DID THE PATRIOTS TURN DOWN A FIRST-ROUND PICK?
I'm not in the habit of linking to ESPN videos, but the Chris Mortensen video posted tonight is too stunning to miss. (The information is stunning, not Mort's visage.)
Mort reports that the Patriots turned down a first- and third-round pick from the Bucs in a potential three-way trade that would have sent Matt Cassel to Denver and Jay Cutler to the Bucs. Instead, the Patriots chose a second-round pick from the Chiefs.
This defies all logic and belief, no matter how close you think Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli are.
The only explanation I can come up with, and this is admittedly pure speculation, is that New England's deal with the Chiefs was already agreed to. Mike Vrabel, after all, was in Kansas City for Friday. It's possible the terms of the Cassel deal were done before the Bucs and Broncos tried to jump in.
In that scenario, though, it's unclear why the other teams ever thought they had any chance. There was a brief window Saturday, after Adam Schefter initially reported the trade, when the deal appeared to be in question.
"Mystery teams" were mentioned on air as possibly getting involved, but the move quickly became official 20 minutes later. We know who those teams were now, but there are so many other unanswered questions.
Was the Chiefs trade ever truly close to falling apart? When was the deal agreed to? Was Cassel's contract hopes another piece to the puzzle?
Here's to hoping that better reporters than I can solve some of this mystery in the coming days. In the meantime, I'm going to sleep.
Mort reports that the Patriots turned down a first- and third-round pick from the Bucs in a potential three-way trade that would have sent Matt Cassel to Denver and Jay Cutler to the Bucs. Instead, the Patriots chose a second-round pick from the Chiefs.
This defies all logic and belief, no matter how close you think Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli are.
The only explanation I can come up with, and this is admittedly pure speculation, is that New England's deal with the Chiefs was already agreed to. Mike Vrabel, after all, was in Kansas City for Friday. It's possible the terms of the Cassel deal were done before the Bucs and Broncos tried to jump in.
In that scenario, though, it's unclear why the other teams ever thought they had any chance. There was a brief window Saturday, after Adam Schefter initially reported the trade, when the deal appeared to be in question.
"Mystery teams" were mentioned on air as possibly getting involved, but the move quickly became official 20 minutes later. We know who those teams were now, but there are so many other unanswered questions.
Was the Chiefs trade ever truly close to falling apart? When was the deal agreed to? Was Cassel's contract hopes another piece to the puzzle?
Here's to hoping that better reporters than I can solve some of this mystery in the coming days. In the meantime, I'm going to sleep.
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Idiots...
PFT isn't back. Your routed to Fantasy Players Network.
Cue all the brain-dead Pats fans who are going to show their ass by claiming Belichick didn't want a first rounder or multiple picks in 3... 2... 1...
PFT has been working fine for me since last night. Problem may be on your end, JMF...
well if it is Mortensen's story.....he has been known to be wrong in the past.
It's not entirely absurd to reject a 1 and 3, IF the team offering the 1 and 3 required the Pats to sign Cassel to a long term deal before being traded. If a Franchise player signs a long term deal after signing the Franchise offer, doesn't the team lose the Franchise Tag for the length of the deal signed???
For a team that drafts well, the franchise tag is a huge weapon. We're not talking about the Lions here.