Breaking: Holmes traded to Jets

ESPN 1050 in New York is saying the Steelers traded WR Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a 5th round pick in this year’s draft.

Assuming this is true, here’s some off the cuff thoughts:

This trade will be mostly judged off of Holmes’ production this season. He’s a UFA after this year and if he ends up missing a game or two because of his off-the-field problems, then maybe the Steelers don’t look bad. Still, for a team that is in “Win now” mode, Pittsburgh is losing their number one receiver. Antwaan Randle-El or Mike Wallace aren’t going to be able to make up what Holmes brought to the team.

I really think Holmes is the scapegoat for Ben Roethlisberger’s problems. Holmes came to Pittsburgh with a bad reputation, but that never really panned out outside of one minor incident of marijuana possession. This whole glass throwing incident is still unresolved, but it looks sketchy at best. Compare that to Roethlisberger dragging the organization’s name through the mud through two very public sexual assault claims. It’s pretty obvious to me which player has done more harm, but Holmes is the fall guy. There’s something just not right about that. Holmes was on thin ice to start with, while Roethlisberger has been given two second chances already. It’s also curious that this was done on the eve to the announcement of possible chargers to Big Ben tomorrow. The Steelers are planning for a big PR day…when it’s announced that there are no chargers, the team can point at Holmes and say “Look, we’re cleaning up. We don’t stand for this behavior and we’re glad Ben was innocent.”

At the end of the day, it’s hard to say that this move was done for anything other than saving face. It’s a terrible trade for a strictly football perspective and will set the offense back steeply in 2010.

I’m all for running a “clean” franchise, but shipping off a mildly toubled Super Bowl MVP  for a late-round pick is not a smart move.

If you want to run a “clean” franchise, you discipline Roethlisberger or James Harrison for messing up just like you did Cedric Wilson. If you want to save face, you dump the black WR with a checkered past so that local sports columnists and fans can start believing the lie that the Steelers have more character than any other NFL franchise again.