Should we deal Ladell Betts???

Portis is indeed injury prone, Betts is indeed a good back, and it's important to have a reserve who can step in and play well should Portis get injured or need a rest. That said, if we could get a good replacement for Betts and a high pick for Betts (e.g., a high 2nd rounder), I would favor such a trade. We have more needs than we have picks or cash to spend in FA. If we can get a decent replacement for Betts, why not? IMO, a 2nd rounder is worth more than an insurance policy RB who put up 300 rushing yards last season.I agree.

No, we shouldn't trade Betts for nothing. But if we can get draft picks for him and trade him before his roster bonus goes through, we can win this deal.

Betts is better at catching passes and Rocky is better on 3rd and 1
You would get more by trading Portis or Sellers
I agree, as long as we resign Rock. Losing both and being left with an injury prone Portis would not be smart.

You'd have to offer up more than Betts to get either of those guys.

he's right about that..as far as portis's backup we do have Marcus Mason. anybody remember him?

If we resign Rock and can get good value( Solid starter ), I have no problem trading Betts. Realistically, I doubt anyone is going to give up anything special for him. Decent running backs are a dime a dozen and it's one of the easiest positions to draft.

I think ladell holds more value then you think. RBs are not always automatic's.
Look at cedric benson, jj arrington, ron dayne, cadillac willliams, and ronnie brown. All first rounders within the last 7 drafts that i would classify as busts.

Absolutely ridiculous idea. It was bad enough that you mentioned trading Ladell and letting a practice squad bum be our #2 RB, but it was even worse to think Peppers or CJ would be good trades for our salary structure, let alone that LB would garner that much in a deal.

RETARDED THREAD.

jesus dude ease up.
when people shoot down topics like this in such a rude way it drives people away from the forum board.
he's just throwing out a topic to discuss and see what everyone has to say and you jump on his back like he's a total fool?
what is that?

not cool

jesus dude ease up.
when people shoot down topics like this in such a rude way it drives people away from the forum board.
he's just throwing out a topic to discuss and see what everyone has to say and you jump on his back like he's a total fool?
what is that?

not cool

If it drives away threads involving the suggestion of trading Ladell Betts for Julius Peppers, then I'm all for that. Those kind of treads hurt the forum, in my humble opinion.

I don't have a problem with people suggesting we should trade Betts (though I'd disagree). It's trading him for someone like Peppers that's ludicrous. Peppers would destroy our salary cap structure, and it's just flat out implausible.

Any player is tradable if you get great value. I mean we would entertain offers for JC if someone offered 10 picks or something crazy like that.

But once a player is re-signed, unless the contract is specifically structured for an out, it usually means the team is sticking w/the player until his services are no longer needed & cut him. (Schneed, correct me if I'm wrong on the cap end of things)

That said, we re-signed Betts for a reason. He had a great 2006. He played as well as you could expect this year, he rarely even got a whole series to himself. I don't disagree w/the coaches on his pt, CP was healthy enough & needed to maintain a rythm. If you remember early in the year they tried to rotate the 2 a lot & it didn't work well, aside from the Miami game where we pounded them to death.

We'll need CP & Betts (I would bet any amount of $ that 1 of them misses at least 1 game in 08 due to injury) & we don't need to draft a rb even if Rock isn't here, given our other needs. Maybe if there's a gem player in the 4th or beyond, but even then I think we'll be looking for gems at other positions.

Again, I'd LOVE to have Betts and Portis sharing the load. But, I still believe we have greater needs at other positions that could justify the trading of Betts for draft picks.

We need to start thinking about gradually replacing, and immediately adding depth to, the O-line. We need a new #2 WR if you are unhappy with ARE (which I am not). We need a new SS if you are unhappy with Doughty. We need a new CB if you think Springs will be gone, Rogers will not be back from injury, OR Leigh Torrence should be relegated to dime duties. We need a LDE if you think Philip Daniels will be cut, retire, or needs to be replaced within the next season or so. We need a new DT if you think Griffin will be cut and Golston isn't read to step up OR we need more depth. We need new linebackers if you think Washington will be cut, Fletcher is getting old, Rocky will not be recovered from the torn MCL and ACL, and HB Blades hasn't shown enough to replace any of our current starters on a long term basis. While I think we have a great roster in place and do not intend to overstate the need for new personnel, I think we have several areas in which we could improve by adding new young guys via the draft.

Moreover, with all due respect to Portis, Betts, and every other RB in the league, RBs are the most fungible players in the league. When former 4th round pick Rudi Johnson went down with injury, the undrafted Kenny Watson stepped in and nearly created a RB controversy in Cincy. Willie Parker, who also went undrafted, replaced Jerome Bettis without missing a beat. 7th rounder Ahmad Bradshaw, 4th rounder Brandon Jacobs, and 7th rounder Derrick Ward stepped into Tiki's shoes and produced the 4th ranked rushing attack in NY. 4th rounder Marion Barber made the Pro Bowl in Dallas. Brian Westbrook replaced the fan-favorite Duce Staley in Philly and was a late 3rd rounder. UFA Ryan Grant seems to be destined to replace Ahman Green in Green Bay. Ernest Graham was running as well as, if not better, than the Caddy in Tampa. And the list goes on.

Betts is a nice luxury, but one that I'd give up if it meant we'd be able to draft another Rocky McIntosh at another position of need. All that being said, this is pure offseason speculation.

Betts signed a very cap friendly contract for a RB of his caliber. The last thing we should be doing is trying to trade good players that are not cap killers. Betts will be a reasonably priced starter if they ever part with Portis.

I think you definitely keep Ladell Betts. I know he didn't do much this year, but you gotta have a dependable #2 back and Ladell is that. What we need to do is to look in the draft to fill our offensive and defensive lines. If you have a young, strong, and fast offensive line, then it's going to be a lot easier developing good running backs.

SGG: You really think Portis hangs up the cleets at 28?