Thursday, February 19, 2009

Giants draft pick from Saints in Shockey trade

There is a possibility that the 2nd round pick that Giants acquired from the Saints for Jeremy Shockey could grow into a 1st round pick. Giants received a 2nd round pick in 2009 from the Saints and the Saints had previously traded a 3rd round pick to the Jets when they acquired Jonathan Vilma. But this 3rd round pick that they gave to the Jets was conditional on Vilma's performance. Specifically, if Vilma played 85% of the snaps for the Saints defense and the Saints re-signed him without his becoming a FA, then the Saints compensation to the Jets would grow to be a 2nd round pick instead of 3rd round. If the Saints give this 2nd round pick to the Jets, they would not have a 2nd round pick to give to the Giants. Saints GM, Bernie Madoff, tried to argue that the Jets and Giants could share the 2nd round pick, but the NFL wasn't buying. The NFL ruled that if the Saints pick to the Jets becomes a 2nd rounder, the Giants would get a 1st round pick from the Saints.

Sounds ridiculous, because the Saints have both of these decision criteria under their direct control. They do not have to play Vilma on 85% of the Saints defensive snaps and they do not have to sign him to an extension - they can let him become a FA. Here's the crazy part - Vilma reached the performance clauses of the deal - he did play on 85% of their snaps. That means that the Saints have to let a player, who was the backbone of their defense, as evidenced by the fact that he was on the field every darned play - walk into FA because they don't want to forfeit higher draft choices in their trades.

There is one more possible twist to this trade. Reports are, as I described above, that BOTH of these conditions have to be met: Vilma's playing time AND his re-signing by the Saints. But that might not be the case, since the terms of the contract are in the NFL office, they are not released to the public and the NFL is the final arbiter of this; a decision will be made on 27th February. If.... and this is a big IF... the deal is "OR" and not "AND", then the Giants will get a 1st round pick. By this I mean that Vilma and the Saints have to meet either one of the criteria: of playing time OR contract renewal, but not both, then the Giants could get a 1st round pick. It is a little suspicious that 27 Feb is the determination date, since that is the first day of FA. It seems therefore, that Vilma entering FA is an important criterion on the determination. All I can say is - we'll see.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Giants will not get First round pick

The Daily News reported definitively that the pick the Saints gave to the Jets to get Vilma does not become a 2nd round pick unless the Saints sign Vilma to an extension before he 27th of February. If he becomes a FA, even if the Saints re-sign him in the FA signing period, the pick remains a 3rd round pick. If it remains a 3rd rounder, the Giants pick acquired from the Saints in the Shockey trade will remain a 2nd round pick