If you hadn’t noticed from the alerts that you are getting on your phone that are annoying your wife or girlfriend, the trade deadline is upon us and we had a busy Monday night. We have two trades that have big impacts on three offenses so far. Since the trade deadline isn’t officially over until 4:00 P.M. Est on Tuesday, you may be hearing from me twice.
There are reportedly two teams that are showing interest in Frank Gore. As if that is not a big enough clue that the Colts are tanking for the season, Indianapolis is also reportedly fielding calls for T.Y. Hilton as well. It would be surprising to me, but maybe Martavis Bryant gets moved to a contender who needs some burst in their receiving corps. Earlier today, it was reported that the Eagles are kicking the tires on the possibility of the Detroit Lions trading them the rights to Calvin Johnson. But this morning, we are focusing So, let’s get this started before you make your waiver wire claims this evening.
[BREAKING: Ezekiel Elliott has been denied his Preliminary Injunction, which essentially means his suspension has been upheld. Note that the suspension will begin after a 24 hour period and the NFLPA will certainly appeal. So he can’t play for the next six games. MAYBE. We’ll know more tomorrow.]
Jimmy Garoppolo Traded to the 49ers for a 2018 2nd round draft pick
It’s starting to look like Kirk Cousins will be signing a long-term deal in D.C. this off season with Garoppolo throwing a major wrench in the Cousins-Shanahan reunion. A lot of things could happen, including Garoppolo deciding to sign elsewhere this offseason, but I’m guessing John Lynch will do his best to keep Jimmy around. Hell, somebody other than Washington could offer Cousins more money than he could imagine turning down.
The C.J. Beathard experiment is ending sooner rather than later in San Francisco. Beathard is expected to start this upcoming Sunday, but it’s hard to imagine this continues much past this upcoming week. I am an Iowa Hawkeye fan, but I can’t turn a blind eye to the fact that this was doomed from the get-go. Beathard is either a project that watches from the sidelines for three to four years or he’s a career back up. Bringing in Jimmy Garoppolo raises the stock of a few pieces of the 49ers’ offense. Pierre Garcon gets an immediate boost whenever Garoppolo joins the lineup as I expect him to see more legitimately catch-able shots downfield and a better shot at making a difference in the intermediate passing game. George Kittle and Marquise Goodwin have better chances of being fill-in for you in deeper leagues because the passing game will be more effective.
Jimmy Garapolo’s presence should be enough to improve the prospects of Carlos Hyde and Matt Breida. At this point, if you are a Carlos Hyde owner, you should have him handcuffed with Matt Breida. The situation is sort of similar to Frank Gore and Marlon Mack. Hyde has been hanging in there and has had himself a couple of pretty nice weeks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Shanahan wants to look at a different backfield going forward. As for Garopollo himself, I see him as a QB2 when he gets comfortable with the offense. In my opinion, he doesn’t have QB1 upside because of the lack of weapons in San Francisco, despite Kyle Shanahan’s creativeness.
Duane Brown traded to Seattle Seahawks for Jeremy Lane and draft picks
Duane Brown played his first game of the season for the Houston Texans in Seattle on Sunday and now will have to fly back. This time, as his new home. Due to bad trades for tight ends that they only use correctly on occasion and injuries, the Seattle Seahawks desperately need help on their offensive line if they are going to compete and trading for Duane Brown is a giant leap in the right direction. Brown was a staple for the offensive line in Houston and I expect him to immediately have a positive impact for Russell Wilson and his receiving corps as a direct result of Wilson being better protected on his blind side. What about the disaster in Seattle’s backfield? I don’t see this being a catalyst for Eddie Lacy or Thomas Rawls to become relevant. The running game will most likely remain unsavory. If any of the backs in Seattle were going to be a PPR threat in deep leagues, I imagine it would be J.D. McKissic rather than C.J. Prosise at this point. McKissic may be worth a stash in deep leagues, but even that is a stretch.
From Houston’s point of view, they must think that the sub-par offensive line play from the first six games before Brown’s return was enough to keep Deshaun Watson on his feet. Looking at the box scores and the stat sheets from Houston’s recent games before Brown’s return, this move is fairly inconsequential, but my thoughts are with you, Deshaun. Looking beyond the impact on the football field, it’s easy to assume that Texan’s ownership green-lighted this move because of Duane Brown’s outspokenness and ridicule of recent comments made by the Texan’s owner. Whatever the case may be, the Texan’s need help in their secondary and Seattle needs help on the offensive line, so this could end up being a win-win for both franchises.
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