FanPost

Tag and Trade (a thought experiment)

I like Jairus Byrd. I would love to see him remain a Bill.

Here's a question though, say he just doesn't want to be here and doesn't want to sign a long term contract? What do you think is reasonable for the Bills to try and get as compensation is they try to tag and trade?

The only example I'm seeing of a player getting tagged and traded is Matt Cassel. After leading the Pats to an 11-5 season in 2008, the Pats tagged him and traded both him and Mike Vrabel (who made the Pro Bowl in 2007) to Kansas City for a 2nd round pick in the 2009 Draft. Byrd's good, but a QB leading a team to an 11-5 record and a pass rusher (granted a 33 year old pass rusher at the time) only warranted a 2nd round pick (34th overall). It would probably be fair to assume that Byrd has shown more over his seasons than Cassel has, but is a high 2nd round pick roughly the ceiling the Bills would be looking at? Or is a 1st round pick possible if they have to go that route in the event Byrd just wants out?

Who would our trade partner be? If Byrd really wanted out, I get the feeling that the best case scenario involves Pettine really wanting Byrd next to TJ Ward in his secondary and convincing Ray Farmer to trade the 26th pick to the Bills for Byrd. Other teams that need Safeties: Texans, Rams, Raiders (could get a high 2nd round?), Eagles, Bengals.

So, what do you think another team would be willing to give to gain Byrd's services on top of paying him if it came to that? Anyone know of other players that were tagged and traded?

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.