tony gonzalez to falcons for 2010 2nd rounder

[bobby heenan]

great move by the falcons and former patriots director of scouting tom dimitroff

and to not have to give up a pick next week??

i really wish the pats had gotten involved in this....i have better hands than ben watson

[VegasDave]

As a Raider fan I'm very happy to see this. Makes no sense taking this guy away from Cassell.

[slacker00]

I was surprised to hear this deal. That's a bargain for Tony G. Hard to believe there weren't better offers out there, but maybe Atlanta got a discount since they are in the NFC.

[SBR Lou]

I was surprised to hear this deal. That's a bargain for Tony G. Hard to believe there weren't better offers out there, but maybe Atlanta got a discount since they are in the NFC.

Better offers out there for a 33yo TE? I'm surprised they'd want to cough up a 2nd rd draft pick for him.

[TWEETS]

Better offers out there for a 33yo TE? I'm surprised they'd want to cough up a 2nd rd draft pick for him.

....who says he only wants to play 1 maybe 2 more years

[slacker00]

Better offers out there for a 33yo TE? I'm surprised they'd want to cough up a 2nd rd draft pick for him.

He's got plenty left. He's still at the top of his game. This isn't a case where the team is trying to run him off because he can't play anymore. He takes extremely good care of his body as well. He's got a solid 2 or 3 years of peak left and can possibly play another 4 or 5 if he wants to do that. This isn't Jason Taylor or Brett Favre getting shown the door when they are far past their prime.

[SBR Lou]

....who says he only wants to play 1 maybe 2 more years

There was an interview where he mentioned he wanted to push for a team that was competing, and where he was upset when it didn't appear he'd be traded as he feels he has another couple years left in him.. I don't really think he's gonna be playing for 3 more seasons..

[SBR Lou]

He's got a solid 2 or 3 years of peak left and can possibly play another 4 or 5 if he wants to do that.

I strongly disagree that he has 'peak' anything left, but he's still very good. He's been in the league a long time, he's in great shape but he isn't as explosive as he used to be.

All I'm saying is in your initial post you sounded like you were expecting them to trade a 1st rounder for him, which is nuts.

[Fiasco]

great move

[VegasDave]

I don't see the downside for the Falcons here. They were a playoff team last year and with Turner and Ryan really no reason to believe they won't be even better on offense this year. Add an excellent TE, who cares if he is past his prime? Its a great piece to the puzzle to add another option for Ryan.

Chiefs, meanwhile, with the additions of Cassell and Vrabel and a key pick coming up, could have feasibly made a run at a wide open AFC West. Trade doesn't make sense to me from their end.

[SBR Lou]

Definitely no downside from the Falcons but I agree if I were KC, I'd have held onto him. I think it was a sensitive issue because of how well liked he was among the team and fans, even mgmt. They all knew Tony wanted to part as KC was rebuilding, and decided not to make him stay.

[VegasDave]

Definitely no downside from the Falcons but I agree if I were KC, I'd have held onto him. I think it was a sensitive issue because of how well liked he was among the team and fans, even mgmt. They all knew Tony wanted to part as KC was rebuilding, and decided not to make him stay.

Class move on their part if he asked to leave... Just can't help but think they could have used him on draft day to move up a few spots at some point to get a guy they wanted...

A 2nd rounder in 2010... assuming the Falcons are a playoff team that's around pick 50ish... Could have done better I think. But oh well

[slacker00]

I strongly disagree that he has 'peak' anything left, but he's still very good. He's been in the league a long time, he's in great shape but he isn't as explosive as he used to be.

All I'm saying is in your initial post you sounded like you were expecting them to trade a 1st rounder for him, which is nuts.

I never said 1st round, but at the very least allow some conditionals if he makes whatever performance goals. Besides, a 2nd in 2010 is almost like a 3rd in 2009. KC didn't get fair value.

I won't debate what he's got left. I guess we'll find out on the field. Thing is, the veteran TE will be a key ingredient to Ryan's progress going forward. Atlanta got a steal.