Today’s questions about the Broncos come from Brett Braman of Irvine, Calif. Send your question via e-mail to jlegwold@denverpost.com.
Q: The Ravens have injuries at cornerback and the Jets have Darrelle Revis’ contract situation. So each team needs a playmaking cornerback. Do you think the Broncos would consider trading Champ Bailey to the Ravens for Ray Lewis or Terrell Suggs? How about the Broncos offering Bailey and a third-round draft pick to the Jets for Revis, who’s holding out? Either trade would improve Denver’s defense.
A: Brett, no matter the injury situation, most NFL teams don’t like to make trades when they get deep into training camp. And most teams don’t like to trade their franchise players.
The Broncos shipped running back J.J. Arrington to the Eagles early in training camp this year for linebacker Joe Mays and early in camp last year they acquired defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith from the Patriots for a draft pick.
Making a blockbuster deal at this stage of preparation for the season is difficult. There also is the matter of the labor uncertainty for next season — the NFL is without a collective bargaining agreement after the 2011 draft — so trying to work on, or take on, a contract negotiation such as Revis’ wouldn’t be easy.
When he was coaching the Broncos, Mike Shanahan traded Clinton Portis to the Redskins in 2004 to get Bailey. That remains perhaps the biggest player-for-player swap leaguewide in recent history. The Broncos and Redskins did that deal just after the NFL scouting combine that year.
Shanahan has said that deal was tremendously difficult to pull off — trading marquee players — because most teams in most situations want the trade to be lopsided in their favor. They want to face the public and say they “won” the trade.
That’s why most trades don’t come to fruition.
It is also took two teams willing to spend big money, which the Broncos did with Bailey and the Redskins eventually did with Portis.
In Bailey’s case, you’re talking about a player who has now been named to nine Pro Bowls. It’s tough to explain to people why you traded a player like that.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
