Donovan McNabb, Colt Brennan and a number of wide receivers, are hopefully not the only Redskins personnel in Arizona today. Free agent offensive lineman Chester Pitts is working out for interested teams today in Arizona and with any luck the Redskins are one of those teams.

Entering last season Pitts had started every game of not only his career, but of the Houston Texans franchise, that all ended when he went down in week 2 with a microfracture knee injury. That injury has kept Pitts on the free agent market and still looking for a job in July. If his knee checks out healthy today, that wait could be a blessing for the Redskins.

Prior to the injury Pitts was one of the better guards in the NFL, he might not have been at an elite or Pro Bowl status, but he was very good. Part of that was his durability and consistency, but he was also an equally adept run and pass blocker. He was probably overall a better pass blocker, and thrived as a finesse guy in a zone-blocking scheme (hint hint). Pitts was also a smart player, and never was one to kill his team with stupid penalties. Had he not gotten injured this past season, Pitts would have assuredly been one of the top free agent offensive linemen available.

Now in mid-July his return to the gridiron comes at the perfect time for the Redskins and coach Mike Shannahan. With the reports that Mike Williams, the projected starting right guard will miss the season (and possibly the rest of his career) with blood clots now seems like the perfect time to get into the Pitts market. Pitts has primarily been a starting left guard, but has expressed a willingness to move to right guard in the future. Given his work ethic and talent I don’t see any issues with Pitts moving to the right side. While the Redskins have Artis Hicks right now slated for right guard, adding Pitts and moving Hicks back to super-utility lineman would be the best for this line. Sure there is a chance that Pitts isn’t 100%, gets injured again, or just isn’t as effective, but he is worth the risk. And adding him isn’t precluding you from adding any additional lineman since all the top free agents have already signed. When Williams was healthy you were prepared to have Hicks be a back-up so this isn’t changing your dynamic at all (except possibly for the better if Pitts is back in form).

It will remain to be seen if the Redskins are interested or even sent any scouts/coaches to watch the workout today, but I’m hoping they aren’t done revamping this offensive line. If Mike Shannahan has any hope of getting the most out of their running back trio and Donovan McNabb, he should do everything in his power to keep them on their feet. Pitts could be the final piece of that puzzle and is likely to come fairly cheap coming off the injury.