Thoughts on Shelton/Henry trade....

[OpIv37]

There are a few things that still don't add up here. First, it's pretty apparent that neither the Bills nor the Cards think too highly of him. We still need O-line help and I wouldn't be opposed to bringing him on if he's cut and comes cheap, but if he's that bad then I guess I'm glad we didn't give up Henry for him. But how did this trade generate so much interest?

Second, how did Henry's stock fall so fast? At first we were going to get an average LT and a better second round pick for him. Then all of a sudden we couldn't even get a third round draft pick in a crappy draft for him?

Why was Shelton initially so appealing, and what made both his and Henry's value drop so fast?

[Meathead]

That's just the way the cards fell this year. (lol!)

Seriously, Henry's timing could not possibly have been worse. More than any year I can ever remember, this is the offseason of the Running Back. Where they are usually a hot commodity, this year the league is overflowing with running backs.

Thus it's easy to believe that the Bills should have pulled the trigger on Shelton when they could. But unless it's a smoke screen, the Bills say they didn't like Shelton. In that case, I'd much rather have Henry here to be a killer backup than to get a guy the coaches don't like.

The best observation of the draft is that if the Broncos preferred to use a 3rd round pick to take Maurice Clarette instead of trading the pick for Henry, you know you've entered Running Back CrazyWorld.

[mysticsoto]

There are a few things that still don't add up here. First, it's pretty apparent that neither the Bills nor the Cards think too highly of him. We still need O-line help and I wouldn't be opposed to bringing him on if he's cut and comes cheap, but if he's that bad then I guess I'm glad we didn't give up Henry for him. But how did this trade generate so much interest?

Second, how did Henry's stock fall so fast? At first we were going to get an average LT and a better second round pick for him. Then all of a sudden we couldn't even get a third round draft pick in a crappy draft for him?

Why was Shelton initially so appealing, and what made both his and Henry's value drop so fast?
It might have been mainly smokescreens that other teams were doing to throw people off - nobody wants their intentions known. Philly wants to sign Westbrook with their tender, so it is clear what their intention was. TB may have been genuinely interested, but with all the RBs in the draft, why not take a chance that you will be picking the next dynasty RB stud? They've already seen what TH has to offer, and although it is decent, why not try to end up with the next Barry Sanders or what could be a future outstanding HOFer time back? Most teams will be willing to take that chance and hope that if they don't get a dream calibre type RB, that they'll atleast get someone decent that can approach what TH would have given them. For most teams, this makes sense to do.

Now we just have to wait and see which are the new injury prone backs out of the new class of RBs and which ones just won't make it at this level. Sooner or later, someone will show interest in TH.

[Kelly The Dog]

To me it is pretty simple: TH's contract. While at first blush it seems like a good thing for a trade because 1.25 mil is not a lot, in practice it's just the opposite. Teams in need of starting running backs, which were few, did not want to give up something significant to get a player they would ALSO have to pay significantly in an extension OR risk losing after one year.

[jamze132]

Donahoe didn't trade for Shelton because there would be a chance of paying some guy $3 mil a year to ride the pine. There is a reason why Arizona wants to get rid of him, and it ain't his contract.

[Jan Reimers]

Shelton's an overrated LT who lost his starting job, is making $3 Mil a year, and probably is not liked much by McNally.

Henry is a decent running back who lacks a real burst, lost his starting job, and probably wants to renegotiate his $1.25 Mil contract before signing with anyone.

TD and Green most likely couldn't figure out who was getting the worst screwing in this deal.