As a process that began three weeks ago (per Jay Glazer to Jason Whitlock on Jim Rome) races to a conclusion in less than seven hours, Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez has made clear his desire to play for another team.
A contender.
Preferably, the Giants.
But even after losing their first game on the road since . . . since . . . hell, we can’t remember and we’re too lazy to look it up, the Giants seem to be sticking to their “we don’t need no stinkin’ players” attitude toward guys on the roster, and guys not on the roster.
Besides, with Chiefs G.M. Carl Peterson known for driving a harder-than-advisable bargain (see Green, Trent), there’s no way that Peterson will put his ego behind his affection for Gonzalez.
That could be a real problem for the Chiefs over the balance of the year. Gonzalez, who was upset that the Chiefs didn’t allow him to break the all-time tight end receiving yardage record during last month’s home win over the Broncos, will be livid if the Chiefs don’t let him go.
And don’t think that Gonzalez will shut his mouth and continue to be a good solider on a God-awful team. Our guess is that he’ll lobby for his outright release, over and over again, until he gets his way.
The problem with that strategy, however, is that, after the trade deadline, any vested veteran who is released must pass through waivers. So before Gonzalez could get to a contender, he’d have to hope that a team like the Raiders or the Bengals or the Lions or any other franchise with little or no hope in 2008 refrains from making a claim for his contract.
Though Gonzalez’s base salaries go up dramatically in 2009, paying a prorated $1 million base salary for a short-term rental of one of the best tight ends in the game might be a good deal. Then, after the year, his new team can trade him for a low-round pick.
So if Gonzalez doesn’t get traded by 4:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, his best bet might be to keep his head low and his mouth shut and hope that the Chiefs trade him after the season.
It’s a prudent strategy, but we have a feeling that Gonzalez will have a hard time keeping quiet if he doesn’t get his way in the next six hours or so.