I was perusing ESPN’s NFL Rumors section earlier today, and just like every other day, there was an update on Chargers WR Vincent Jackson and his hold-out / suspension situation.
For those of you who don’t try to escape your job by reading about sports as much as possible during office hours—oh wait, that’s probably exactly what you’re doing right now. I forgot. Anyway, Vincent Jackson was facing two separate 3-game suspensions before today: the first for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, the second for being placed on the Chargers’ roster-exempt list by the front office, which basically amounts to a penalty for his hold-out stance. Like teammate and star LT Marcus McNeill, Jackson’s agent convinced him to hold out in hopes of negotiating a bigger money deal this season. The Chargers, of course, are having none of it and are looking for any way possible to tweak Jackson before they put together a deal to send him out.
Why the hell am I talking about Vincent Jackson? Because, for some reason I can’t totally fathom, the Browns keep coming up in ESPN’s updates as a possible trade destination for him.
When I read this initially, I felt like the Browns should absolutely do this deal if it’s there. According to NFL gossip guru Adam Schefter, the price to pry Jackson away from the Chargers would likely be a “premium” draft pick, which Schefter translates as…a 3rd rounder.
This is what baffles me about the NFL. I understand the high turn-over rate of players, and thus the value of the draft. But in this case, Jackson is a Pro Bowl wide receiver who just turned 27 in January. His number of receptions and total receiving yards have increased every season. He’s averaged just over 1,100 yards per season for each of the past two seasons. His career average for yards per reception is 17.2. He’s scored 25 touchdowns in 6 seasons and has fumbled only once in his entire pro career. And he was drafted in the second round in 2005.
In other words, now that Jackson’s ability is a known quantity, the Chargers are asking for a future draft pick that is a round lower than the one they actually acquired him with in the first place. And apparently, teams have been hesitant about pulling the trigger.
In fairness, the two hurdles to a trade seem to have been the question of how many games Jackson will miss this season due to suspension, and his salary demands. Schefter reports that Jackson is seeking a multi-year deal in the range of $9MM per. That’s significant money to pay for a receiver on a team with no playoff aspirations whatsoever. But the idea that no team—let alone the Browns, who are constantly in need of talent—is willing to sacrifice this money and a 3rd round pick for a Pro Bowl receiver just leaves me confused. The ice may thaw in the next few days now that the length of his suspension is clear (4 games if he’s traded by Wedneday) is clear, but we’ll see.
If the Browns are seriously considering this trade, they have two major aces up their sleeves: first, all signs are that their 2011 picks will be very high in their respective rounds; second, the Chargers seem to be pissed enough at Jackson that they would go out of their way to deal him to a shit team. In that case, the Browns could easily become a favorite to land him, and the argument for acquiring him seems to get stronger.
However, after considering further, this trade seems like it could be one of the most ignorant, mis-prioritized moves the Browns could possibly orchestrate.
By all accounts, Jackson is a legit star-quality #1 wide-out. But as usual, the problem is that the Browns still don’t seem to have anyone who can actually throw the ball to him accurately. (I should give Seneca Wallace a chance, and I don’t even want to throw Jake Delhomme over the railing yet, but it’s safe to say the team hasn’t established a consistent, quality answer at the position as of now.) In that sense, trading for Vincent Jackson would be equivalent to filling your tank with high-octane gas despite that your car is missing an engine, or buying specialty condoms even though, as a sex survey I got in the mail in high school put it, you are “unable to find a willing partner.”
Theoretically, having a “star” wide-out is great. But in all fairness, no one really has any idea how good the Browns’ current crop of young receivers is because the QB situation continues to be a disaster. Why blow a good draft pick and $9MM per year on one receiver when the team still has a gaping hole at QB that cripples all receivers regardless of quality?
In short, I can’t really come up with a good reason. Unless Heckert and Holmgren are convinced that Colt McCoy is the answer starting next season. And I don’t think there’s anywhere near enough evidence to make that claim.
I would be floored if the Browns actually made this trade. In the event that it does go down, though, I think it’s a major warning sign about the front office’s evaluation process.
-T
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