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Redskins tackle free agency at dizzying pace

Hello, my name is ... New faces in Washington Name  Pos.  Trung Canidate  RB  Dave Fiore  G  Lennie Friedman  G  John Hall  K  Rob Johnson  QB  Brandon Noble  DT  Randy Thomas  G  Regan Upshaw  DE  * -- Guard Tre Johnson was with the Redskins last season, but re-signed as a free agent.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- The Washington Redskins have been signing free agents so quickly that owner Dan Snyder had to rotate the pilots who fly the new players in on his jet.

"You don't know what day it is," director of player personnel Vinny Cerrato said Monday. "We've been just going and going. The kids are coming in, you're working, taking them to dinner at night.

"It was go, go, go."

The haul so far is nine players in four days of free agency, including running back Trung Canidate in a trade. The market officially opened Friday at 12:01 a.m., about the time ex-San Francisco guard Dave Fiore boarded Snyder's plane in California and headed east to become signee No. 1.

The signings have come easily. Snyder is offering players so much money they're willing to forgo visits to other teams and sign on the spot. No other team has been anywhere near as active.

"And we're not done yet," Cerrato said.

Since Friday, the Redskins have added Canidate (St. Louis), guard Randy Thomas and kicker John Hall (New York Jets), defensive linemen Regan Upshaw (Oakland) and Brandon Noble (Dallas), and backup quarterback Rob Johnson (Tampa Bay).

Backup offensive lineman Lennie Friedman (Denver) and Tre Johnson (re-signing) were signed Monday, and Rocket Ismail is among several players still being courted.

"Why wait and get lesser guys down the road?" Cerrato said. "Let's get the best and not the worst. You can't get Randy Thomas and Dave Fiore in June."

Snyder has tried this before.

In 2000, his first offseason as an owner, he overspent on aging stars Deion Sanders, Jeff George and Bruce Smith in assembling the most expensive roster in NFL history.

But the signings didn't address the real needs of the team, and the resulting bad chemistry helped make the season an 8-8 flop. The Skins were 8-8 again in 2001 and 7-9 last year, Steve Spurrier's first as head coach.

"Daniel wanted certain marquee players and didn't care whether they were at the ends of their careers or not," said Joe Theismann, the former Redskins quarterback and now a TV analyst. "But, this year, these players are needs, not names."

While the results of the spending spree won't be determined for months, it's not hard to assess the pros and cons of what's happened so far. A rundown: