Whitlock: Trading Gonzalez to contender would be right thing to do, but price may not

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Trading Gonzalez to contender would be right thing to do, but price may not be right

Trading Tony Gonzalez to a playoff contender is the right thing to do for Tony and the Chiefs.

Trading Tony Gonzalez to a playoff contender just days before Tuesday’s NFL trading deadline and receiving appropriate compensation might be an impossible task.

The story that the Chiefs are trying to accommodate Gonzalez’s desire to be dealt to a team worthy of his skill is true, according to the involved parties I spoke to Saturday.

Gonzalez would like to join the New York Giants, the defending Super Bowl champions. The Giants are locked in the super-competitive NFC East, battling playoff-caliber peers Dallas, Washington and Philadelphia.

The Giants traded star tight end Jeremy Shockey during the offseason to New Orleans. Gonzalez makes sense in New York. But the Giants’ front office, sitting on a Super Bowl title and feeling no urgency to win, isn’t all that interested in giving Kansas City fair compensation.

The Giants offered less than a fifth-round pick for a Hall of Fame tight end who can still play at a Pro Bowl level for the next three years. I don’t blame Carl Peterson for balking. He drafted Gonzalez and built Kansas City’s passing game around Gonzalez for the past decade.

It would be insane to give Gonzalez away for anything less than third- and sixth-round picks. The Saints gave New York a second and a fifth for Shockey, who is younger but less productive than Gonzalez.

So what are the options?

Pray that the Eagles lose today to the 49ers. The Eagles desperately need Tony Gonzalez, but Andy Reid and Philly’s executives are determined to force Donovan McNabb to spend the majority of his career throwing to bums. So far, the Eagles have no interest in Gonzalez. It’s ridiculous.

The one time in his career when McNabb was afforded the opportunity to throw to a big-time target — Terrell Owens — the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl and McNabb threw for 31 touchdowns. Given the early season success of Dallas, New York and Washington, the Eagles should be itching to provide McNabb a weapon.

Despite just 21 receptions this season — a product of KC’s quarterback woes — Gonzalez has shown no signs of slowing down. He’s a great player for at least two more seasons. The NFL draft is a craps game. There’s virtually no guarantee that a second- or third-round pick would ever be a starter, let alone a Pro Bowler for two or three years.

Gonzalez is a great value in a trade, if a team is trying to make a legitimate Super Bowl push.

Other options?

I’m sure the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills would have an interest in Gonzalez. I’m not sure Gonzalez would have an interest in spending his twilight years in Green Bay or Buffalo. I don’t blame him.

Are the Jets and Brett Favre a serious enough playoff threat to pursue Gonzalez? Maybe. But they spent a lot of money this offseason and then added Favre. The undefeated Titans are another option, although I doubt Peterson would want to deal his favorite tight end to Kansas City’s next opponent.

No matter what, the Chiefs should aggressively try to deal Gonzalez. The hindsight reality is the Chiefs should’ve traded Gonzalez this offseason when they decided to rebuild. Nope. The hindsight reality is the Chiefs should’ve traded Gonzalez after the 2006 season and the embarrassing playoff loss to the Colts.

I bring this up so I can beat my favorite dead horse — Carl Peterson. By failing to recognize the fall of his franchise and unloading costly veterans, