THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 1996 TAG: 9604090472
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ASHBURN, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
In 1975, the Washington Redskins made a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for a 6-foot-5, 300-plus pound defensive tackle who had been a former high No. 1 draft pick, but had a reputation as an underachiever. They paid for Dave Butz by giving the Cardinals a pair of No. 1 draft choices.
Monday, the Redskins finalized a trade with St. Louis - the Rams, that is - for a 6-5, 300-plus pound defensive tackle who was a former high No. 1 draft pick. They paid for Sean Gilbert by surrendering their No. 1 draft choice in this month's college draft.
``The difference between the trade today and the one 21 years ago is that Sean Gilbert already has been a Pro Bowl defensive tackle and an alternate Pro Bowl defensive end,'' said Redskins general manager Charley Casserly. ``There's no question everybody recognizes Sean Gilbert as one of the finest defensive tackles in pro football.
``The quickest way we can win is to trade our No. 1 pick for an outstanding football player whose best football is still ahead of him.''
The Redskins made room for Gilbert under the salary cap by waiving another defensive tackle, oft-injured Bobby Wilson. The team's top pick in 1991, Wilson's last of a litany of injuries happened during the first hour of the first practice at training camp last summer. He was carried off the field with a reoccurrence of the herniated back disk that caused him to have surgery during the 1992 season.
Although he had been working out at Redskin Park this offseason, Wilson was deemed too great an injury risk for the Redskins to chance keeping him on the roster, especially with a player of Gilbert's potential available.
Gilbert, who is in the final year of a five-year contract, will count $1.25 million under the cap. Wilson would have counted $1.6 million. In addition, the Redskins gain another $250,000 in cap money that the league would have mandated they use to sign their No. 1 draft pick.
If if the Redskins don't sign Gilbert to a new contract, or name him their transition or franchise player by the start of the next free-agency period, the Rams will give Washington a fourth-round pick in the '97 draft.
``You can be the bellcow or just a cow,'' Gilbert said when asked if he felt pressure to assume a leadership role. ``I strive to be the person who leads. There are two ways to deal with pressure - either feel it or apply it. I'm here to apply it, constantly.''
Gilbert, 25, would seem to have the qualifications necessary to back up those words. In this age of specialization, the former Pitt All-American appears to be equally effective as a run-stopper and pass-rusher. Word of mouth is the only way to measure the former; the latter is evidenced by his 24 1/2 career sacks.
``He'll help the defensive secondary and the linebackers because the more play-makers you have the better you are,'' coach Norv Turner said. ``Think of the number of times the last two years the other team has had the ball in the last two minutes and was able to kick a field goal or get off a `Hail, Mary' pass. One sack could have made the difference. Now, with Ken Harvey and Sean Gilbert on the same side of the field, we have two outstanding pass rushers.''
Gilbert will start at right tackle, but the Redskins have left open the possibility of moving him from position to position along the line depending on where an opponent is weak. He'll team with fellow tackle Marc Boutte. Rich Owens and Sterling Palmer will fill out the end spots, though Casserly left open the possibility of addressing that need with the team's second-round pick should a first-round caliber player slip.
``If I had a preference, I'd play end because I could play another 10 years and stay healthy,'' Gilbert said. ``But the trenches are where the men hang out. I want to contribute to the team at end or tackle, but I'm not a guy with a big ego. I'll let the coaches assess the position they think I should play.''
A source inside the organization said that the Redskins actually made an initial, informal, contact with the Rams about Gilbert before the teams played last Dec. 17. Told he might be available, they began more serious overtures in January and finalized the deal late last week. The deal would not have been made, the source said, had the Redskins been able to lure free-agent defensive tackle Shawn Lee away from the San Diego Chargers.
And it might not have been made had the Redskins been impressed enough with college defensive tackles Darryl Gardner of Baylor and Marcus Jones of North Carolina to draft one of them with their top pick.
``We knew we wanted to get a defensive lineman there,'' Casserly said. ``The one thing we could determine was that there was no defensive tackle as good as Sean Gilbert coming out of college.''
Gilbert had shoulder and knee surgery within the last year. The knee is fine; the shoulder he called ``70-80 percent fit.''
He and his wife Nicole arrived at Redskin Park in a limousine. They were escorted through the lobby and into an auditorium where, in front of the main podium, someone had placed the team's three Super Bowl trophies and a Redskins helmet. That gaudy display of past success did not go unnoticed.
``This is an opportunity for the Washington Redskins and myself to look into the future and get more of these trophies,'' Gilbert said. ``The next time I look at this table, I want to see that helmet replaced by a fourth trophy.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Sean Gilbert
by CNB