Conditional Trades

[Sydla]

Never underestimate how far the rationalizations will go to deviate from the real answer here: Dallas blew the pick in an epic way.

And probably mishandled this down the stretch if they wanted to trade him even for a late round pick.

 

[Alexander]

And probably mishandled this down the stretch if they wanted to trade him even for a late round pick.

Absolutely. They botched this from start to finish.

Nothing like coming out and announcing to the NFL world that the player you drafted for his versatility and position flex is not able to do anything of the kind to even be activated to a gameday roster.

That basically tells anyone who was remotely interested that he can't cut it in a three or a four man front.

He cannot edge rush consistently enough and he cannot handle 3 or 5-tech responsibilities either.

But he can sure do that little ballerina spin.

 

[Zordon]

And probably mishandled this down the stretch if they wanted to trade him even for a late round pick.

Yeah it doesn't help that this front office has loose lips with the media. I bet the Patriots would have found a way to move Taco for at least a 5th rd pick.

 

[xwalker]

The obvious thing you are overlooking is the guaranteed money in the contract.

It's not a free look. They have to assume his contract if they trade for him. If they wait for him to be cut, they can sign him for whatever the minimum is with no guaranteed money at all.

I thought about the money.

His 2019 salary is guaranteed.

The Cowboys are already on the hook to pay him for 3 weeks which is 3/17th of his salary.

That leaves about 1.1M for the new team.

If he is not claimed and a team signs him, then it will cost at least 500K but probably only be a 1 year contract.

If they just take the existing contract, then if he turns out to be good they have him under contract for next season and have the 5th year option if he really turns things around.

If money is the reason, then that means NO teams will claim him because they will inherit the contract if they claim him just like they would in a trade.

If we were looking at this in regards to a failed 1st round pick for another team at a position like Safety, then almost everyone here would be OK with trading a conditional 7th for that player, especially if that player started 7 games last season and looked good this preseason. He also had 3 sacks as a rookie despite not starting any games.

Something just seems odd about the situation.

 

[Sydla]

Absolutely. They botched this from start to finish.

Nothing like coming out and announcing to the NFL world that the player you drafted for his versatility and position flex is not able to do anything of the kind to even be activated to a gameday roster.

That basically tells anyone who was remotely interested that he can't cut it in a three or a four man front.

He cannot edge rush consistently enough and he cannot handle 3 or 5-tech responsibilities either.

But he can sure do that little ballerina spin.

I mean did they really need to make Joe Jackson active over him?

If you are planning to trade him, make him active for the first two games at least. I mean did Joe Jackson really give you something Taco couldn't? Shoot, Jackson played 36 snaps over two games. 36.

 

[xwalker]

So to sum this up.

Try to find a way to make it seem like the Cowboys were possibly victims here in a trade with the agent screwing the Cowboys. Told it makes no sense.

End of thread.

I'm not trying to absolve the Cowboys of anything.

Getting a conditional 7th round pick for a 1st round pick is NOT absolving the team of anything.

That's a lame attempt at trolling.

 

[buybuydandavis]

If a team trades away a player and receives a conditional 7th in return, that means the player must accomplish something (remain on the new team's roster or play over a certain number of games, etc.).

That means it is basically a free look at the player for the new team.

If the Cowboys can't get a conditional 7th for a player that obviously has possible upside, then something is going on beyond the obvious, IMO.

How many remember the La'el draft story where his agent warned teams not to draft him?

Could an agent be killing possible trades by telling other teams not to trade for the player?

To take a trade is to take on the contract and it's guaranteed money.

I

 

[Pantone282C]

I’ll guess yes

It's a good possibility. Nothing obvious seems to add up for this standoff. This past August, he said his agent had him thinking about his future without saying the word, "trade."

 

[gimmesix]

I think the simpler answer is that Taco simply doesn't have that much value around the league. He's a guy who has not really developed that much and might have some motivation issues. The Cowboys have pretty much put a neon light above his head saying he's going to be cut given they've had him inactive while guys like Armstrong and rookie Jackson have been active. For many teams, a conditional 7th rounder might be too much for a guy that will, likely, get cut anyway. So wait it out, save the pick and put in a waiver claim.

He also comes with $1.4 million base this year and $1.8 next year in a trade. That might not seem like much, but teams may not be willing to trade for that when the player hasn't proven himself up to this point and there seems to be issues with him beyond just his play.

 

[Sydla]

I'm not trying to absolve the Cowboys of anything.

Getting a conditional 7th round pick for a 1st round pick is NOT absolving the team of anything.

That's a lame attempt at trolling.

But you are. You are trying to defend the fact they can't get anything for him at this point on some theory the agent is screwing Dallas here.

So at some level, it's an attempt to give the Cowboys some level of cover here.

