexander in Washington. A great special teams play made while playing for teams that were mostly pretty bad. Goodbye, Lorenzo. The Redskins will miss you and I'll miss a great talker. He always had time for the media and almost always had something interesting to say. 

The first 24 hours of NFL free agency 2013 are almost over and most of the talk about the Washington Redskins is how there has been so little to talk about. Sure, the Redskins re-signed some of their own players -- like DE Kedric Golston and punter Sav Rocca -- but they haven't made a splash by going out and signing players from other teams. Why isn't Dan Snyder's jet ferrying overpriced mercenaries into Redskins Park. Where are the signing bonuses larger than Costa Rica's annual GDP?

As you probably know, the $36 million penalty the NFL laid on the Redskins one year ago is the onion in the ointment. The Skins dealt with the first $18 million last year and now they're trying to deal with the final $18 million. The Redskins had to cut CB DeAngelo Hall and restructure the contracts of WR Santana Moss and DE Adam Carriker -- getting both of them to reduce their cap number by converting a portion of their salaries into incentive bonuses -- just to get under the cap far enough to keep several of their own. 

The Redskins are not finished tinkering with their salary situation to create more cap space. Today, injured SS Brandon Meriweather restructured his contract so that his '13 cap figure is now $1.65 million, from $2.9 million. His base salary dropped to $1.2 million from $2.45 million. That extra $1.25 million in cap space may prove useful as the Redskins pursue a free agent cornerback or safety or right tackle. Other players, like WR Josh Morgan or NT Barry Cofield, may also be asked to restructure their contracts to create further space. 

Let's look at some positions on the field where the Redskins need to upgrade and might turn to free agency to do it. We start today with cornerback.

CORNERBACK

Fortunately, this nonsense about the Redskins pursuing TB Reggie Bush -- apparently, there was some contact -- is over now that Bush has signed with the Detroit Lions, where he will fit like a glove. The Redskins must focus on need positions and cornerback is their top need in my opinion. The bad news for the Redskins is that they don't have a lot of money to spend on a cornerback or much of anything else. The good news is that this cornerback free agent class is very deep, with recent cuts swelling the ranks, and that glut on the market should force prices down, making it easier for the Redskins to find a talented player who fits their budget. Let's look at them. 

We know the Redskins are interested in CB Aqib Talib -- a superb, perhaps elite talent at a critical need position. However, as I have written, Talib is a dangerous hire since he comes with more baggage than a 747, including a generous rap sheet and a reputation for fighting [literally] with his teammates. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, under GM Bruce Allen, drafted Talib with the 20th pick in the first round in 2008, but traded him last November rather than offer him a long term contract. That's pretty telling. 

I'm also a bit concerned that Talib allowed opposing passers to put up a 103.7 passer rating against him last season. That's pretty bad, especially since he was playing for a contract and should have been at his best. 

More encouragingly to me is the news that CB Antoine Winfield, recently and unexpectedly cut by the Minnesota Vikings, is on the market and the Redskins are interested in him. Winfield will be 36 in June -- 9 years older than Talib -- so that might seem like a strange move for a team like the Redskins, that has made a major effort to get younger the past few years. However, the Redskins need a starting cornerback now and Winfield, despite his advancing age, is still as good as it gets at what he does. 

Per Pro Football Focus' metrics, he had 34 tackles and 26 "stops" (plays for negative yardage) in 354 run snaps in 2012, amassing a 7.3% stop rate that was by far the best at his position. He played 326 pass-play snaps in the slot, allowing no touchdowns, and just 34 catches for 337 yards on 51 targets.

There is also CB Sean Smith, a free agent from the Miami Dolphins. He's got great size [6'4"] and supports run defense very well. He doesn't have anything like elite speed, but he's pretty athletic and can use his size and strength to muscle up with receivers. He's very inconsistent, going from great games to poor ones, often one right after the other. However, the Seattle Seahawks have shown what can be done with big cornerbacks and it wouldn't be a shock if the Redskins [and many other teams] try to copy it. 

There is Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, recently cut by the Eagles and looking for a new employer. He's young, 26, athletic, good size and went to the 2009 Pro Bowl. On the other hand, I thought he was terrible last year and a quick check of the Pro Football Focus stats confirms that -- they ranked him 98th among NFL cornerbacks last year. That's not much better than me and I don't even play pro football. 

Keenan Lewis is a solid cornerback and the Pittsburgh Steelers would like to have him back, but that seems unlikely right now. He's got good size and plays sound fundamentally, but I think he's more of a Cover-2 type cornerback. Can he play the sort of defense the Redskins do? I think so, but there might be an adjustment. Lewis didn't intercept any passes in 2012, but he led the NFL with 16 passes defensed and opposing quarterbacks posted a lowly 80.7 passer rating against him. 

The Redskins have been linked to Antoine Cason, until yesterday a member of the San Diego Chargers. He's big and the right age, coming off his rookie contract. He'll support the run and has good top-end speed, but he's not that explosive and I'm not as in love with him as the Redskins reportedly are. Nevertheless, he'd be a big upgrade from DeAngelo Hall, though I don't think he'd be better than Josh Wilson. 

After my problems with Aqib Talib for all his personal problems, you'd think I'd advise staying away from Adam Jones [formerly known as PacMan], but I'm quite intrigued. He's 30 so his age is not ideal, but he was definitely one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL last year and has stayed out of trouble recently. Could he relapse into his prior bad behavior? Absolutely. However, his recent record is much improved and his play on the field is stellar. He obviously benefitted from playing opposite Leon Hall in the Bengals' secondary, but Jones looks like a stud corner.

Brent Grimes is 30 and coming off season-ending injury, but in 2011 he was fantastic, allowing only 25% of all passes to be completed against him and QBs had a meager 62.9 passer rating throwing in his direction. He might come cheap because of the injury, having to accept a one-year "prove it" contract, but if he comes back healthy, he's a terrific player.

Derek Cox, soon to be a former member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is a player who intrigues me. He's in his mid-to-late 20s and has great size and pretty good speed. His major issue: He's played in only 18 games the past two seasons due to injury. There's nothing to indicate he's particularly injury-prone or that the injuries have affected his ability to play. Right now, the injuries just look like bad luck. In any case, those injuries will force Cox to accept less than he would like. 

What do you think? Which of these players should the Redskins target in free agency? Or is there someone else they should pursue?

Not Redskins being Redskins,but Redskins not being Redskins. For starters, here is Redskins punter Sav Rocca -- who re-signed for two years with the Redskins yesterday -- kicking ball and taking names from his old days playing Aussie rules football. 

And here is Redskins QB and reigning Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III talking to the Texas state legislature.