A 2 time pro bowler entering a contract year, definite trade bait.
We'd still have Chung, Sanders, Brown, potentially Ras-I/another CB converted to safety and potential FA pickup such as Sharper. The S situation could be alot worse than that. I'd trade him for a 1st, maybe even a 2nd. He's most likely gone after next year anyways IMO, hard to see BB matching some of the offers I can see him getting from dumber teams.
Question of the week---trade him for 'what' exactly?? While I agree that he has obvious trade value (no brainer), 'what' exactly do you see him bringing us? If he's worth a 3rd to someone, than how is that different than what he will already pull in a comp pick? I'd think that we'd get somewhere around the same value, although it may very well be a 4th that we'd receive in compensation through the NFL, rather than a 3rd.
I think that maybe we are making poor comparisions to other, past players that would have netted us a higher pick in trade value. I just don't see how getting rid of him THIS yr is going to benefit that greatly? This is why I am not fully getting the "trade Meriweather" idea/talk. Our 2 options are the following:
1. Trade him for a 3rd this yr. I think someone would likely bite on a 3rd, but that's the absolute highest. That would then give us a hole at an important position, and take away someone who has been known to be a pretty big playmaker at times. After all, he has led the secondary in turnovers since his arrival in 2007.
2. "Use" him for the last yr on his contract, which is a relatively cheap rookie deal still. It gives us obvious benefits in the sense of having the same player who knows the system, and will likely continue to make several big time plays/turnovers this yr. Yes, we'll still see his freelancing at times, but we'll also see his speed and talent, and his defensive leading (or comparable minus DMcC) high snap count percentage. We would then likely get a 4th at worst, 3rd at best comp pick when he leaves for free agency in February.
I see the value as being darn close either way, BUT one way adds a benefit of having a more complete defense this yr, giving us one more yr to try and develop Dowling + add another draft pick/possible free agent to help replace him.
When all's said and done I imagine we'll hear rumors of how BB would have 'loved' to replace him this yr, tried and just couldn't...who knows how much truth there will be to those rumors though, as there's always other elements that we're just not privy to.
Dowling's certainly not ready (if he's even ready to see the field at all), and one would think that if BB
REALLY had plans to try and trade Meri that he wouldn't have allowed BOTH Page and McGowan to leave.
I'm guessing that Meriweather is here for one last yr, as it just makes the most sense. That could all change though if BB just absolutely doesn't want him on the field or in the lockerroom under any circumstances, but I'm not seeing that one. Again, he probably wouldn't have allowed both Page and McGowan to leave at the same time, and thin the position out so lightly if there were plans to make a postion of strength into such a position of need. Just a few weeks ago, we had safety as one of the most stable and deep positions on the team. We had a probowl playmaker in Meri, a healthy Sanders, and great depth with Page and McGowan too. I'm just not seeing these "obvious" benefits of trading him this yr.
