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Vikings Want To Trade For Sage?

From Don Banks at SI.com:

"According to a league source, Minnesota is offering Houston a third-round 2008 draft pick in exchange for backup Sage Rosenfels, who went 4-1 last season in place of injured Texans starter Matt Schaub. Houston, which finished a franchise-best 8-8 last season, is said to be seeking a second-round pick in exchange for Rosenfels, who is not a free agent."

Yowza.  We've argued about the merits of Schaub v. Sage before, so I'm not going to revisit them here.  Except to say that Matt Schaub will one day broker peace in the Middle East while simultaneously ending world hunger.  A little more than a month ago, I wrote this:

What about all the noise about trading Sage for a draft pick?  A pipe dream, I say.  If you can think of a team that would part with a third rounder or better for Sage, let me know.  Otherwise, it ain't worth it; as the Texans saw down the stretch this past season, a competent second-stringer at QB is at the very least a worthwhile luxury, if not a downright necessity.  Unless a needy team breathlessly offers a second-rounder, Sage goes nowhere.  And I'd be shocked if there was a GM so in love with Sage that he'd be willing to make an offer Smithiak can't refuse.

If Banks' report is true, it sure looks like Rick Spielman may well be that breathless general manager to which I was referring, huh?  And if he is indeed that hot for Sage, Smithiak should rob him blind.  Hold strong to that demand of a second-rounder to see if the Texans can recoup the pick that we lost in last year's deal for The Schaub. See if the Vikes blink.  If they do, then Rick Smith should throw his head back and cackle maniacally before agreeing to the deal.  If Minnesota holds firm to the third-round offer, I think you still have to do the deal if you're the Texans. There are too many holes on the team to hang on to a backup when you could conceivably draft a starter at another position, particularly in a draft as potentially deep as this year's where absurd value can assuredly be had in Round Three. What say you, BRB?

Update [2008-2-29 1:34:32 by Tim]: Is the deal dead? I hope not. Let us cross our fingers and hope that cooler heads prevail. Kind of like the Cuban Missile Crisis, but with the Texans snaring a second-round draft pick from Khrushchev. I mean, the Vikings.