2008 Washington Redskins

The 2008 Washington Redskins season is the 76th season for the team in the National Football League. They try to improve upon their 9-7 record in 2007. This year, they are playing teams from the NFC West and AFC North as per the schedule rotation, as well as their regular games with NFC East rivals.

Offseason
The 2008 offseason opened with the announcement on January 8, 2008 of the retirement of head coach Joe Gibbs. The Redskins immediately began a national search for a new head coach. On January 25, 2008, Jim Zorn was hired as offensive coordinator. The following day, Associate Head Coach Al Saunders and Assistant Head Coach Gregg Williams were fired and Greg Blache was named defensive coordinator. On February 9, Jim Zorn was hired to be Head Coach. On February 15, Sherman Smith, the former running backs coach for the Tennessee Titans, was hired as an offensive coordinator.

Key Departures
On February 26, 2008, the Redskins released WR Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd later signed with the Chicago Bears. Mark Brunell, Reche Caldwell, Rick DeMulling, Randall Godfrey, Brian Kozlowski, David Macklin, Keenan McCardell, Pierson Prioleau, Mike Pucillo, and Omar Stoutmire were never re-signed by the Redskins, making them free agents.

Key Additions
On May 27, 2008, the Redskins traded a conditional 2009 seventh-round draft pick to the Minnesota Vikings for DE Erasmus James. James must play at least one regular season game in order for the Vikings to receive the draft pick.

On June 2, 2008, the Redskins signed S Stuart Schweigert after he was cut by the Oakland Raiders a few weeks earlier.

On July 20, 2008, the Redskins traded their 2009 second-round draft pick & their 2010 sixth-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins for DE Jason Taylor.

2008 NFL Draft
The Redskins traded their #21 (1st round), #84 (3rd round), and #154 (5th round) selections to the Atlanta Falcons for their #34 (2nd round), #48 (2nd round), and #103 (4th round) selections. They then traded their #103 selection to the Tennessee Titans for their #124 (4th round) and #157 (5th round) selections. Lastly, they traded their #157 and #228 (7th round) selections to the St. Louis Rams for their #168 (6th round) and #180 (6th round) selections.

Week 1: at New York Giants
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
 * Game time: 7:00 PM EDT
 * Game weather: 85°F (Cloudy & Humid)
 * Game attendance: 79,742
 * Referee: Ed Hochuli
 * TV announcers: (NBC): Al Michaels, John Madden, & Andrea Kremer

The Redskins began their 2008 campaign on the road against their NFC East rival, the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, in the annual kickoff game as Jim Zorn made his official head coaching debut. In the first quarter, Washington trailed early as QB Eli Manning closed out their opening drive with a 1-yard TD run. Later in the quarter, New York added on to their lead with kicker John Carney getting a 24-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the 'Skins continued to trail as Carney nailed a 25-yard and a 47-yard field goal. Near the end of the half, Washington finally got on the board as QB Jason Campbell completed a 12-yard TD pass to WR Santana Moss. However, the second half was an all-out defensive struggle as New York held on for the win.

With the loss, the Redskins began their season at 0-1.