Quote:
Originally Posted by SFREDSKIN
Why would the Redskins want to trade Cooley? He's a high character guy, one of the team leaders and a great player. I personally would trade Landry who is a great athlete, a free lance type player and is selfish. The question is would you trade a smart, team leader and complete player or a great athlete who is selfish and makes lots of bone headed decisions? You would probably get the same type pick for either one.
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Trade Landry? Besides having next to no trade value, we don't have another safety on the team who has been playing just as good, if not better, than Landry has been. Thats why Landry hasn't been benched for some of his mistakes, while Carolos Rogers has. Landry, with all his flaws, is the best safety we have. If we traded Landry for a draft pick, we'd likely have to use that same pick to draft his replacement. Given the compensation we'd likely get for him (a 4th rounder at best), we'd be likely end up with a player not as talented as Landry. Additionally, Landry is signed to a rookie contract that will expire in a couple years. We have no long-term commitment to him.
Cooley, on the other hand, has significant trade value. The consensus amongst us here is that he would garner anywhere between a 2nd and 5th rounder to a 1st and a 3rd. Cooley also plays at a position where we have two starting-caliber TEs and 1 solid backup on the roster. Typically, when smart teams have that kind of depth at a position like TE, and glaring weaknesses at other, more critical, spots on the roster, they trade one of the superflous players. Cooley also has a very large contract, one that will ultimately come back to bite the skins if they keep him around. By trading him in a potentially capless 2010, the skins rid themselves of that eventual issue. Fred Davis has proven that he is just as good, if not better, than Chris Cooley. He's younger. He's cheaper. And he seems to have developed a better chemistry with Campbell in 2 months than Cooley did in 4 years.
As to Cooley being a "team leader," I think you overvalue him a bit there. We, as fans, like Cooley because he makes plays and he's funny. We're amused by the short shorts, crazy hair, his blog entries, and general antics... much the same way we were amused by Portis' alter-egos a couple of years ago. He's a "fan favorite." He's popular in the lockerroom. But don't confuse "popular" and "well-liked" with "Leader." If Cooley were really a "leader," he probably would have been voted a team captain for the offense at the beginning of the season. Instead, Campbell and Samuels were the captains for the offense. If the offense has a leader now, its Jason Campbell. As fans, we don't "identify" with him as much, because he seems to be a fairly private person. but if you pay attention when other players talk, Campbell's THE leader. Sellers is a leader. Fletcher is a leader. Cartwright is a leader... but not Cooley. Sorry.