Quote:Well, it depends...

 

Basically, if Monroe walks to, say, the Dolphins for some ridiculous salary then we sort of did alright (although our comp would have been a late comp 3rd rounder at best, so really we probably did better).

 

If Monroe, however, ends up signing up with the Ravens, then we gave away a young top 10 tackle for a 4th and a 5th because we drafted another one. We lost big. 

 

I would point out that Monroe only returned to form when he went to the Ravens. Not sure he would have graded out top 10 this season if he stayed with us. And something must not have jived with Bradley and Caldwell cause they dumped him fast. So I think we were always planning to let him walk, for whatever reason. Seemed like he soured on J-ville to me anyway.

 

So there you have the final breakdown:

 

If he goes to a different team than Baltimore: Win, although not big cause B-more gets that really late 3rd pick possible (basically a high 4th round)  Rating: 6/10 (with 0 being Gene Smith losing and 10 being charlie sheen Winning)

 

If he stays in Baltimore: Lose, we gave away a top 10 tackle who is 26 for a very cheap price, but we still got picks, and it seems like we were gonna let him walk anyway (4/10)

 

Oh and lest I forget, the trade is okay overall, but the fact that Caldwell made it is a totally different issue, and depending how you think could be a problem or good thing. Its a problem if you think Caldwell basically ticked off his good starting LT by drafting another so high when we didn't need one. It might be considered a good thing if you think Caldwell knew we would need a new LT and just grabbed one early (although this is really close to 'In Gene we Trust' kind of mindset). I would rate it as a questionable move, but it seems to be about the only one he has had so far, everything else seems pretty much normal to good.

 

No, what happens with Monroe from here on out is irrelevant, just like what we do with the draft picks is irrelevant.   We are where we are.  Monroe is on the open market.   He is going to sign with the highest bidder.   We traded away an 11-game contract for two draft picks.   Monroe wasn't worth franchising, and he would have walked at the end of the season whether we kept him or not.   Baltimore has reaped no advantage with Monroe by trading for him, and we have reaped no disadvantage with Monroe by trading him away.   We got 2 draft picks for a guy who is now a free agent and would have been a free agent if we had traded him or not.  

 

So, the alternatives available to us were: we keep Monroe for the rest of last season and he goes to the highest bidder at the end of the season, OR, we trade him for two draft picks.  

 

Those who say we should have gotten more in the trade have no evidence to back up that claim. 

 

The results are in.  This was a good trade for the Jaguars.   There's just no getting around it.  

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