Patriots Give Holdout WR Branch Permission to Seek Trade

Tonight, as I sat down and searched the headlines, trying to decide what the main topic of this particular blog would be, I was surprised to see that there was absolutely nothing of significance to report. Before giving up and calling it a night, I decided to look at ESPN.com, where I came across an article which talks about how the Patriots have granted disgruntled WR Deion Branch permission to seek a trade to another team. I previously wrote two articles about how the Bears should make a run at either Jerry Porter of Oakland or Ashley Lelie, the former Bronco, both of whom had fallen out of favor with their respective clubs. Since then, Lelie has been shipped to Atlanta and Porter is still sitting at home, refusing to play as long as Art Shell is the coach of the Raiders. But with the sudden availability of Branch, it's a whole new ballgame. Last season he was the Patriots' number one receiver, catching 78 passes for 998 yards and averaging 12.5 yards per catch. Just a couple of years ago Branch was the Super Bowl MVP; that's right, it wasn't Tom Brady, it was Deion Branch and now he's being offered to the higest bidder.

OK, so GM Jerry Angelo failed to act the first two times I so graciously offered my advice, but could he really pass up an opportunity of such magnitude? When Porter was put on the market, I said that Angelo should take a page out of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' book when they pounced on the chance to trade for Chris Pronger after he had demanded out of Edmonton. If Porter is to Pronger, then Branch would be to Alexander Ovechkin being put on the trading block. Needless to say, a talent like this doesn't come along very often and the Patriots won't allow him to get away for cheap. The Bears more than likely would have to give up a first-round pick plus one of their young wide recievers, such as Bernard Berrian or Michael Bradley, in order to secure Branch's services. Let's just put it this way: Branch is so important to the Patriot's offense that Tom Brady actually went against his own policy and sided with Branch, not the organization, during the contract dispute, something which he has never done in the past with players such as Ty Law, among others. If Angelo is able to work out a deal to bring Deion Branch to Chicago, in my opinion, the Bears are a lock to represent the NFC in Miami this year.

Headlines...

• Mike Mulligan, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wonders if the Bears missed the boat by not trading for Ashley Lelie. All the Broncos wanted was a third-round draft choice, but Angelo wouldn't budge, instead offering a fourth-round pick along with DE Michael Haynes. I wrote in a past blog that by not getting Lelie, the Bears missed a chance to move up from being a great team to a Super Bowl team. Angelo can more than make up for it by acquiring Branch.


• Brian Griese says that he is not satisfied with being Rex Grossman's backup and that he agrees with everyone who says that the preseason should be shortened. Gene Chamberlain reports that the time for Airese Currie to display the speed that got him drafted is rapidly dwindling.


• David Elfin, of the Washington Post, says that the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans have more in common than you might think: a huge headache at the running back position.


• The Cubs placed SS Cesar Izturis on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. Is this shaping up to be Nomar Garciaparra part two? Let's hope not, because when this guy is healthy, he is the best defensive shortstop in the league, and will be an important building block for the Cubs as they attempt to regain respectability.


• While the Cubs have had very little to rejoice about this year, the recent pitching performance of Angel Guzman is giving the team some hope for the future. Ryan O'Malley's injury is far less serious than expected. The Cubs called up Jae Kuk Ryu from Triple-A to replace O'Malley on the roster.