ASHBURN, Va.— Dan Snyder has selected seven quarterbacks in his nine drafts as the owner of the Washington Redskins.

And he's still looking.

Having failed to land Jay Cutler in a trade, Snyder and the Redskins spent a couple of days last week entertaining Southern California's Mark Sanchez, the latest possible solution to a long-term quarterback vacuum that's existed in Washington since the early 1990s.

But Sanchez is a hot commodity, unlikely to be there when the Redskins are scheduled to be on the clock with the No. 13 overall pick in the NFL draft late Saturday afternoon. The well-guarded secret in the back offices — the biggest cause for suspense as the week goes along — is how much Snyder and Co. are willing to trade to move up to a top five spot, or even higher, to guarantee they can get a player they really want.

"I think anything is possible," executive vice president for football operations Vinny Cerrato said Wednesday. "It's just what you're willing to give up."

Not since Mark Rypien have the Redskins had a quarterback who kept the undisputed starting job for more than a couple of seasons. Since buying the team in 1999, Snyder has twice traded up to target the position in the first round — Patrick Ramsey (2002) and Jason Campbell (2005) — and lower-round selections Todd Husak (2000), Sage Rosenfels (2001), Gibran Hamdan (2003) and Jordan Palmer (2007) failed to establish themselves even as backups. Colt Brennan (2008) spent his first season playing third string.

Campbell put up cautious numbers — 13 touchdowns and six interceptions — last year in his first full season as the starter, but the Redskins clearly feel they can do better. They were outbid — barely — by Chicago in a bid to get Cutler from Denver, which necessitated what Cerrato called a "candid discussion" with Campbell to persuade the quarterback that the brass really does think he can do the job.

"With Jason, we are going full speed," coach Jim Zorn said. "He is every bit being handled as though he's our starting quarterback, both through word and deed. With the draft, part of knowing who's out there and what's available, we've got to get to know these players a little bit. And if there's any opportunities to better our football team, we want to talk to those guys, too. Nothing is etched in stone."

That's a party line the Redskins have to toe, at least for now, especially because Sanchez might carry an overwhelming price tag. Seattle is thought to be interested in Sanchez at No. 4, and a move up to No. 3 would likely cost Washington its third-round selection this year and a first-rounder next year — and possibly more.

The Redskins have already traded away picks in the second, fourth and seventh rounds, which means they would be getting Sanchez and little else from the weekend. That's a tough call for a team that has serious needs at weakside linebacker, defensive line and along the offensive line.

Compounding the sting of having few picks is the fact that the three players acquired for those missing selections — Jason Taylor (second), Pete Kendall (fourth) and Erasmus James (seventh) — aren't even on the team any more.

Snyder, nevertheless, was optimistic Wednesday in what has become his once-a-year regularly scheduled appearance before reporters. He reflected on the 8-8 season in Zorn's first year as coach, when the Redskins started 6-2 before fading down the stretch.

"Obviously we were disappointed with some of our late-season games last year," Snyder said. "We got close, as everyone knows, we got beaten up in terms of injuries, but that's no excuse. I think we're positioned pretty well to improve.

"We're doing what we can to win," the owner said. "I'm always going to be aggressive to try to win. I didn't buy the team for investment. I bought the team to try to win the Super Bowl, and that's what I'm trying to do."