But at least they got a seventh-round pick for their troubles.
The Redskins ponied up a conditional seventh-rounder in a deal for first-round bust defensive end Erasmus James, whose career has been marked by injury and ineffectiveness.
The Vikings told James on Friday that they planned to release him, but Redskins personnel director Vinny Cerrato convinced the Vikes to trade him for a seventh-round pick in 2009. The deal is contingent on James making the Redskins' opening day roster this year.
James and first-round receiver Troy Williamson turned out to be huge disappointments in Minnesota, and now neither is with the team. The Vikes deal Williamson to the Jaguars earlier in the off-season.