Bucs interested in Shelton Trade

[az jam]

Got this off Tampa Bay newspaper Friday morining edition. It would be great if we got a second round pick for him. Redgardless looks like we should be able to trade him and not give him away for nothing.
AZ JAM


Shelton's Agent: Bucs A Good Fit
By KATHERINE SMITH [email protected]
Published: Feb 18, 2005



TAMPA - The agent for Arizona offensive tackle L.J. Shelton said Thursday he expects the Bucs to be among teams interested in trading for his client.
The Cardinals granted Shelton, who has started for them at both tackle positions, permission to seek a trade two weeks ago and at least 10 teams have inquired, agent Vance Larimer said.

``We believe the Bucs will be interested. We intend to speak to them at next week's [NFL Scouting] Combine,'' Larimer said.

Trade offers have included as high as a second-round draft pick, Larimer said. The Bucs have 11 picks in April's draft to work with, including the No. 5 overall choice and an early second-rounder.

The available talent pool at tackle was thinned considerably Wednesday when Pro Bowler Walter Jones, a potential free agent, signed a seven- year contract to stay with Seattle. There are no offensive linemen projected to be drafted high in the first round.

Shelton (6-foot-6, 335 pounds) signed a five-year contract extension in 2003 that included a $5 million signing bonus, but got on new coach Dennis Green's bad side last year when he showed up at training camp overweight and missed offseason workouts because of ankle surgery.

``[L.J.] would be interested in playing for Coach [Jon] Gruden,'' Larimer said. ``That offense would be a good fit for him.''

Though he has played mostly left tackle, the six-year veteran was moved to the right side last season and finished the year on injured reserve with a knee injury. Shelton, a No. 1 draft pick in 1999, is slated to earn $3 million each of the next four seasons.

Bucs general manager Bruce Allen said he could not comment on Shelton.

 

[BACH]

That's the first time we seen some kind of indication of Shelton's trade value. Their 2nd rounder is the #36 overall pick. Pretty much as expected - a low 1st - high 2nd.

 

[black]

If the Cards can work this deal, I'll dance in the streets. I had no idea of LJ's value, atleast until now.

 

[vince56]

Man, I still don't like the idea of getting rid of good linemen. I don't know who Green is gonna replace him with. The offensive line is the cornerstone of every good offense. I believe in Denny Green, and I know Shelton wants out, but man I wish it could work out. I don't see a better option out there (FA or draft) than LJ.

 

[jstadvl]

Me either Vince

I agree. I don't see a light at the end of Green's tunnel sometimes. Unless he's praying that "Big" buys into the whole DG concept and is going to accelerate this year to pro-bowl status.
Still does nothing for depth on the line.

 

[BACH]

Man, I still don't like the idea of getting rid of good linemen. I don't know who Green is gonna replace him with. The offensive line is the cornerstone of every good offense. I believe in Denny Green, and I know Shelton wants out, but man I wish it could work out. I don't see a better option out there (FA or draft) than LJ.

The problem is that LJ is only really good at LT. He a finesse player and not physical enough to play RT in Green's system. He's decent at RT, but not as good as he was at LT. But he not going to play LT again. Green's decision to move Big to LT made sense, because that's the only position that justifies Big's salary. The development of Wells hurts Shelton as well, because suddenly we have one more player capable of handling the LT positon. That leaves us with three player capable of starting at LT and Shelton is the logical odd man out.

Basicly, Shelton got caught between Cap strategy, Wells development, Green's doghouse and the huge need for LTs in the league.

 

[Red Air Force]

Man, I still don't like the idea of getting rid of good linemen. I don't know who Green is gonna replace him with. The offensive line is the cornerstone of every good offense. I believe in Denny Green, and I know Shelton wants out, but man I wish it could work out. I don't see a better option out there (FA or draft) than LJ.

I hear ya on this, but the back thing really freaks me out. Compressed discs on a 400 pound man CAN'T be a good thing. I'd much rather get SOMETHING than get nothing, and watch him ride our IR year after year.

 

[azdad1978]

I hate to part with LJ but if we are getting a second round thats too hard to pass up.

 

[red desert]

I hate losing Shelton, but is we must, we must. It would be great if we could get Tampa's second round pick and switch first round picks. That would greatly increase our chances of selecting Derrick Johnson.

 

[JeffGollin]

Talk is cheap (particularly when it comes from an agent). When I see it, I'll believe it.

That said - are there any decent players TB wants to trade in lieu of a 2nd round or whatever pick?

 

[SECTION 11]

The prospect of trading a first round left tackle with 77 starts for a second round pick just doesn't excite me at all.

 

[TheCardFan]

The prospect of trading a first round left tackle with 77 starts for a second round pick just doesn't excite me at all.

The lack of quality LT's available certainly strengthens our position. With the right timing, we could get a very nice deal, IMO. I would rather Shelton stay in AZ but I don't think that is possible now.

