If you weren't around over the weekend, then you missed several hours of the most exciting and entertaining developments of free agency weekend.
Around 3:00 PM (CST) on Friday afternoon, reports emerged that the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and, yes, the Kansas City Chiefs were in a bidding war for Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals. Rarely do we see trades play out in front of us like this.
Word emerged that the Patriots were the front runner shortly after 3:00 PM but that was quickly shot down. By 4:00 PM, it was the Chiefs and Ravens in hot pursuit of the Pro Bowl receiver.
When it came down to the Ravens and Chiefs, I suspected the Chiefs had to be the front runner because in any discussions of draft picks, the Chiefs had an immediate advantage. In each round, they were selecting 20 spots ahead of the Ravens so any deal they could give had to be better, right?
Apparently, not. The Cardinals dealt Boldin to the Ravens and we were left wondering what happened.
Well, we're not the only ones wondering what happened. SI's Peter King said the situation was perplexing as well.
They had the Chiefs on the hook, and K.C. had to be willing to give its third-round pick to be in the discussion; The Chiefs' third pick was the 68th pick in the draft. Even if Kansas City wanted something minor in addition, isn't the 68th pick better than the 88th pick that Baltimore gave -- along with the Ravens giving their fourth in exchange for the Cards' fifth rounder to even out the deal? That's 20 slots in a very good draft.
What, exactly, were the Chiefs offering? With two second round picks I find it hard to believe they weren't willing to part with the 68th overall pick in the draft. I know GM Scott Pioli covers those second and third round draft picks but, as it's been pointed out before, it's very difficult to find a top flight receiver.
And if there's anyone that knows what kind of receiver Boldin is, it's Todd Haley.
Perplexing indeed.