speculation about speculation about speculation

This little tidbit appeared on the mlive.com "Highlight Reel" blog: the Lions might be sniffing around Buffalo's LT, Jason Peters.  Peters played last year in Buffalo only after an extensive holdout, and this year he looks ready to do the same.  Peters is doing the same thing that many of us have been doing lately when examining candidates for the first overall pick: comparing his worth to that of 2008 rookie LT Jake Long.  This is the first time (that I know of) that a player is trying to establish his market price in relation to a recent top pick, as opposed to what other veterans are fetching on the free agent market.  The Bills appear to be essentially saying, "Hey, 1.1s get 1.1 money; their market is compared to previous 1.1s, not to veteran players of the same position".  These negotiations, if they go sour, might be a tipping point in the debate over the contracts doled out at the top of the draft . . .

Meanwhile, the Lions are licking their chops.  If they can get a young, proven veteran LT in his prime, then they will have filled another hole.  Moreover, that would give them tremendous flexibility in their attempts to swing a deal for Jay Cutler.  If they already have a franchise LT, and MLBs look plentiful at 1.20, they could trade the 1.1 to Denver, let them board the Matt Stafford Failboat, and ride Jay Cutler to the NFC North title, the year after going 0-16.  Or, they could draft Aaron Curry 1.1, and still give up the 1.20 without giving up the chance to land a quality LT.  Or, they could draft Stafford 1.1 without guilt, knowing they've already built a tremendous OL in front of him, and put talented skill players around him.

One other article I'd like to draw your attention to is over at DF79's blog.  He dissected the Redding/Peterson trade in incredible detail, including all of the various salary cap implications.  A tip of that hat to you, sir.