Wow, I can't believe how many people are upset by this trade. 

 

If we had kept Monroe through the season, what would have happened?

1.  We were going to lose most of our games.

2.  He would be a free agent.  He could sign with anyone.

3.  The jags would have to decide if he was the best tackle available in free agency and if they thought he was they would have to pay him more than any other team to keep him.

 

Now that we have made the trade.

1.  We will lose most of our games.

2. Monroe will be a free agent.  He can sign with anyone, even us.

3.  The Jags will have seen 12 games of tape on Luke at left tackle.  If they think Monroe was better then they can still choose to offer him more money than any other team.

 

That won't happen though because they were not planning on keeping Luke at right tackle.  He was always going to be the future left tackle of this team and a free agent like Monroe was never going to accept a demotion to right tackle.  So basically we got a 4th and 5th round pick for a guy who was not going to be on this team after this year.

 

In addition, we did the right thing for a guy who has played hard for this organization.  He is now on a team that is a contender.  If he does well in Baltimore, then all the time in the spotlight will give the guy a chance to really break the bank.

 

All in all, it was a good trade for everyone.  Jags get picks, Ravens get a good tackle, and the team does Monroe a solid by putting him in position to earn a superbowl ring and a ton of cash.

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