Briggs
A proposed trade sending Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs to the Redskins is in trouble after the Bears turned down Washington's proposed swap of draft picks.
Last week, the Redskins made a one-time offer for Briggs, offering to swap their first-round draft pick, the sixth overall, for the Bears' No. 31 overall pick. The Redskins offer was take-it-or-leave it, and they told the Bears that they wanted an answer no later than Tuesday.
The Redskins got their answer Tuesday afternoon when Bears general manager Jerry Angelo contacted the Redskins and told them he wasn't ready to make the simple swap of first-round draft choices.
The Bears had been hinting they might ask for an additional Redskins linebacker to make the trade, but the Redskins made it clear to the Bears on Monday that if they asked for more than the proposed draft-pick swap, the trade talks were over.
Briggs, the Bears' franchise player, reacted angrily to receiving the team's franchise tag and at first said he'd never play for the Bears again. He is now threatening to hold out the first 10 regular season games of 2007. The Bears want to keep Briggs for one season.
The next move for the Redskins to determine if they want to move on and work on other options for the No. 6 pick in the draft. From the Bears standpoint, though, they still believe there is a chance of making a deal for Briggs with the Redskins before the NFL draft.
John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.