On the heels of a coaching hire that has made the franchise the focus of plenty of criticism, Redskins owner Dan Snyder apparently is looking to create a diversion.

Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post reports the team team is interested in trading for troubled Bengals receiver Chad Johnson.

The Post cites numerous unnamed sources in support of the proposition that agent Drew Rosenhaus is working quietly behind the scenes to pull off the deal.  Four years ago, Rosenhaus worked the back channels to get running back Clinton Portis from Denver to Washington.

The Post also says that a trade could result in a “hefty new contract” for Johnson.  This assertion corroborates rumblings that the entire ordeal, which appears on the surface to be about putting Chad on a winning team, is actually about putting more money in his pocket.  And it could be that Johnson and Rosenhaus have settled on the “I want to play for a winner” approach in order to avoid the formula that made T.O.’s last season in Philly a disaster.

If the move goes down, it would be unwise.  The Redskins need to focus on continuity, not on upheaval.  We thought (apparently wrongly) that Snyder had figured that out; after all, the team didn’t do much of anything in the 2007 offseason, and the end result was a berth in the postseason.   

Then again, there’s a chance that it’s all a ruse, aimed at changing the subject in D.C. while at the same time building goodwill with Rosenhaus by possibly shaking suitors for Stinko out of the bushes.