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Tony Gonzalez and Larry Johnson want out of Kansas City, and the team might be willing to accommodate them – both are older players and won’t necessarily fit in with the vision of the new head coach the team should hire within the next week.
Check out the article posted by The Kansas City Star. There, Gonzalez mentions that he would want no part of playing for a college coach such as Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (who is one of the guys the team is considering. “I don’t want to deal with that,” Gonzalez says. “It seems like we’re rebuilding anyway, and I don’t want to do that. I don’t know that I want to do that any more than I already have been.”
Johnson and the team have been butting heads since before last season, and he says he has no interest in even speaking with new GM Scott Pioli.
“They could easily release me. They could easily trade me,” Johnson said. “There are things that could be done that they could be willing to do and should be willing to do.”
The problem with moving these guys, however, is age and salary. Both have big contracts with lots of guaranteed dollars. And they’re at the tail ends of their careers. Gonzalez will be 33 later this month, and Johnson is 29 (and has also been involved in multiple off-field incidents that lower his value). Teams don’t typically give up much for those kind of players.
What team would have a big interest in either of these guys? There isn’t one that jumps out at me. Buffalo tried to trade for Gonzalez back in October, but he didn’t want to play there. Tampa Bay needs playmakers (particularly at running back), but it wouldn’t necessarily want to commit big money to either of these guys.
—Ian Allan
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Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Feb. 05 at 03:12 AM
With Gonzalez, there were reports around the trade deadline that Green Bay basically had a deal done for him, and at the last minute either Ted Thompson or Carl Peterson wanted to revise the deal -- change the pick or the conditions or what have you, there were conflicting stories -- and the deal didn't get done. So maybe Green Bay would have an interest; certainly their current starter, Donald Lee, is a marginal player. As for Larry Johnson, it just sounds like he's delusional. He makes too much money and is too in danger of a league suspension, besides being an older player for running backs anyway, to think Kansas City will get much in a trade. I'm not sure any team would want the guy with his current contract; he'll probably need to be released to find a new address.
Posted by DAVID DIGREGORIO | Feb. 05 at 04:06 AM
The Eagles were also close to getting gonzalez. LJ Smith will be gone, and Gonzo would be a huge upgrade. The birds have plenty of cap space. LJ is the TO of RBs. He cried for a big contract and, instead of honoring it, he cries to get out of town. Trade him to Detroit.
IAN: Green Bay made a move for Gonzalez last October, but he said he didn't want to play there. As for Philadelphia, that might be a possibility. But the Eagles got very nice production out of Brent Celek in the playoffs -- 19 catches and 3 TDs in those three games. Celek isn't quite as good as Gonzalez, of course, but he's a lot younger and a lot cheaper.