Could Tony Gonzalez Be An Option For The Patriots ?

With one of Bill Belichick’s best friends in football, Scott Pioli taking over the Kansas City Chiefs, it makes sense that the two-teams could make a pretty good tandem to hatch out trades together. And what player on the Chiefs roster might interest the Patriots ?

Tony Gonzalez

The 32-year-old, 10-time Pro Bowler has made it known earlier this season that he would like out of Kansas City. He says that he wants to play for a winner, and what better place for him then New England. The Patriots have two tight ends who have under-performed- Ben Watson and often-injured David Thomas. It’s a position that Belichick would like to upgrade with Watson’s impending free-agency next season, but he won’t want to pay too much for a quality tight end, nor will he want to waste another first round pick on one.

Which brings us back to Gonzalez. Who in 2007 signed a five-year contract worth $35 Million Dollars with $17 Million guaranteed, making him the highest paid tight end in the NFL. A salary range the Patriots typically don’t like to be in for a tight end. But, Gonzalez may change that. We have seen how the Patriots were will to spend money to re-sign Randy Moss. Would they be willing to shell out $7 Million a season on a tight end ? Perhaps not. But with Gonzalez’s desire to get out of KC and to play for a winner; what’s not to say that he won’t be willing to restructure his contract ?

The price to trade for the tight end might not be as high as people may think. It won’t cost you a first round pick or Matt Cassel for Gonzalez. It probably won’t even cost you a second round pick either. What Pioli wants to do with the Chiefs is get rid of the older players with expensive contracts and acquire draft picks, so he can get the team younger, create salary cap space and add quality to an old and talent starved team. So, if the Patriots were willing to trade perhaps a third round pick they could acquire the Pro Bowl tight end.  A deal that would be beneficiary to both teams. The Patriots currently have one first round pick, two second round picks, and one third round pick. But, they will probably be awarded an extra third round pick as compensation for losing Asante Samuel. They pick however cannot be traded. So, if the Patriots were willing to trade around the 90th pick in the NFL Draft they could perhaps have one of the best tight ends in football. Who just last season had 96 catches for 1,058 yards and 10 TD’s.

The Patriots will try and concentrate on re-signing many of their younger players; i.e. Vince Wilfork and Logan Mankins this offseason. But with the salary cap going up again this season, acquiring a tight end the likes of Gonzalez makes a whole lot of sense. Especially if they can re-do his contract.

Oh, and did I mention his wife ? Bonus Pics here and here.

Related Posts:

• What’s Next for the Patriots
• Pioli Is A Chief
• It’s Looking Like Pioli Maybe Gone Too
• Talks Heating Up Between Pioli And Chiefs