(UPDATED) Report: Lions Trade Redding to Seattle for Peterson

Not another Millen show Part II...

SAME OLD LIONS?
Posted by Mike Florio on March 14, 2009, 7:35 p.m.

With multiple reports that the Seattle Seahawks were going to cut linebacker Julian Peterson after he refused a pay cut, the Detroit Lions opted not to wait for the inevitable release of Peterson.

Instead, they packed up a starting defensive lineman and a fifth-round pick in order to inherit the back end of the puffed up contract paid three years ago to Peterson, who’ll be 31 in July.

The move has renewed criticism of the Lions in league circles.

“If you went 0-16 would you trade a pick and a good young player for a 31 year old?” one league source asked us.

(Actually, if we went 0-16, we’d cash in whatever remaining chips we could scrape together and find a new line of business to screw up over an extended period of time.)

We’ve largely forgotten about the Lions because there are no games for them to lose in March, but league insiders still point to the franchise as a shining beacon of pro football ineptitude.

The arrival of former Jags V.P. of player personnel James Harris has done little to improve the front office’s image in league circles.

“[G.M. Martin] Mayhew is bad enough in trying to evaluate talent,” one source opined. “Instead of one guy not knowing what he’s doing now you have two guys doing the same routine.”

In fact, one league insider has been referring to Mayhew and Harris as the “Millen Twins.”

But there’s possibly good news on the horizon. Some league insiders expect that new coach Jim Schwartz will try to make a power play, if he can win at least five or six games in the wake of last year’s humiliating season.

I wonder how much missing Dockery due to a reported paperwork issue made them that much more anxious to get the trade complete. I assume if Peterson had been released he would have had a choice in the matter, and right now, I think Detroit doesn't have much clout with the players.

I like Blades, he is great Redskin.
But Blades does not have the explosiveness that you need in a really good/productive OLB. Blades will be a great MLB when London Fletcher decides to hang it up, but Blades lacks the speed and big play ability to be a great OLB. Blades does have excellent instinct and ball awareness to be MLB and get to a RB.

One of the major differences between 2008 Redskins defense and an elite defense like the the 2008 Steelers/Ravens defense is their OLB's were disruptive and got a lot of sacks/big plays. I know the schemes are very diffrent and their OLB's rush the passer on almost every play, but our OLB biltzed plenty and they did not produce.
Our OLB were not productive enough at making big plays.

Yeah you do bring up a great point. Blades is a pure MLB.

Per Profootalltalk.com

I know he is not 27 years or younger but he seems to be the perfect free agent pick up for us since he can rush the passer and play the pass. He may not be that expensive to obtain off the market. He seems like the perfect option for us to be our Marcus washington for the next 3 years. Now we can draft de and ot with our first two draft picks.

JULIAN PETERSON THE NEXT VETERAN TO BE CUT? (http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/03/14/julian-peterson-the-next-veteran-to-be-cut/)

Posted by Mike Florio on March 14, 2009, 9:12 a.m. EDT
The purge of high-priced veterans that began roughly a month ago still continues.
KJR-AM in Seattle reported Friday that the Seahawks soon will release linebacker Julian Peterson (http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/seahawks/2009/03/13/report_julian_p.html).
Signed through 2012, Peterson is due to earn $6.5 million in base salary this year, $7.5 million in 2010, $8 million in 2011, and $8.5 million in the final year of the deal.
Per Mike Sando of ESPN.com, Peterson has declined to reduce his salary (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3979489).
The team’s alternative offer isn’t known, but Peterson’s agents would be wise to find out whether someone else would pay Peterson more than that before telling the Seahawks to stick it.
So, basically, that seven-year, $54 million contract (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/seahawks/2006-03-28-peterson_x.htm) that Peterson signed amid much fanfare three years ago is, in the end, a three-year, $23.5 million deal.
And that’s precisely why league insiders typically focus on the three-year payout when assessing the real value of a contract.


I once heard Jim Rome interview Peterson and he said he he grew up rooting and still is.... a Redskin fan

Damn, I was looking forward to seeing him in B/G. Guess we need to bring Crowell in for a visit or move up and draft Orakpo.

Yeah you do bring up a great point. Blades is a pure MLB.

I would say Blades is a pure spot starter or backup.

No way we move up and draft orakpo...I'm still up for crowell, the problem is that the FO isn't up for him or else they would have brought him in by now...

Damn. I got my hopes up as well. There are 2 players on Seahawks D that I would love to see in B'n'g
1. P Kerney
2. J Peterson

Though they are probably on the downside of their careers now, having JP here would have really boosted our pass rush in 09. Oh well, we can't get em all.
Hail