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Monday, April 22, 2002
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Drew Bledsoe |
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ProFootballWeekly.com
asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in
football.
Flirtation ends in Bledsoe to Bills swap
It might not have been the ideal scenario for the Patriots, who traded within the
division, or for Drew Bledsoe, who at 30 is bound for a rebuilding franchise from a Super
Bowl champ. But the fact remains, Bledsoe didn’t want to play second fiddle to Tom
Brady in New England and the Patriots didn’t want the headache. Buffalo hasn’t
had a stable situation at quarterback since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly hung ’em up. Now,
the Bills have a legitimate threat behind center and have taken another step toward
contending, at least in the division, after a top-notch offseason.
Buchsbaum: The Bledsoe deal was a good one for both teams. Although there was some
friction between the teams, both showed maturity by not overreacting and blowing the deal.
The Bills are getting a legitimate quarterback. He’s creating excitement among the
Bills’ fans. There was a run at the ticket window after he was acquired.
Bledsoe gives Gregg Williams a chance to put a winning team on the field next season.
Bledsoe has a rifle arm, which a quarterback needs in Buffalo in December. Another plus
for the Bills is that they were able to keep all of this year’s draft picks. And they
did a brilliant job in the draft, getting as many as six possible contributors. They
don’t owe anything for Bledsoe until next year.
If the Patriots had brought Bledsoe back next season, instead of trading him, they
would have had a player who could’ve been disruptive. Granted, they are taking a
gamble that Tom Brady won’t be a one-year wonder. But Bledsoe had played poorly
during Bill Belichick’s tenure.
While trading Bledsoe will cause the Pats to take a big cap hit this year, at least
this way they’ll get his salary off their books in future years. They drafted a
future QB prospect in LSU’s Rohan Davey. His coach at LSU, Nick Saban, is known as a
superb talent evaluator, and Saban and Belichick are close friends. |
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