Has anyone thought of this trade scenario?
I have a hard time seeing NO actually making a offer under the RFA guidelines and giving up their 11th pick.
With that being said, I think trading the 32nd pick is much more likely. However, a part of me isnt content with getting that pick back, id want a little more, even if its only upside.
I think a trade that could be interesting would be...
Butler and Patrick Chung, for 32 and Kenny Vaccaro
Ive always liked Kenny Vaccaro and think he would fit in and do amazing on this team, despite losing Butler. Vaccaro has had an up and down career in NO, but I think some of that has been due to their disaster situation on D. He's a very versatile player, and I believe, if used properly and surrounded by good talent, a top 5 SS in the league. He's on his last year (5th) of his rookie deal, and is owed about the same amount as Chung is. With the top SS's in the league averaging around 5-8 million a season, the likelyhood of us being being able to sign him long term, along with taking into consideration the talent he could add to this defense, seem to me like a better way to improve the secondary long term, then to pay a borderline #1/#2 CB (Butler) top dollar money. We could then take the 32nd pick, and draft a CB in this draft and have a borderline elite secondary with great potential locked up for the next 4-5 years, all of whom would be essentially in their primes.
@manxman2601 Im pretty sure you liked Kenny Vaccaro at one point, what do you think about this?
Of course, this is if NO is willing to consider the trade. Remember, NO is still in somewhat of a bad place in terms of cap space, and Chung has a relatively team friendly deal next season (2018) of about 3 million. This could be a way from then to retain some talent, and help with their cap issues. Chung and Vaccaro have pretty much flipped back and forth good seasons for the past 3 years.
I might even be willing to throw in a conditional pick like a 5th if he's on the roster in 18, or even a 4th if he's on the roster in 18 and meets certain performance stats this year.
A man can dream right...