Should the Pats Trade for Champ Bailey?

The news that CB Leigh Bodden has been placed on season-ending IR can’t help but bring some trepidation when thinking about the success of New England’s young secondary. With Bodden down, the learning curve is much steeper and progress has to be made much quicker. As it stands right now, second-year man Darius Butler and rookie Devin McCourty will be starting, and while they have big potential, they also have some big steps to take to be a successful tandem.  I mentioned in my last post that trading for a veteran corner may be on the Pats’ “To-Do” list to help stabilize the secondary and ease the growing pains of the inexperienced players. To follow up on that thought, I thought about who could be a possible target, and the first one to come to my mind (and also makes some sense) is veteran CB Champ Bailey. “Crazy,” you say? Let’s take a step into my dementia.

Champ Bailey is entering the final year of the contract he signed with the Denver Broncos in 2004. He has expressed his displeasure about his contract situation. Bailey and the Broncos haven’t entered into any serious discussions about a new deal. Bailey is still playing at a high level and is part of a deep group of corners. Denver is in need of quality running backs, something the Pats have 5 of. Denver could also use some depth at safety, where Renaldo Hill and Brian Dawkins are no spring chickens, and the Patriots have an abundance of quality players. Starting to follow my line of thinking?

You also can’t overlook the Josh McDaniels-Bill Belichick connection. Bailey only has the one year on his contract and with this being an uncapped year, the Pats could certainly absorb his salary and not have to worry about any long-term salary cap implications. They also wouldn’t have the pressure of re-signing him with Leigh Bodden returning next season. Bailey would get the opportunity to help a premier team and earn himself one last big free agent contract. The Broncos could get the running back or safety help they need, and/or some draft pick compensation. McDaniels has shown already that he’s a wheeler and dealer with picks like his mentor and would certainly like to stockpile more picks for the next draft.

I think that the trade makes a ton of sense. Agree? Voice your opinion in the poll below. If you have any other trade ideas feel free to speak your mind in the Comments section.