SB Nation's Chargers blog, Bolts from the Blue, came up with a trade proposal today involving the Jets. Like the Jets with Muhammad Wilkerson, the Chargers have a star player in the middle of a contract standoff, safety Eric Weddle. Weddle is entering the final season of a five year deal he signed with the Chargers in 2011. He has been vocal in his frustration at the pace of negotiations with his team. Bolts from the Blue suggests a straight up Weddle for Wilkerson swap.
If you aren't familiar with Weddle, you should be. Any discussion of the best safeties in the NFL has to include him. For five straight years, he has been either first or second team All Pro. Unlike a lot of the other great safeties in the league, he doesn't play on a high profile defense so he doesn't get a ton of hype. Weddle might been the most rounded safety in the league, though. He does almost everything at a high level. A creative coach like Todd Bowles could line him up all over the place to create problems for an offense.
As Bolts from the Blue notes, the deal would not appreciably alter the cap situation of either team. So is this a deal you would consider? The votes on the Chargers blog seem to be in favor of the deal by a wide margin?
In my view, this would be a deal that would make a lot of sense from a Jets perspective if we are only talking about 2015. The safety position is up in the air. Calvin Pryor is a huge question mark. The Jets made an investment to get Marcus Gilchrist in the offseason, but it was not a major investment. Things look a lot better with a Weddle at the back end of the defense. Add Weddle to the Jets secondary, and you might have one of the top secondaries in the league.
Would the defensive line take a hit? It might not if Leonard Williams is the real deal. I don't think it would take a big hit no matter what, though. Let's say Williams isn't ready to contribute anything. A line anchored by Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison is still a strength, and the Jets have some solid veteran rotational players to fill things out.
I don't think I would make this trade, though, because of two numbers. They are 30 and 25. Those are the respective ages of Weddle and Wilkerson. Both players will require a lucrative extension to keep past 2015. I think spending on years 26 through 29 with Wilkerson are going to be a much sounder investment than years 31 through 34 on Weddle.
What do you think? Would you make this trade if the Chargers offered?