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View Full Version : Rogers Favors The Texans?



PA Season Ticket Holder
04-13-2003, 10:02 PM
Our friends at LionsFans.com (who stuck by us throughout the Rosie Colvin fiasco) have told us that, per a source close to Charles Rogers, the former Michigan State star "seems to be favoring" the Houston Texans over the Detroit Lions.

Rogers, who according to LionsFans.com is hoping for a minimum contract worth as much as $50 million, has been penciled in at the No. 2 spot for several weeks, given the heart-on-the-sleeve interest of the Lions in pairing him with last year's No. 3 overall pick, quarterback Joey Harrington.

But speculation is mounting that the Texans, who hold the third pick this year, might try to swing a trade with the Bengals, in order to swipe Rogers from Detroit.

For the Bengals, trading down to the three hole makes plenty of sense. Neither the Texans nor the Lions will be drafting Carson Palmer or Byron Leftwich, given Houston's selection of David Carr in 2002 at the No. 1 spot and the presence of Harrington in Detroit. Via such a move, the Bengals could snare an extra pick or two and, in the end, they'll be required to pay Palmer or Leftwich a bit less, given the slotting process.

Of course, the Lions could exact revenge on the Bengals by trading out of the No. 2 spot, giving the pick to a team that covets Palmer.

Because of this possibility, we suspect that the notoriously conservative Bengals will sit tight at No. 1. Indeed, last year the Bengals could have traded down from the No. 10 spot in order to secure offensive tackle Levi Jones. In the end, however, the Bengals feared the possibility that Jones wouldn't be on the board.

If anything really is going on here, look for the Bengals and the Texans to deny vehemently any possibility of a trade for the next two weeks. Then, when the Bengals are on the clock, look for the trade to be announced. This will, as a practical matter, give the Lions only 15 minutes to swing a deal to trade out of the two spot.

Then again, it's probably in the Lions' interest to have a trade partner lined up in advance, in the event that the Texans leap to No. 1 on draft day.

Of course, the Lions can avoid the problem by swinging a trade of their own with the Bengals. Still, the price for such a move could be high. In 2001, the Falcons shipped receiver Tim Dwight, a third-round pick in 2001, and a second-round pick in 2002 for the ability to move up only four spots to the No. 1 pick.

We suspect that the Bengals would want at least a third-rounder and a fourth-rounder from the Lions in order to give them a guaranteed crack at Rogers.

http://profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm