Santonio Holmes traded to Jets

More proof that Steelers fandom is (usually) milder at SportsJournalists.com: A friend just texted me and called this the worst personnel move in team history. :

 

It certainly takes the guy who cut Johnny Unitas off the hot seat.

 

What's up with these NFL jerks trying to steal the headlines by making Sunday night trades??

 

Ben: "So the lesson is, I can keep getting shitfaced and hook up with college chicks. Just don't tweet about it ... got it!"

 

I can't believe the Redskins didn't pull the trigger on this.

It should be a giant red flag to the Jets that even the freaking Redskins weren't willing to part with a draft pick for this guy.

They'll trade/sign anybody who is a big name.

 

Take it with a heaping pile of salt, but PFT mentioned a rumor involving Leon Washington:

There are rumors flying in the wake of the trade that sent receiver Santonio Holmes from the Steelers to the Jets that the compensation package includes both a fifth-round draft pick and running back Leon Washington.

In order to be traded, Washington must first sign his restricted free agency tender offer. Given the apparent speed with which this deal transpired, it's unlikely that Washington inked the deal before the Steelers and the Jets worked out their trade.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/12/leon-washington-can-be-part-of-trade-package-only-after-signing-his-tender/

 

Think of it this way: The Patriots shipped only a fourth-round pick to the Raiders for Moss.

Add to it that Holmes was entering the final year of his contract and faces a four-game suspension for violation of the NFL substance-abuse policy. Moss didn't come with that much baggage when he got traded the Patriots. His baggage at the time was simply playing for Al Davis' team. Given that, a fifth-round pick for 12 games of Holmes seems about right.

If Dez Bryant slips to the Steelers, I could see him in black and gold.

 

When it comes to Steelers taking the fifth, I figured for sure it would be Roethlisberger, not their GM.

 

Moss had been a disaster with the Raiders. Holmes, for all his bullshit, caught 79 passes for 1,248 yards this past season. The Steelers were looking bad. The panicked and the Jets took advantage of them. Simple as that.

I guess the people who said the Steelers don't operate differently when it comes to character were flat-out wrong. They proved it with this trade. That said, I think they are going to miss the playoffs again. The main reason they came close in 2009 was the passing game and they just traded away their best weapon for next-to nothing.

 

This strikes me as very similar to the Yankees of the 1950s, whose reaction to Mickey Mantle getting involved in a nightclub brawl was to trade Billy Martin.

 

Michael: That's a great take. Didn't that break Martin' heart?