NE gives Deion Branch permission to seek a trade...

[Gryphon]

Eagles | Branch has interest in team
Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:58:56 -0700

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports New England Patriots WR Deion Branch has interest in targeting the Philadelphia Eagles for a trade. The Patriots have given Branch permission to seek a trade and he has until Sept. 1 to work out a deal.


Seahawks | Branch has interest in team
Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:58:31 -0700

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports New England Patriots WR Deion Branch has interest in targeting the Seattle Seahawks for a trade. The Patriots have given Branch permission to seek a trade and he has until Sept. 1 to work out a deal.


Broncos | Branch has interest in team
Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:53:00 -0700

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports New England Patriots WR Deion Branch has interest in targeting the Denver Broncos for a trade. The Patriots have given Branch permission to seek a trade and he has until Sept. 1 to work out a deal.

 

[Clove]

Good luck with all that.

 

[TwoDeep3]

And then the Patriots woke up.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Good luck Pats!

 

[Wood]

in other words - Branch suites up week one for NE.

 

[Da Hammer]

in other words - Branch suites up week one for NE.

yeah pretty much, although i'm happy that Branch is doing this to the Pats and hope he holds out the whole year for all i care

 

[Big Dakota]

Good one Belichick

 

[Hostile]

And then the Patriots woke up.

If they haven't someone better check the alarm clock.

 

[JackMagist]

Yea....he wants to start....not sure he could here unless TO is cut.....which we know is a joke

Straight up trade...Owens for Branch...I All In

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports the Patriots would only trade Deion Branch if they were compensated with a first-round pick.

That means a team would likely have to fork over a No. 1 pick in addition to Reggie Wayne money. If this is the case, Branch is highly unlikely to be dealt.

As long as Herm Edwards and Denny Green are out there coaching.... ANYTHING is possible...

 

[JackMagist]

NE won't get that for him. NE likely knows that they won't get that for him. What NE wants to do is to show Branch that he is not worth all that he thinks he is. But if some team is desperate enough and thinks that they are only one player away and they do cough up the 1st then NE wins anyway. Good move by NE.

I just hope it keeps dragging on. I pulled for NE in the first couple of Superbowls but I'm over it...they need to get reacquainted with the cellar.

 

[Silverstar]

I pulled for NE in the first couple of Superbowls but I'm over it...they need to get reacquainted with the cellar.

Yeah, they are getting on my nerves along with the Steelers.

The Cowboys have rested on their laurels long enough.

Time to kick some ***!



:lombardi:

 

[leicafan]

Now only the Commanders Danny Boy will give out their first for Deion in NFL

 

[JackMagist]

Now only the Commanders Danny Boy will give out their first for Deion in NFL

Where would Danny get a 1st rounder...hasn't he traded them all away for the next 10 years? Seems like they never have one.

 

[RealCowboyfan]

That ask for a first round counts the Cowboys out. Even his contract counts the Cowboys out. Jerry Jones is too cheap for that.

 

[Idgit]

That ask for a first round counts the Cowboys out. Even his contract counts the Cowboys out. Jerry Jones is too cheap for that.

Where on earth did this notion that Jerry Jones is cheap get any legs?

 

[Idgit]

Oh...more perverts coming out...!

Nothing wrong with dreaming about her...but, if you're gonna dream, at least dream BIG!

Now, I do admit I have sometimes dreamed about movie stars...but, I only dream about if I had their money....

Ladies are like buses...another bus will come along, but, you got to have some money to ride it.

I wouldn't be bragging too loudly about paying to ride ladies who look like busses there, Loverboy.

My wife's nothing like an old bus, FWIW. Well, except that her horn's always going off in the background and I don't know how to make it stop.

 

[lspain1]

Mort said there are a few teams interested in Branch but the price is pretty steep. We'll see if any teams are willing to pay, in particular the Eagles, who would help themselves immensely. Mort believes the Pats want Branch to find out on the open market that their offer is fair and he should come back and play for them.

 

[notherbob]

I'm not sure why the Boys or anyone else would want give away a first round draft pick for a stubborn, egocentric, overpaid malcontented holdout. Doesn't seem very team-oriented to me. Besides, after they way the last DeIon ripped this team off, I'm still a little leery of the name, itself.

 

[dbair1967]

Branch allowed to seek trade
Patriots give receiver a week for shopping
By Ron Borges, Globe Staff | August 26, 2006

FOXBOROUGH -- Less than 72 hours after Deion Branch told a local television station he felt something would be worked out to break the impasse with his employer, something was. The Patriots gave him permission to try to leave town.

That may not have been what the holdout wide receiver had in mind, but early yesterday afternoon that's what happened when the Patriots suddenly issued a two-sentence statement: ``The New England Patriots have given Deion Branch permission to seek a trade and negotiate a contract with other clubs. This permission will extend until Sept. 1, 2006."

It is unknown why an organization so secretive that it won't make public what wrist Tedy Bruschi injured would suddenly make such a public declaration of its business dealings since the Patriots could just as easily have informed Branch's agent quietly and left the rest of the world to wonder, as they usually do. But the public nature of that announcement speaks to one of the stumbling blocks between the sides. At this juncture, this non-negotiation has become far too little about business and far too much about ego .

Who made the first offer? Who made the second? Who should have countered what and when? Who cares?

The Patriots remain mystified by and miffed at Branch and his agent, Jason Chayut, for not countering what they felt was a solid original offer in May of a three-year extension they say was worth $19.25 million, with an $8 million bonus spread evenly over two years ($4 million now and another $4 million if he was on the roster in 2007).

Branch remains troubled by how his original contract was handled, feeling he was taken advantage of by the team when it knew it had him over the rookie barrel. He is also bothered by the team's insistence that he's not worth what the Colts' Reggie Wayne was paid this offseason (six-year deal worth close to $40 million) to avoid going into free agency, while at the same time refusing to guarantee they will not apply the franchise player tag to Branch, preventing him from becoming a free agent.

That is the same guarantee the Seattle Seahawks gave running back Shaun Alexander a year ago before signing him to a new multiyear deal before he hit free agency, and it worked out fine. But the Patriots fear if they were to agree to such a demand from Branch, it would come back to haunt them in future negotiations.

So now Branch is free to seek a trade and a new contract -- with the Patriots believing he won't be able to find a team willing to give him more than they offered because it would also have to compensate the Patriots. Even if Branch comes up with a deal he's willing to take, the Patriots don't have to agree to it if they don't like the compensation or the team it's coming from.

The Patriots' unexpected move forced Branch and Chayut to formulate a plan over the next 24 hours of how to respond.

A friend of Branch's who is close to the situation said last night, ``They'll find a good situation for Deion. If the Patriots are serious, we'll know soon enough."

The difficulty here is twofold. First, they have only six days to make a deal and they're trying to do it when teams are reducing rosters. Second, because Branch has a year remaining on his current deal, he would have to be flexible unless his real aim is simply to get out of New England first and worry about the rest later. If that's the case, and he's willing to play out his current contract elsewhere, the market for Branch could be far wider than the Patriots expect, as it turned out to be for wide receiver David Givens during the offseason.

Either way, it will be a tense six days for both sides if Branch decides to shop himself around. If he strikes a deal somewhere, it will be the Patriots who have to make a choice between allowing a player under contract to shoot his way out of town or retaining him against his will and thus engendering even deeper animosity than already may exist.

As options go, it's not the wishbone for either side