I'm sure everyone has heard the rumors swirling recently regarding potentially sending Tony Gonzalez to the New York Giants. Remember, at this point they're just rumors. Nothing has been confirmed so anything you see here will be clearly labeled as a rumor or a confirmed story.
Let's take a look at a few different sources of the rumors.
Why would a team trade a man many consider the greatest tight end of all time? The Chiefs are rebuilding and by the time they turn around their fortunes, Gonzalez's time in this league could be over. Why let his career end on a rebuilding team? He and team President Carl Peterson are extremely close. If they can find a trade that would work for all parties, it would actually be quite honorable for a team executive to not hold a player hostage in his final years on a rebuilding team. Get something for him to assist with the rebuilding process. He'll forever be loved in KC regardless.
Pro Football Talk on KSHB rumors:
Though we haven’t confirmed that KSHB is reporting this information, we’ve learned separately that, indeed, an effort is afoot to move Gonzalez out of Kansas City.
I haven't found anything from KSHB about their report.
Check out this google search to see how quickly these rumors gain steam.
So, what's the validity of all these stories? I would imagine there's some there. We've heard in separate rumors from local talk show radio hosts that Tony allegedly requested a trade before the Broncos game. I've heard that the trade request didn't happen until this week. The trade deadline is week 6 so if a deal is going to get done then it will happen soon.
Historically Carl Peterson has dragged these things out but with a quick deadline approaching, something has gotta give. Considering we are in a full rebuilding mode, it would be silly for him to turn down a deal that could help this team in the future.
Let's hear what everyone thinks about this. To gain some perspective on compensation let's keep in mind that Jeremy Shockey, who is 28 years old, was traded over the offseason for a 2nd and 5th round pick. So, the story goes that the Giants could drop their 2nd and 5th round picks they received from the Saints for a minimum 1 1/2 year rental for Gonzalez.
Also, I found this quote from Tony about a month ago regarding the rebuilding effort.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. I think coach has made that decision, you know as far as getting rid of the older guys on the team, to go younger, and that’s fine with me. I think with the guys he brought in here, I’m definitely happy with it. At first I was frustrated – I was a little pissed off to tell the truth – because I’m winding down in my career and I’m thinking ‘this is not what I signed on for last year when I redid my deal’ after seeing the guys that they brought in and after the draft, it’s making a lot more sense. We’re a pretty good football team. There’s no doubt about it.”
There's definitely a hint of anxiousness in him. I know he wants to win. I'm not going to say we owe it to him to trade him to a contender, but I am going to say that we owe it to the team to do whatever it takes to make this team better and a trade with draft picks in return might accomplish that.