Head coach Joe Gibbs said on Wednesday that the team continues to work at trading Patrick Ramsey, but added that there is no set timeframe for completing a deal for the fourth-year quarterback.
"We're working real hard at it," Gibbs told reporters after Wednesday's press conference to introduce newly signed defensive end Andre Carter. "We're trying to do what's best for Patrick and what's best for the Redskins."
Entering the offseason, Ramsey was one of several veteran quarterbacks available in free agency and via trades.
Two of the bigger names, Drew Brees and Daunte Culpepper, changed teams earlier this week. Brees, an unrestricted free agent, landed in New Orleans while Culpepper was traded from Minnesota to Miami. Also, it has been reported that Jon Kitna, formerly of the Bengals, has signed with Detroit.
Brees and Culpepper were coming off injuries from last season, adding to the uncertainty of the quarterback market this offseason. Meantime, some teams have been positioning themselves to select one of the top three rookie quarterbacks in April's NFL Draft: Matt Leinart, Vince Young and Jay Cutler.
"I think there are a lot of quarterback deals going on and it's starting to settle down now," Gibbs said. "There were a lot of guys out there with a lot of injuries. So hopefully [a Ramsey deal] would be something that starts working out."
Asked about how soon he would like to have a Ramsey trade finalized, Gibbs replied: "I don't have a timeframe on it. We're kind of comfortable going on where we have to go with it. We don't feel pressure or anything."
The Redskins signed veteran backup Todd Collins on Tuesday. It's expected that Collins will compete for the backup job behind expected starter Mark Brunell while also helping to mentor second-year quarterback Jason Campbell.
Collins played for new Redskins associate head coach-offense Al Saunders in Kansas City from 2001-05. Saunders made a strong pitch to Gibbs and the offensive coaches to bring in Collins.
During his career, Collins has appeared in 40 games with 17 starts and completed 302 of 546 passes for 3,447 yards, 17 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He has seen limited action during the last few seasons while serving as a backup to the durable Trent Green in Kansas City.
"Todd is a very sharp guy and he's a guy who has been in the system," Gibbs said. "Trent never got hurt in Kansas City, so we didn't have a lot to go on with him. But we had a chance to watch him in preseason games and Al was showing us some [film].
"We think Todd is a real solid guy and he has a great history of helping out with young quarterbacks. So we think he fits that way, too, with Jason. He'll be a great support guy."
