After months of waiting for a deal, patience finally paid off for the Washington Redskins on Wednesday evening, as ESPN.com has confirmed the team has agreed to a trade sending wide receiver Rod Gardner to the Carolina Panthers for a draft choice. Without the trade, Washington would have released Gardner, a former first-round choice (2001), but a player who no longer fit into coach Joe Gibbs' plans. The draft choice that the Redskins will receive, presumably in 2006, was not immediately known. The deal is contingent upon Gardner passing a physical examination, and it is scheduled to be administered Thursday. Washington had made its intentions with Gardner known early in the offseason, when it granted permission for agent Joel Segal to seek potential trade scenarios. The Redskins also excused Gardner from all their offseason workouts.

The case will remain active concerning Native American groups ability to challenge trademarks covering the name and logo of the Washington Redskins, which the groups say disparage millions of people. "This keeps the case alive," said John Dossett, general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians, which represents 250 tribes. The Redskins trademark has been called insulting and is accused of consistently holding Native Americans up to ridicule.

Redskins officials have acknowledged Friday that rookie cornerback Carlos Rogers will be limited at the outset of training camp by a right foot injury, but the team insisted its primary concern with Rogers is a bone bruise to his right ankle and not a pre-existing stress fracture to his foot. Although the Redskins did not issue a press release, they used their Web site to report that Rogers is suffering from a first-degree ankle sprain and a bone bruise. The Redskins conceded the stress fracture, first reported Wednesday by The NFL Network, but seemed to downplay its significance. Rogers, the ninth overall selection in the draft out of Auburn and the earlier of Washington's two first-round choices, will be in a walking boot and on crutches for two weeks. He will then wear a hard-bottom shoe for an additional two weeks and probably be unable to practice. All players under contract are to report to training camp at Redskins Park on Friday, with the first on-field session then scheduled for Saturday afternoon. Given the prescribed treatment for Rogers, it appears doubtful that he will be cleared for full practices at the outset of his first training camp.