 

[gimmesix]

Yep. At signing his signing bonus, 2018 base salary and 2019 base salary were guaranteed. His 2019 base salary is $1.376MM. So any team picking him up in a trade is on the hook for that salary.

Oh, I see that you covered this. Usually you can follow the money when it comes to trying to figure out a player's situation.

 

[xwalker]

Yep. At signing his signing bonus, 2018 base salary and 2019 base salary were guaranteed. His 2019 base salary is $1.376MM. So any team picking him up in a trade is on the hook for that salary.

About 1.1M remaining vs paying him a minimum of 500K if he clears waivers.

If he did turn it around, they would have him under contract for 2020 also at a relatively low salary with the trade or waiver claim vs him clearing waivers and signing a 1 year deal.

 

[xwalker]

If you knew how the league runs the agent can not do that its illegal

When trades are discussed, the team considering trading for a player talks to the players agent.

If there is ANY reluctance from the player/agent then they won't trade for the player. Teams don't want players that don't want to come there.

 

[Alexander]

I mean did they really need to make Joe Jackson active over him?

If you are planning to trade him, make him active for the first two games at least. I mean did Joe Jackson really give you something Taco couldn't? Shoot, Jackson played 36 snaps over two games. 36.

Apparently they felt so strongly about having that "position flex" thing that they were willing to sabotage any value he may have had (and I am not saying necessarily that he did).

Either that or they were scared that he would be a liability that would cost them a chance to win. Or he got on everyone's nerves so bad they just wanted him out of sight.

 

[xwalker]

But you are. You are trying to defend the fact they can't get anything for him at this point on some theory the agent is screwing Dallas here.

So at some level, it's an attempt to give the Cowboys some level of cover here.

No, that is absurd. Getting a conditional 7th does not defend or absolve the team of anything.

Is this how that would go:

Fan 1: Taco was a bust.

Fan 2: No, the Cowboys got a conditional 7th for him.

Fan 1: Oh, OK. I guess that was a good pick after all.

 

[Bullflop]

The fact remains that Taco demonstrated during the preseason that he's capable of producing results, even though he's been mishandled. I'm sure this thing will either end up with him being traded for a late round pick or he'll be cut. If some team has a need and sees something in him, they may or may not take a chance on the guy. Either way, it's not the end of the story. He could catch on with a team once he's cut, trade or no trade. It happens all the time.

 

[xwalker]

Apparently they felt so strongly about having that "position flex" thing that they were willing to sabotage any value he may have had (and I am not saying necessarily that he did).

Either that or they were scared that he would be a liability that would cost them a chance to win. Or he got on everyone's nerves so bad they just wanted him out of sight.

Some claims were that they were already working on a trade and they didn't want him to get injured.

I doubt if that was true, but I think it was suggested by one of the dc.com minions.

 

[Sydla]

No, that is absurd. Getting a conditional 7th does not defend or absolve the team of anything.

Is this how that would go:

Fan 1: Taco was a bust.

Fan 2: No, the Cowboys got a conditional 7th for him.

Fan 1: Oh, OK. I guess that was a good pick after all.

Then why even entertain the thought that the agent is going around telling teams to not make a trade?

No one suggested that you are giving the Cowboys a pass for the pick to begin with or how they managed this kid. But at some level if you are floating the idea of an agent acting covertly here by trying to steer Taco to a different team by telling teams to not make an offer for him, you are suggesting that the Cowboys, even to a small extent, were played here.

 

[Alexander]

Some claims were that they were already working on a trade and they didn't want him to get injured.

I doubt if that was true, but I think it was suggested by one of the dc.com minions.

Even if it was true, it certainly isn't how teams normally conduct business when trying to trade a player.

If that were the case, you would have seen Miami rest Fitzpatrick (they didn't) or Jacksonville pulling Ramsey out of tomorrow's game (they won't).

And you certainly don't do that to a player you are not going to get high value for in return.

In case we are different from everyone else, we are trying to get the best guy on the field to win a football game. Not play some silly game where we keep a player than can contribute off the field.

 

[xwalker]

To take a trade is to take on the contract and it's guaranteed money.

I

Yes, I've covered that in posts above yours.

There is about 1.1M remaining of guaranteed money which is this season's salary.

If he is cut and clears waivers, then it will cost at least 500K to sign him to a 1 year deal.

If a team just assumes his current contract via a trade or waivers, then they have him under contract for 2020 at a relatively low price IF he turned things around and showed value for the new team.

He is a former 1st round pick that looked good in the preseason games, started 7 games last season and had 3 sacks his rookie season despite not starting.

There are likely multiple coaches that think they could get something out of a player like that because they'll use him differently in their scheme or just because they think they can coach players up better than other teams can do it.

The Cowboys would not turn down this type of player from another team for a conditional 7th unless there is more to the story than we the fans know at this point.