What Would We Take for Tom Brady

A post on ColdHardFootballFacts.com asked a question, that four months ago, would have bordered on heresy here in the Northeast; "Should the Pats consider trading Tom Brady?"

The immediate, gut reaction of every New England fan would be "No". Imagine though, if some team (New Orleans in this example), called up and said; "We will give you Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas and our first round pick in the next six drafts." THAT would be jumped on by the same percentage of New England fans.

Clearly, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, we know what we are willing to do, now we are just haggling over the price.

To that end, I have prepared a list of POTENTIAL trade partners, and what I would be willing to accept for Tom Brady. The following caveats apply;

1) We are ignoring cap accelerations.
2) We will NOT trade Tom Brady to any team in the AFC East.
3) Our asking price for the rest of the AFC would be higher than if we shipped him to an NFC team.

To that end, the list of teams that would have realistic interest in Tom Brady;

San Francisco
Detroit
Kansas City
Minnesota
Carolina
Tennessee
Philadelphia
Tampa Bay
Chicago

Philadelphia is on the list since it seems apparent that Donovan McNabb and the city need a separation. Tampa Bay has Jeff Garcia, but he is old.

I omitted Oakland, which SHOULD be on the list, due to the fact that they still have JaMarcus Russell, couldn't trade him, and couldn't possibly pay two quarterbacks a combined $30mm or so next year.

Here, then, are my terms;

San Francisco: Patrick Willis and three first round picks. Willis and Mayo could man the middle of the Patriots 3-4 defense for the next 10 years, and might be the first linebacker combo in history to combine for 400 tackles in a season. The first round draft picks reflect the fact that there aren't too may other good players in San Fran that I would be interested in. I know Clements is pretty good, and Gore is a very good running back, but there is only one RB in the league I would want to get in a trade (more on that later). Other than that, I don't think their roster has the depth we would need to receive in a trade.

Detroit: Calvin Johnson, Leigh Bodden and two first round picks. Megatron would add a third legitimately great receiver to the offense, and would ensure that on any given play, two of New Englands receiving options should be open. Leigh Bodden was a good cornerback in Cleveland, we are betting that a change of scenery would do him wonders. The first round picks are a little lower than for San Fran, because they may well both be #1 overall picks.

Kansas City: Dwayne Bowe and 4 first round picks. I don't trust the Tyler Thigpen experiment, and Bowe is the only player from Kansas City that I think provides a meaningful upgrade over New England. I understand Tony Gonzalez is better than Ben Watson, but he is also much older.

Minnesota: Adrian Peterson, Steve Hutchinson and a first round pick. Adrian Peterson is breath-taking to behold, and the thought of him running for MY team (other than my fantasy team) is heart warming. Steve Hutchinson is one of the best guards in this league, and would provide a pass-blocking (and health) upgrade over Stephen Neal, who could be moved to right tackle, or put into a rotation. The first round pick would be about mid-round as it appears now, and could be used for the best available player in the secondary.

Carolina: Jon Beason, Steve Smith and Johnathan Stewart. Another linebacker to plug in the middle, and two offensive upgrades. I didn't include Julius Peppers, because I don't think he would be as effective as an end in a 3-4 defense. If New England played the 4-3, the trade would be Peppers, Stewart and a first or something.

Tennessee: Cortland Finnegan, Chris Johnson and Michael Roos. This trade, above all others, I think provides the best return to the New England Patriots. Finnegan provides an immediate upgrade to the secondary, the biggest area of weakness on this team, allowing Ellis Hobbs to cover opposing #2s and Deltha O'Neal to go to hell. Chris Johnson is the two way threat New England thought they were getting when they drafted Laurence Maroney, and would also help my fantasy team, since the looming (and I mean looming, he is huge) specter of LenWhale White vulturing CJ's touchdowns would be erased. Roos has started every game since being drafted, and should make the Pro Bowl this year, providing an upgrade over Nick Kaczur. Three areas of need are ALL strengthened in this trade.

Philadelphia: Shawn Andrews and a ton of draft picks. I am really not too high on anyone in Phildelphia (I guess bringing Asante back would be great, but I still don't know). I guess the ton of draft picks allows the team to stockpile younger talent, but I couldn't see this working.

Tampa Bay: This is another team that doesn't have options at positions that I think New England needs. I guess something like every pick for the next four or five years.

Chicago: Ugh, another team that I don't really see matching up well with New England. Lance Briggs of course springs immediately to mind, as does Urlacher, but no way do they give up both. I guess Briggs and draft picks, and a ton of them.

I would be very excited to get a package like the one I detailed from Tennessee, especially if I could get draft picks involved in the mix too. New England has glaring needs in the defensive secondary, and has depth concerns in the trenches. That trade allows them to cover most of their needs, and to get young players involved in their plans for the future. Their window will run as long as their successful drafts, and plugging in players of Finnegan, Roos and Johnson's abilities may stretch that window a bit further.