NEWS

In Defense of the Tatum Bell Trade Part 2

Anthony Aceto, Senior Defender of Trades


November 10, 2004


I also would like to make a brief comment regarding my trade with Kevin.

Question: What do Ahman Green, Shawn Alexander, Onterrio Smith, Priest Holmes, Deuce McAllister,and DeShaun Foster all have in common? Answer: productive college backs with no NFL production for at least a year or two, who are now legitimate stars (or will be soon) in the YFFL (or in the case of Onterrio, if he can kick the crack habit).

Keep this in mind when comparing Bell, a player with a huge upside with Bruce, a player clearly not in the upper echelon of WRs anymore. He's in the last 2-3 productive years of his career with 2 TDs through week 9 of this year, and he didn't even catch for 1000 yards last year. This is not a trade that should be judged in the following week, but 2-3 years down the road.

The Refugees are not going to win shit this year with Josh McCown, Rashaun Woods, and Bryan Johnson in the starting lineup, and made an investment for the future. Kevin has a shot at the title, and Bruce gives him some depth at WR. It is possible for a trade to work out on both ends, and I believe this one will. It would not have been a good trade for other teams to make, so this cannot be looked at in a vacuum - some perspective needs to be added to the background of this deal if it's going to be analyzed intelligently.