Hypothetical Trade Situation (Not Anyway Related to Big Ben)

by t1mmy10 on Apr 19, 2010 4:33 AM EDT

So we all know about the Santonio Holmes trade. We all know the Steelers' FO got what they could in the short period of time they tried to trade him. BUT what if Holmes never had that last positive drug test, what would the Steelers been able to get for him?

Here's the hypothetical situation: Let's say the result from Holmes' positive drug test isn't going to come back for another month or two & nobody knows about this information. The whole glass throwing incident? Pretend it blew over last week with the police concluding the girl was just lying about who threw the glass. The twitter comments still happened & all of holmes' past adventures with the police still occurred. But the Steelers in their wisdom decide it's time to part ways with the Super Bowl MVP before this draft.

In this situation, The Steelers HAVE to trade Holmes even if you don't think they'll get what he's really worth. They could posture that they won't trade Holmes unless they get a "fair" offer, but regardless they'll take the best offer out there. Holmes still only has 1 year left on his contract, but obviously a team could offer an extension but there is no guarantee Holmes will take it if he doesn't like the team. The Steelers also refuse to let Holmes and his agent talk to a team to pre-negotiate an extension with that new team before being traded (something Boldin & Marshall both were able to do).

So you know what the market for wide receivers are, here are the list of the top WR trades the past 3 years. I also included the player stats, age, and number of games played.

2010: Brandon Marshall traded for a 2010 2nd rd pick & 2011 2nd rd pick.
09: 15 Games (suspension) 101 Rec 1,120 yards 10 TD
08: 15 games (team punishment) 104 Rec 1,265 yards 6 TD
07: 16 games 102 Rec 1,325 yards 7 TD
Age: 26
Extra Info: 08& 09 Probowl appearances. Questions about work ethic, being a team player, and on/off-the-field problems including numerous arrests & 4 games worth of suspensions (counting preseason).

Anquan Boldin traded for 2010 3rd & 4th rd picks.
09: 15 games (injury. he also missed 2 playoff games due to injuries) 84 Rec 1,024 yards 4 TD
08: 12 games (injuries. missed a playoff game due to injury) 89 Rec 1,038 yards 11 TD
07: 12 games (injuries) 71 Rec 853 yards 9 TD
He turns 30 in October.
Extra Info: '03, '06, & '08 Probowl appearances. Complained about his contract for consecutive years 2 years after signing it. Showed great team dedication by coming back quickly from an injury, but showed an inability to tell when he couldn't play due to injuries & was seen arguing with his OC when taken out of a game due to his injuries.

2009: Midseason Braylon Edwards traded for Chancey Stuckey (WR), Jason Trusnik (LB), 2010 5th & 3rd rd picks.
09 before trade: 4 games 10 Rec 139 Yards 0 TD
08: 16 games 55 Rec 873 Yards 3 TD
07: 16 games 80 Rec 1,289 yards 16 TD
06: 16 games 61 Rec 884 yards 6 TD
He was 26.
Extra Info: 07 Probowl appearance. He was rumored to be involved with an altercation with Lebron James' friend a few days before the trade.

2008: Midseason Roy Williams traded for 2009 1st, 3rd, & 6th rd picks.
08 before trade: 5 games 17 Rec 232 yards 1 TD
07: 12 games (injuries) 64 Rec 838 yards 5 TD
06: 16 games 82 Rec 1,310 yards 5 TD
05: 13 games (injuries) 45 Rec 687 yards 7 TD
He would turn 27 in December.
Extra Info: 06 Probowl appearance.

2007: Randy Moss traded for a 2007 4th rd pick.
06: 13 games (injuries) 42 Rec 553 yards 3 TD
05: 16 games 60 Rec 1,005 yards 8 TD
04: 13 games (injuries) 49 Rec 767 yards 13 TD
Was 30 years old.
Extra Info: '98, '99, '00, '02, '03 Probowl appearances. Questions about his level of effort, being a team player and other on/off field issues including a run-in with the law, issue with marijuana possession, and an incident where he left a game before it was over because he thought the team would lose.

Darrell Jackson traded for a 2007 4th rd pick.
06: 13 games (injuries) 46 Rec 497 yards 3 TD
05: 6 games (injuries) 38 Rec 482 yards 10 TD
04: 16 games 87 Rec 1,199 yards 3 TD
Was 28 at the time
Extra Info: Was skipping off-season workouts because he was unhappy about his contract and didn't feel he was one of the "GM's guys."

