Clayton: Bills want more than Shelton for Henry...

[Ickybaluky]

From John Clayton of ESPN, in his Quick Hits:

March 22, 2005
Oh, Henry: Bills still undecided

The Bills remain reluctant to make a one-for-one trade involving Bills running back Travis Henry for Cardinals offensive lineman L.J. Shelton. They want more from the Cardinals, either switching positions in the second round of the draft or having the Cardinals add a draft choice. In Arizona, it's Henry for Shelton and that's it.

"Obviously we don't feel that way right now," Bills coach Mike Mularkey said for a straight swap. "We've done a lot of research and a lot of film study, but right now we're still looking."

Henry is threatening not to show up for training camp if he's not traded.

"I know he's frustrated and he's frustrated because he's competitive," Mularkey said. "He wants to be a starter and he wants his chances to be a starter. We have done everything we can to really honor his request for a trade. You have to understand we're not going to do that for everybody."

[HurryUpTom]

I understand negotiations and it's early in the offseason, so I don't think there's a huge rush on this.

However, if at the start of the season, we have Henry on our roster with the current crop of nobodies lined up to play LT, that's not a favourable situation. The fact that we've shown interest in Shelton, that this rumour never seems to die, and that there is no one else available at FA (and there won't be any after June 1 - most teams have millions under the cap), indicates to me that Shelton is our best option at LT. If we end up not making the trade for sake of a mid-round draft pick, that's just a case of being too stubborn for your own good.

[Tatonka]

thing is.. there IS a reason behind the cardinals just letting a 3 million a year LT walk.. and there is obviously a reason that the bills are not so high on him..

maybe they feel he is the equivilant of john fina, i dont know.. but they obviously are not that high on him...

right now.. it feels like something is better than nothing.. so i obviously would like shelton.. but it has been 4, going on 5 years to get a decent line together, and if our line is horrible this year and we struggle mainly at LT.. someone should be cruicified.

[Tatonka]

Bills | Henry Not Looking for New Deal - from www.KFFL.com
Tue, 22 Mar 2005 15:36:52 -0800

Updating ongoing reports, Mark Gaughan, of the Buffalo News, reports Buffalo Bills disgruntled RB Travis Henry's agent, Hadley Engelhard, denied reports that Henry would be unhappy playing out the one-year remaining on his contract if he is traded to another team and does not receive a new deal in the process. Bills GM Tom Donahoe reiterated the Bills would still likely to deal Henry away. However, thus far, they have not been interested in deals offered to them. The Cardinals are willing to send OT L.J. Shelton to the Bills for Henry head up, which Henry feels would be a win-win situation. The Bills, however, do not appear ready to strike a deal with Arizona.

[Novacane]

This suprises me. Why not give up a running back thats going to walk next year for an LT? The Bills must share Greens opinion of Shelton.

[Ebenezer]

thing is.. there IS a reason behind the cardinals just letting a 3 million a year LT walk.. and there is obviously a reason that the bills are not so high on him..

maybe they feel he is the equivilant of john fina, i dont know.. but they obviously are not that high on him...

right now.. it feels like something is better than nothing.. so i obviously would like shelton.. but it has been 4, going on 5 years to get a decent line together, and if our line is horrible this year and we struggle mainly at LT.. someone should be cruicified.

LT was always the number 1 concern (or should have been) and there has been nothing done about it at all....TD had better do something soon or at least announce that TT is moving to LT...

[Kerr]

I too think the player for player deal is not all that fair. What has shelton really done for the cards? He's been more of a dissapointment for the cards. Henry has been productive for us an is capable of being a franchise back. Shelton and a draft pick for Henry sounds fair to me. However, I'm still not sure why the cards still have any interest in Henry considering it's been reported Green favors having faster running backs for his offense. Henry is not a speed back. I just hope we get this Henry deal done already.

[Tatonka]

i dont know why the cards would even think about henry.. they can get a better RB with their first pick.

[bills_phan]

i dont know why the cards would even think about henry.. they can get a better RB with their first pick.

Or they could get Henry for a song and fill another need with their #1 pick. The top backs may also be gone by the time the 8th pick rolls around. The pressure is definately on Arizona the longer this drags out. They will not have Shelton on their roster come opening day and it doesn't seem like they have a lot of interest in a trade for him, other than in Buffalo. I have a feeling that this will be one of those trades we look back on and say "TD's a freaking genius!"

[Ed]

Or they could get Henry for a song and fill another need with their #1 pick. The top backs may also be gone by the time the 8th pick rolls around. The pressure is definately on Arizona the longer this drags out. They will not have Shelton on their roster come opening day and it doesn't seem like they have a lot of interest in a trade for him, other than in Buffalo. I have a feeling that this will be one of those trades we look back on and say "TD's a freaking genius!"

I agree. I don't think there's anyway Shelton remains with the Cards next season. They're not going to keep a player for 3 million a year that they don't even want on their team. Maybe TD knows that Shelton is going to be released anyway, so why not try and get a draft pick for Henry instead.

I remember during the initial rumor of the trade, Peter King said he thought even if the trade doesn't go through that Shelton would probably get cut and end up in Buffalo anyway.

I'm sure TD has a good plan and knows what he's doing, we just have to be patient and let things unfold. I know we all want moves to be made quickly because the off-season can be long and boring, but there's really no reason for TD to rush into anything right now.

[alohabillsfan]

This is a great poker game going on and I like our chances!

[Tatonka]

so what happens when shelton hits the market and someone offers 4 million a year for him.. td wont match that and wont get into a bidding war and will walk away.

it is NOT to our advantage to let shelton get cut.. we WANT him to stay on his current contract, 4 years, 12 million$..

[Typ0]

The Bills hold all the good cards in this scenario and they are just waiting to play them. As draft day draws closer the pressure will grow on Arizona if they want to make a deal for Henry. TD knows that after the draft teams will better see where their gaps are...and also there will be RBs who go down in training camp. Despite our needs, there is NO reason to rush TH off this team. We're just trying to better maximize the value we get for him.

[wbat27]

whose going to offer him more then that. I don't think he is that good or someone else would have offered arizona a trade for him. I do think he is better then what we have thought (thats not saying much)

[TigerJ]

Well this clears up the mystery at least of why the trade hasn't gone through. It appears that Henry and his agent were telling the truth.