Peppers-New England Trade Scenarios

[PhillyB]

This horse isn't quite dead, so I'm going to beat it a little more

There's been rumors of Pep to the Patriots... it originated as a deal involving Cassel, but that's clearly washed down the drain, as both Cassel and Vrabel are gone now. But there's also been questions: why would the Pats trade two very valuable players to Kansas City for only a second-rounder in return? It sounds like they got shafted, at first glance; but the Patriots' organizational history tends to eschew any such notions. Some suggest NE was throwing KC a nice juicy bone because of longtime connections to Scott Pioli, who's now the Chiefs' general manager.

Others explain it as a cap move, a very legitimate possibility. The NFL is not known for its teams cutting self-hindering deals with other teams for the sake of prior friendship. That's not the way things get done - at least not to that scale.

So: cap room, but for whom? You could argue they're playing for a wide reciever, as Gaffney left for Denver and Randy Moss isn't getting any younger. You could imagine a scenario where they'd trade for someone to shore up their elderly linebacking corps.

...aaaaaaaand, relatedly, you could argue they're looking to sign free agent Julius Peppers. It's a good fit any way you look at it, and with the options slowly dwindling, legitimate possibilities can no longer be ignored. Two questions:

1) What players do the Patriots currently have available to trade, or draft picks available to trade, to get Peppers, that Carolina would be interested in?

2) Are there any three-way deals that New England and Carolina could work out? Are there any substantial arguments for deals that could go down that way? And if so - what players/draft picks are involved?

[Carolina Crazy V2]

I say they were freeing up room for Pep and now, we win.

[PhillyB]

I say they were freeing up room for Pep and now, we win.

Right, but it would only be a win if we got what we wanted in return. the question is, what would we want from NE in return? what do they have to offer?

[mantal]

Right, but it would only be a win if we got what we wanted in return. the question is, what would we want from NE in return? what do they have to offer?

The answer is - nothing. They've got nothing left to offer us - nothing at all...

[Highlandfire]

The answer is - nothing. They've got nothing left to offer us - nothing at all...

Wrong, they have a first this year and a first next year.

[PhillyB]

The answer is - nothing. They've got nothing left to offer us - nothing at all...

No free agents?

[Fireball77]

Jarvis Green or Ty Warren...I think either of those guys could improve the Carolina D-Line. Warren is the first choice for me. Now, would THEY do it? Likely not. I do think it is VERY VERY VERY odd that they traded both those guys for a mere second. The OP is right, they don't do "charity deals". THe ONLY thing I can think if there isn't a 3rd team involved is that the 2nd rounder is a #34 which is practically a 1st rounder and perhaps in this deep OLB conversion draft they would spend pick 1 and 2 on that position.

[PhillyB]

I do think it is VERY VERY VERY odd that they traded both those guys for a mere second. The OP is right, they don't do "charity deals". THe ONLY thing I can think if there isn't a 3rd team involved is that the 2nd rounder is a #34 which is practically a 1st rounder and perhaps in this deep OLB conversion draft they would spend pick 1 and 2 on that position.

Agree. If there is a deal being worked between carolina and new england, there almost has to be a third team involved, one way or another.

[Kevin Greene]

So here are some of the plausible reasons the Patriots let the pair go for relative peanuts.

1. Vrabel and Cassel were going to count close to $20 million combined against the 2009 salary cap. With Tom Brady on track for the opener, the Patriots needed Cassel's $14.6 million to make other moves. Vrabel's value to the Patriots, meanwhile, had outdistanced his cap number. Now, instead of bumping up against the $127 million cap, they have more than $20 million in space to spend.

2. With Vrabel's deal expiring after the 2009 season, the Pats weren't going to re-sign him and wanted to get something in return for him. And Cassel was gone after this year anyway and would have been just collecting a massive paycheck every week while watching Brady.

3. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick felt particularly benevolent in dealing with Scott Pioli, the former Patriots VP of Player Personnel who went to Kansas City last month.

4. Adding a second-round pick gives New England three second-rounders in the draft and four picks in the first two rounds. Good for shoring up depleted rosters.

5. They sensed absolutely no developing market for Cassel and needed to pull the trigger.

6. The franchise is in an uncomfortable financial position because of the economic crisis, their exposure in the auction-rate bond market and their investment and development in Patriot Place, a huge outdoor mall connected to Gillette Stadium and had no stomach for running the risk of getting stuck with Cassel.

That's the best I can do.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29444849/

[Brooklyn Bully]

So since we gave away a 1st last year, if we get one back, plus one in 2010, it looks as if it all comes down to we "traded" Peppers for Otah and a 1st.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

I want New England's first and a second round pick for Peppers.

That's probably not realistic though, is it?

[Fireball77]

I honestly think they will be lucky to get even one 1st rounder for Pep if it is for a conversion to OLB (which it wouldn't be anything else in NE....he cannot play 3-4 DE I don't believe).

[rayzor]

I want New England's first and a second round pick for Peppers.

That's probably not realistic though, is it?

very realistic.

[pantherclaw]

Why would he play DE in the 3-4 anyways? A DE's job in a 3-4 is to take up blocks for the LB's to make plays. I think it would be obvious that he play a roving LB in a 3-4. Hell, he could play just about any position on the field for defense.

That being said, I'm not going to believe anything about a possible peppers trade until it's a done deal.

Interesting rumor though. Is some food for thought.