Fineas said:
Nobody in their right mind will give up a 1st for Ricky. Putting aside the trade in which we got Ricky and the Herschel Walker trade (both of which were huge overpayments), RBs very rarely go for 1sts. Marshall Faulk was traded for a 2nd at age 25 after gaining 2200+ total yards. Jerome Bettis was traded at 24 2 years removed from a 1400+ yard rookie season. Corey Dillon was traded for a 2nd. Etc.
Ricky is very good, but there are a lot of very good RBs in the league. 21 of the 32 NFL teams have at least 1 back who has gained more than 1200 yards in a season in the last 3 seasons. Several teams have more than 1. A third of the league has someone who has gained more than 1400 yards in the last 2 years. Of the teams that don't make the list, most have a young quality RB and has no pressing need to add a 29-year old Ricky.
Being 1 strike away from out of the league and with a highly questionable committment to football, I don't see anyone trading a 1st for Ricky. If we can get a 2nd for him, do it. For a 3rd, I'd keep him.
Finally!
ADMIN EDIT: You just insulted the entire population of this site with one comment. Keep it up, and you may find yourself on the outside looking in. a guy who knows what he's talking about! Ricky is 29, has 2 strikes against him in the drug program and has a questionable commitment to playing in the NFL. Anyone who deosn't add that up and see him as JUST AS BIG A RISK as bringing in T.O. to their team is an idiot.
Some team will have to be DESPERATE to pony up a second round choice for Ricky and INDY may just be that team.
Once a running back reaches 30 he has NO trade value.
This isn't my opinion, it's a FACT!! In the NFL no back over 30 is worth a damn as far as trading is concerned. Was it just a coincidence that Shaun Alexander AND Edgerrin James BOTH couldn't get traded. And Travis Henry from Buffalo, do he make a HUGE impact after that trade? No.
GM's in the NFL not only look at past trades to establish value, they look at past results. The Dolphins giving what amounted to two first round picks for Ricky was a HUGE mistake. A second round pick for FEELEY another huge mistake.
It's a buyer's market out there and every coach knows that there are FAST WILLY PARKERS waiting, undrafted and hungry after every draft. They are out there. Getting Ricky would make sense to a team if they don't have to give up much, but if they're not willing to give up much then it makes more sense to keep him for the next 3 years until he's used up.
No, if someone wants him they're gonna have to overpay and a second round pick and a conditional 4th next year would be it. Personally, I feel that SABAN needs quality players right now. So my trade scenario would be as follows: Each round of the draft represents 32 college players. The first half of the first round represents the creme de la creme, after that it's a crap shoot between pick number 17 and 128. The first four rounds have the top 128 players in college football.
Right now, we're gonna get 4 of these players.
I would trade Ricky away for the right to have SABAN and MUELLER draft 6 of the top 128 players. I would trade Ricky away for a 3rd and 4th rounder, which has the same "value" as a second, but gives GREAT talent evaluators like our coach and GM two extra picks in the crucial top 128.
Under that scnario, we could get a QB, CB, LT, WR, LB and FS all within the top four rounds. No matter what position we filled when, we'd get quality players to fill real needs on this team. Whether MORRIS or KJ or some undrafted rookie steps up to back up Ronnie Brown, it won't matter because we will have addressed a huge concern for our team and that is value.
Would you rather have a GREAT backup or two more young starters? If you answer a great backup, you're entitled to your opinion but you'd never be able to run a team. I believe that with a 3rd and 4th, we'd get REAL value for Ricky and invest in what we ALL believe in, which is Coach Saban's ability to pick starting caliber players.
SIX picks from the top 128. It's sexy isn't it, intriguing...
And, it's the best possible trade scenario for Indy's win now mentality and our draft now mentality. Both teams would get what they need at the moment.
SIX picks from the top 128.
Say it with me now...