Newsday's Tom Rock, who covered the Jets the last two seasons and took over the Giants beat in mid-April - and who has been on vacation I'm pretty sure since just after the draft - spent most of yesterday chasing the Shockey story. Early this morning he posted on his blog an item about the Jets/Saints deal involving Vilma, which has become a hot topic for Jets fans. Here it is in full:
"Did the Saints use one of the Jets’ picks in the 2009 draft to acquire Jeremy Shockey yesterday?
When the Saints traded for Jonathan Vilma earlier this year, they gave the Jets a fourth rounder in the 2008 draft with a conditional pick in the 2009 draft that could go as high as the second round. That second round pick in 2009 was then included with a fifth-rounder in the more recent deal for Shockey. So what gives?
According to a league source, the Jets would get the second round pick if Vilma plays 85 percent of the defensive snaps and the Saints sign him to a new deal before the end of this season. If those criteria are not met, the Jets will receive a third-rounder and the Giants get the second- and fifth-rounders. If the Jets get the second rounder, though, the Shockey value will change from a second- and a fifth-rounder in 2009 to a first-rounder in 2010.
'That’s not going to happen because the Saints hold all the cards, and they’re not going to just give away that first rounder when they really don't have to,' the source said.
It’s been speculated that Vilma, a fellow University of Miami product, was one of the players who was in Shockey's ear, trying to lure him to the Saints during this summer. If that’s the case (and we're not saying it is since that would probably be some type of tampering), Vilma may have recruited his way out of a new contract in New Orleans -- at least until after free agency opens up.
Many have called the Shockey trade a win-win deal. The only loser appears to be the Jets, who will undoubtedly see their potential second-round pricetag for Vilma shrink to a third."
Tom, incidentally, will be doing a live chat this morning at 11:30 a.m. There will be probably be some more stuff on Shockey. And get your questions ready for my chat tomorrow at 1 p.m. Or ask them here. And then again tomorrow. Whatever works.
Comments (17)
Boland, how exact is the following: "and the Saints sign him to a new deal before the end of this season"? Basically, what if the Saints give him a contract 1 day after the end of the season? It seems fishy to me, not sure why we'd agree on a deal like that if they could purposely wait until right after the season ended.
Jets were never going to get the second round pick regardless.
85% is a ridiculously high threshhold, and Saints would be nuts to sign Vilma even if somehow he hit that number.
Wayne, they would be nuts to sign him even if he played at a pro bowl level for them? Which is possible considering they play a 4-3 which he's better suited for and considering their Dline is pretty good, and especially considering they have a weak D that has terrible LB's? Have you seen their LB corprs? Scott Shanle, Scott Fujita, with backups Mark Simoneau, Marvin Mitchell, Troy Evans, William Kershaw, and Jo-Lonn Dunbar.
HAHA, if the Saints trade away their 2010 1st rounder first they can just keep putting off this debt.
Funny, I don't remember Tom Rock being that informative when he covered the Jets.
Erik,
Nice job getting the info. Vilma would be hard pressed to get in 85% of the defensive snaps coming off of that knee injury. So if its a 3rd pick so be it. I thought the Mr. T did a good job getting even that 4th and a conditional pick considering the saints were taking a risk ona plyer who is coming back from a serious knee proble. I wish Vilma the best and hope he has a good season.
Erik, If Vilma has a big year he and the Saints will have a handshake agreement in place and he will get a new deal after FA starts and it won't cost the Saints that higher pick.
"Mr. T did a good job getting even that 4th and a conditional pick considering the saints were taking a risk ona plyer who is coming back from a serious knee proble"
IRA, we didn't get a 4th AND a conditional pick. If we get the conditional pick, we have to pay back the 4th rounder.
Sounds like the Jets are done getting anything for Vilma.
Boland, on second thought, don't extend the chat tomorrow more than an hour. I think my building is holding an ice cream social at 2pm, so you can't go overtime.
dmb, forget all that...did you cast your vote on WFAN this afternoon??? Mike F. had a Brett-Favre-to-the-Jets poll and it was 14-6 in favor of getting Favre. What's funny about that is that here and on other blogs, the fans are much closer to 50-50 on that.
who is this Tom Rock you all speak of?
"he and the Saints will have a handshake agreement in place and he will get a new deal"
Sort of like the "handshake" deal that Chris Baker got from the Jets last year...
Ah, Tom Rock!
It's amazing how quickly you have made me forget about my (at that time) favorite Jets beat writer Erik!
...In a week or so you will understand why I'm brown nosing like this ;)
This is Total BS. The NFL shouldn't of approved the Shockey trade. Plain and simple.
Erik,
For Francesa to try and sell the Favre to the Jets deal as a good thing means there is a very good chance this good go down in the next day or so. Last week he agreed with me and said he was not for the Jets and now he has changed his mind. Something is up.
Ira, or it could be a very good talk show host - which he is - generating calls. I've been told there's nothing to this but even if there was casual talk about it, remember, Favre still hasn't called the Packers bluff and applied for reinstatement, which his agent said last week he wasn't going to do at this point. But the Taylor thing all came together in a perfect - and quick - storm as well...
Boland, history has proven that you basically need a HOF level QB to win a SB, and considering QB is our biggest weakness, and considering this FO had an offseason approach of win now, wouldn't the Jets be out of their mind to at least not inquire as to Favre's value trade-wise?
dmb, don't misunderstand. I've said before that I have no problem with at least inquiring to see what it would take to get him. But Favre might not want to come to NY; there's salary cap considerations; and a lot of other things to look at, not the least of which is he, as yet, hasn't applied for reinstatement. Though I wouldn't say QB is the Jets biggest "weakness." I like "question mark" better, but maybe I'm splitting semantic hairs there.