It reeks of desperation

The Tennessee Titans really haven't had a decent receiver since Derrick Mason departed, but does that justify their decision to spend $27 million, including $9 million guaranteed, to sign Steelers free agent Nate Washington to a six-year deal? Washington says he's "ready for that responsibility to step in and be a No. 1-type receiver." Is he really? Washington caught 40 balls last season for 631 yards and three touchdowns. He's proven to be a pretty fair deep threat, but he often displays hands of stone. He's also benefited by playing against defenses that were paying a lot more attention to Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller. What happens when Washington has to play every week against the opponent's top cornerback? NFL history is filled with teams that overpaid for players who were on Super Bowl-winning teams. Perhaps the worst signing belonged to the Oakland Raiders, who lavished $12.5 million on defensive back Larry Brown after he picked off two passes against the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. That ended up being one more interception than he had in the next two seasons with the Raiders, and he was never heard from again. The fact that the Steelers made no effort to retain Washington's services suggests that they're pretty sure they can live without him. It's Tennessee that might have to live with spending at least $9 million on a guy who might never be better than a third receiver.