NFL Features : Trade values have extenuating circumstances
In recent years, trades in the NFL appear to be on the rise. Contract pressures, losses in free agency, health and lack of quality depth in the draft leave teams no choice but to acquire talent through a trade.
We witnessed Daunte Culpepper go from the Vikings to the Dolphins for a mere second-round pick. If he was healthy, the Vikings probably could have received two first-round picks for a young quarterback that threw for over 4,700 yards just two years ago. Next we watched a three-team deal that sent defensive end John Abraham to the Falcons in exchange for a late first-round selection. Patrick Ramsey only had sixth-round value as he left Washington for the Jets, and safety Chris Crocker is now a Falcon. This all leads me to players that are supposedly on the trading block right now.
Quarterback Joey Harrington, center Jeff Faine, receiver Eric Moulds and possibly receiver Javon Walker are being discussed around the NFL personnel offices right now. It is important to keep in mind that the players with big contracts and large roster bonuses coming due this spring control more of the "trade" process than players with lower salaries. For example, in the cases of Harrington and Moulds, the players will have to agree to restructured deals before a trading club will pull the trigger on a deal. If either player doesn't want to go to the teams interested in them, they simply don't renegotiate their contracts and the trade most likely goes away. The better the renegotiation talks go with the high-priced players, the more the value of the trade goes up for the trading team.
While I was at the owners meetings, I asked two GMs what Moulds was worth if he agreed to a deal like the one Keyshawn Johnson took in Carolina. The opinion was that if Moulds was willing to take that deal then he would be worth a third-round pick. If he required money in line with Terrell Owens and a club was willing to pay it, then the compensation might only be a fourth-round pick.
As for Harrington, there already appears to be a number of teams "interested" in his services. The real level of interest can't be determined until Harrington declares what he wants in compensation. Here's a guy with 60 touchdown passes since he was drafted in 2002, and most personnel directors around the league had a high first-round grade on him coming out of college. With that said, it will be hard to think of a team giving up more than a fourth- or fifth-round draft pick for him now. If I were the Lions, I might be more interested in a 2007 pick based on 2006 performance. If he starts a few games or throws a certain number of touchdowns, then the value goes up.
The guy who might warrant the most compensation right now is Faine. There is only one center with a first-round grade in the draft, and that is Nick Mangold from Ohio State. Faine has a modest salary at just over $500,000 and has two years left on his original deal. He has some medical history, but he also has 27 starts in the last two seasons. Faine could easily justify a third-round pick for his services. Is he a better player than Harrington or Moulds? Probably not, but he has the criteria for a better trade value.
It's not even substantiated that the Packers are interested in trading Walker. Remember the golden rule of moving talent off your roster. You must replace talent for talent or you hurt your club. The reason teams would be interested in Walker -- even though he missed 15 games last year and wants a lot of money right now -- is the lack of talent left on the open market and a weak draft class. When GMs look at 2004 when Walker caught 89 balls for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns, they see a No. 1 receiver. When the same GMs look at the free-agent pool and the draft for this year, they only see No. 2 and No. 3 receivers. As one head coach said to me this week in Orlando, "If I'm going to have to draft Santonio Holmes or Chad Jackson and pay them first-round money, I might want to look at Walker if he became available." All things considered, if Walker's financial demands were realistic and Green Bay decided to part ways with him (which I wouldn't recommend), then he could bring a first-day draft pick. But that would put the Packers in the same boat teams interested in Walker are now, and it surely couldn't be music to Brett Favre's ears as he ponders retirement or a return.
Finally, it is good for the fans and the media to have some trade speculation floating around at the owners meetings, and as Matt Millen said to me on Tuesday, "It's a lot easier to get a trade done when you are looking right into the eyes of the guy asking about a trade then it is over the phone."
We witnessed Daunte Culpepper go from the Vikings to the Dolphins for a mere second-round pick. If he was healthy, the Vikings probably could have received two first-round picks for a young quarterback that threw for over 4,700 yards just two years ago. Next we watched a three-team deal that sent defensive end John Abraham to the Falcons in exchange for a late first-round selection. Patrick Ramsey only had sixth-round value as he left Washington for the Jets, and safety Chris Crocker is now a Falcon. This all leads me to players that are supposedly on the trading block right now.
Quarterback Joey Harrington, center Jeff Faine, receiver Eric Moulds and possibly receiver Javon Walker are being discussed around the NFL personnel offices right now. It is important to keep in mind that the players with big contracts and large roster bonuses coming due this spring control more of the "trade" process than players with lower salaries. For example, in the cases of Harrington and Moulds, the players will have to agree to restructured deals before a trading club will pull the trigger on a deal. If either player doesn't want to go to the teams interested in them, they simply don't renegotiate their contracts and the trade most likely goes away. The better the renegotiation talks go with the high-priced players, the more the value of the trade goes up for the trading team.
While I was at the owners meetings, I asked two GMs what Moulds was worth if he agreed to a deal like the one Keyshawn Johnson took in Carolina. The opinion was that if Moulds was willing to take that deal then he would be worth a third-round pick. If he required money in line with Terrell Owens and a club was willing to pay it, then the compensation might only be a fourth-round pick.
As for Harrington, there already appears to be a number of teams "interested" in his services. The real level of interest can't be determined until Harrington declares what he wants in compensation. Here's a guy with 60 touchdown passes since he was drafted in 2002, and most personnel directors around the league had a high first-round grade on him coming out of college. With that said, it will be hard to think of a team giving up more than a fourth- or fifth-round draft pick for him now. If I were the Lions, I might be more interested in a 2007 pick based on 2006 performance. If he starts a few games or throws a certain number of touchdowns, then the value goes up.
The guy who might warrant the most compensation right now is Faine. There is only one center with a first-round grade in the draft, and that is Nick Mangold from Ohio State. Faine has a modest salary at just over $500,000 and has two years left on his original deal. He has some medical history, but he also has 27 starts in the last two seasons. Faine could easily justify a third-round pick for his services. Is he a better player than Harrington or Moulds? Probably not, but he has the criteria for a better trade value.
It's not even substantiated that the Packers are interested in trading Walker. Remember the golden rule of moving talent off your roster. You must replace talent for talent or you hurt your club. The reason teams would be interested in Walker -- even though he missed 15 games last year and wants a lot of money right now -- is the lack of talent left on the open market and a weak draft class. When GMs look at 2004 when Walker caught 89 balls for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns, they see a No. 1 receiver. When the same GMs look at the free-agent pool and the draft for this year, they only see No. 2 and No. 3 receivers. As one head coach said to me this week in Orlando, "If I'm going to have to draft Santonio Holmes or Chad Jackson and pay them first-round money, I might want to look at Walker if he became available." All things considered, if Walker's financial demands were realistic and Green Bay decided to part ways with him (which I wouldn't recommend), then he could bring a first-day draft pick. But that would put the Packers in the same boat teams interested in Walker are now, and it surely couldn't be music to Brett Favre's ears as he ponders retirement or a return.
Finally, it is good for the fans and the media to have some trade speculation floating around at the owners meetings, and as Matt Millen said to me on Tuesday, "It's a lot easier to get a trade done when you are looking right into the eyes of the guy asking about a trade then it is over the phone."
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