Mid season Chris Chambers was traded for a 2007 2nd rd pick.
07: 6 games 31 Rec 415 yards 0 TD
06: 16 games 59 Rec 677 yards 4 TD
05: 16 games 82 Rec 1,118 yards 11 TD
04: 15 games (injury) 69 Rec 898 yards 7 TD
He was 29 at the time.
Extra Info: '05 Probowl appearance.

Santonio Holmes
09: 16 games 79 Rec 1,248 yards 5 TD
08: 15 games (suspension) 55 Rec 821 yards 5 TD
07: 13 games (injuries) 52 Rec 942 yards 8 TD
He is 26
Extra Info: 08 Super Bowl MVP. Off the field issues including marijuana possession but seemed to keep it off the field.

Poll

So, Steeler fans, what would suspension-less Santonio Holmes be worth?

2nd rd pick

16 votes

2nd rd & a 5th or later pick

18 votes

3rd rd pick

18 votes

3rd rd & a 5th or later pick

8 votes

4th rd pick

1 votes

4th rd & a 5th or later pick

3 votes

3rd rd & 3rd/4th rd picks

6 votes

2nd rd & 3rd/4th

7 votes

1st rd pick

5 votes

1st rd & 5th or later pick

3 votes

two 2nd rd picks

5 votes

1st rd & 3rd/4th rd picks

6 votes

1st rd & 2nd rd picks

0 votes

two 1st rd picks

2 votes

1st, 3rd/4th, & 5th or later pick

0 votes

1st, 2nd, & 5th or later pick

0 votes

98 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

2nd - 3rd hypothetically

Who he’s not:
Moss, Marshall, Roy Williams*, Edwards

Who he is:
Darell Jackson, Chris Chambers, Boldin.

I only say this because I think its important to keep in mind that Santon doesn’t play as a true #1. His game is based on speed, which is great, but he doesn’t have the size/speed combo that the other four have. That said, he’s in his prime and would clearly be worth at least as much as Chambers.

*Williams was considered to have the skill set to be one of the league’s top 5 WR. What he’s done with those skills since being in Dallas is another issue.

by 16andCounting on Apr 19, 2010 7:42 AM EDT reply actions

i think you have your WR rankings screwed up

in this situation and at this point in his career he was traded the only players with equal or better potential than holmes were moss, marshall, williams, and boldin.

and even then, it could be argued moss was far too injury prone, had ON the field issues (something holmes doesnt have), and was 30 at the time. it was a gamble because there was a good chance moss wasnt gonna get over his hamstring injuries and never be as dominant as he once was when he was traded.

boldin is also already 30 and look how many games he’s missed recently (including 2 playoff games).

marshall obviously is the most talented/youngest of the bunch when he’s traded, but again he comes with ON the field problems.

just look at the stats and you’ll see he’s better than chambers, jackson, and edwards. and if you’ve watched those players play you also see he’s better than them. maybe his skill set better fits the #2 than the #1 position, but you can’t pick 20 WR’s in the nfl who have a better skill in the nfl than him. he’s solid #1 quality.

by t1mmy10 on Apr 19, 2010 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I see your points

But I think a trade for only a 5 was rediculous. Proven, young, speed, playmaker and never was a focal like many receivers listed above. They were making a statement I understand…..but just a 5….c’mon.

by MEP12 on Apr 19, 2010 11:01 AM EDT reply actions

you missed the point of the article

i agree he’s worth more than a 5th, but the steelers couldnt find another team in the league (maybe excluding those in our division) to trade more than a 5th rd for holmes. the point of this article would be to see what ppl think he was worth for a trade if he didnt have a 4 game suspension for violating the drug policy. not to argue that’s he’s only worth a 5th.

this isn’t related to this article, but IMO the steelers may have been able to get more if they tried to trade holmes for longer than 2 days & postured like they would keep him if they didnt get a fair trade offer. again, that’s just my opinion cuz this article wasn’t intended to start another debate what we shoulda/coulda/woulda go for holmes

by t1mmy10 on Apr 19, 2010 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions

wow

i’m astounded at the voting right now. ppl really think braylon edwards (the guy who drops all those balls) was worth more in a trade than santonio holmes if doesnt have a 4 game suspension?

by t1mmy10 on Apr 19, 2010 12:27 PM EDT reply actions