Who warrants consideration for the Ring of Fame and Ring of Honor?

Champ Bailey, Clinton Portis, and Trent Williams

But all three carry baggage.

Bailey carries the least. It is true that his contract demands were partly responsible for his eventual departure from the Washington Football Team after five seasons. To some fans, that consigns him to a certain purgatory. It does not bother me.

Bailey was the best cornerback of his era. He made the Pro-Bowl in 12 of his 15 years, including four straight while playing in Washington. He should never have been traded. He should have been paid. Had he stayed, he’d be in the ROF. But the ROH is proper. Paul Krause, another Hall of Fame defensive back who was traded away as he was about to enter his prime, is in the ROH, and he played one year less for the Washington Football Team than did Bailey.

Portis was on the other end of the Bailey trade, and he was not able to maintain the outstanding beginning to his career in DC. (His first run for Washington resulted in a 64-yard TD gallop against Tampa.) He wore down quickly, but still ranks second to only John Riggins in all-time rushing attempts, yards, and touchdowns. He was also an outstanding blocker and colorful personality who brought energy to the franchise when it was most needed. And yet, Portis recently pleaded guilty to defrauding the NFL health-care program and faces jail time when he is sentenced early next year. What do you do with that?

Trent Williams is the ultimate test. Many fans despise him for what they see as his abandonment of the team. He refused to play in 2019, and then refused to renegotiate after the front office and coaches were all replaced. His detractors see this as nothing short of treachery. His supporters argue that he was merely standing up for himself against a franchise that he didn’t think cared about his health. If you are choosing the best players in Washington Football Team history and you already have linemen like Al DeMao and Ed Simmons on your list, you cannot possibly exclude Williams. He was a Pro-Bowler virtually every year he was in DC. He was Washington’s best player throughout the last decade.

Bailey is going into my ROH, but if you need replacements for Portis and Williams, I’ll suggest Jon Jansen – to me, a better right tackle than the aforementioned Ed Simmons – and, oh, I don’t know…

Let’s go with a special-teamer to recognize a unit that has been crucial to the historical success of the Washington Football Team. Mark Moseley, Mike Bragg, and Rusty Tillman are the only special-teamers currently in either the ROF (Moseley) or ROH (Bragg and Tillman). You could choose kick-block specialist Bill Malinchak if you like.

One day, current punter Tress Way should be on this list. But for now, I’m going with Lorenzo Alexander, the ultimate team guy who played virtually everywhere along the front-seven on defense, but who was best known in Washington for his outstanding special teams work. He made the 2013 Pro Bowl in that capacity, the last time any Washington player grabbed that spot. After being released (largely due to the league-imposed salary cap penalty the team suffered in the 2012 and 2013 seasons – thanks again, Bruce), he proved his true value by making the Pro Bowl again – this time as a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills.

Those are my humble suggestions. What have you got?