To date, the two haven’t discussed what happened last December, when Gaffney lost his friend and Denver Broncos teammate Kenny McKinley, who committed suicide with a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun Gaffney had sold to him last April. Gaffney declined to comment on the incident but at the time told investigators that McKinley wanted the gun for personal protection.
“We talk, but we don’t talk about that. We don’t bring that up,” McCardell said. “We just talk about life in general. We talk about football. If he wants to open up and express what happened, he will. But I’m not going to pry and poke in anyone’s personal life.”
(Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) - Jabar Gaffney signs autographs after practice during training camp at Redskins Park.
Gaffney turned in his most productive season last year with Denver, catching 65 passes for 875 yards — both career highs — while averaging 13.5 yards per catch. Gaffney said he would love to eclipse his career best under McCardell, an effort that may help the Redskins’ offense find consistency.
Gaffney started in both preseason games and compiled six catches for 57 yards. In Friday’s 16-3 win at Indianapolis, his lone reception for 19 yards set up the Redskins’ first touchdown from the 1-yard line.
“Just to see him, year in and year out, making big plays without getting much recognition — that’s something that you can really look forward to him doing here with myself,” Santana Moss said. “I feel like we can really grow as a unit — me, him and some of the other guys and really make this corps something to be reckoned with.”
Moss, the Redskins’ top wide receiver the past several seasons, will line up opposite of Gaffney during the regular season. If Grossman wins the starting job over John Beck, Gaffney will try to rekindle their college days in the NFL.
And the man who has helped him mature as a wide receiver since high school is now back on the sideline, coaching him.
“Coming out here, Keenan is helping me become a better receiver,” Gaffney said. “ I want to prove that I’m one of the best receivers in this league. It’s not my 10th season in the league for no reason. A lot of guys come and go out. And I stuck around.”
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