 

[CardinalChris]

He doesn't play LT for us, and he costs too much to play anywhere else on the line. Combine that with Green's constantly benching Shelton and for whatever reason, right or wrong we have a player we are paying 3-4 mil to maybe start RG or RT. I'd rather trade him for a second than cut him, and we fast seem to be going in that direction. As deep as RB and CB are this year we can go BPA in the first and STILL get a very, very good corner and RB in the second.

 

[RobbleRobble]

I'm not crazy about having to trade Shelton, but for the reasons mentioned above it makes sense. So if we have to trade him, geting a 2nd round pick, especially a high one would be fantastic. We turned a similar pick into Dansby last year. Dennis Green could do great things with a pick like that.

But this is his agent speaking, so I'll file this one away under the "I'll believe it when I see it" category.

 

[CardinalChris]

Maybe we could trade Shelton and our fourth for two first round picks around #17 and 18

Shelton seems VERY professional and would stay here if a trade doesn't work out. BUT, I think this bridge has been burned.

 

[HookemCards]

Swapping first and getting the TB second is probably not going to happen. But if did, I'd take Johnson in the 1st, then grab Baas with TB's 2nd, if he is still there, and take the Faison or Morency with our 2nd. What a draft that would be.

I don't like the idea of losing Shelton either, but if Green has it in his mind he's not going to start him, why not trade him. He makes too much to provide depth. I still think Green should put him at RT, move Clement to RG, and see how they do, but I'll just defer to him, he knows abit more about his system than me.

 

[earthsci]

I actually wouldn't want to swap picks in the first round. I forgot where I read it but the writer of the story felt that 7 or 8 is the best place to pick in this draft because there are about 10 players who appear to be of equal value and no one stands out above the rest. The earlier you pick, the more you pay.

 

[earthsci]

How about a 2nd this year and a conditional 3rd or 4th next year?

 

[john h]

That's the first time we seen some kind of indication of Shelton's trade value. Their 2nd rounder is the #36 overall pick. Pretty much as expected - a low 1st - high 2nd.

It always worries me when I see 9-10 teams talking about trading for one of our lineman and perhaps offering a 2nd round pick. We are in need of linemen our selves. Are they that dumb or are we dumb? These teams have good scouts and are not going to throw away a 2nd round pick and pay a big salary for a loser. Is the problem L.J. or is the problem us? Jeff you are one who is always concerned our lineman. How do you size this up? Could we be making a mistake. Of course if L.J. cannot get along with DG we may have no choice. We have a history of trading away players who become good starters for other teams.

 

[FrontRow]

I would do the trade in a second. The OL has needed personnel changes for some time now. A high second has a lot of value.

Trade the higher (worse) 2nd pick to Buffalo fro Henry and use the other 2nd round pick for the best player available, regardless of position. If it is an O-Lineman, all the better.

 

[john h]

Man, I still don't like the idea of getting rid of good linemen. I don't know who Green is gonna replace him with. The offensive line is the cornerstone of every good offense. I believe in Denny Green, and I know Shelton wants out, but man I wish it could work out. I don't see a better option out there (FA or draft) than LJ.

He will do like he did when he fired our starting center. Bring in a rookie in all probablility. I do not understand DG's moves on occasion. Lineman are one of our biggest needs and we saw fit to sign this guy to big long term contract and he suddenly turn into someone we want to get rid of??

 

[john h]

I agree. I don't see a light at the end of Green's tunnel sometimes. Unless he's praying that "Big" buys into the whole DG concept and is going to accelerate this year to pro-bowl status.
Still does nothing for depth on the line.

I wish DG would tell us all just what his concept is and what he is trying to accomplish. Does he really have some grand master plan or is he just shooting from the hip and playing it day by day. If I owned this team I would insist he lay out his plan.

 

[john h]

The problem is that LJ is only really good at LT. He a finesse player and not physical enough to play RT in Green's system. He's decent at RT, but not as good as he was at LT. But he not going to play LT again. Green's decision to move Big to LT made sense, because that's the only position that justifies Big's salary. The development of Wells hurts Shelton as well, because suddenly we have one more player capable of handling the LT positon. That leaves us with three player capable of starting at LT and Shelton is the logical odd man out.

Basicly, Shelton got caught between Cap strategy, Wells development, Green's doghouse and the huge need for LTs in the league.

Green has a very very big dog house.

 

[clif]

I wish DG would tell us all just what his concept is and what he is trying to accomplish. Does he really have some grand master plan or is he just shooting from the hip and playing it day by day. If I owned this team I would insist he lay out his plan.

but john you are missing the fact that this is SHELTON who is seeking a trade. There is no guarantee that the cards would even do it, or any indication that they really want to.

 

[CardinalChris]

The reason is Shelton can play LT, the most important and challenging O-line position. We have that filled, so no longer need him at that salary to back up or play inside. Other teams who don't have a LT will pay dearly for somebody that can.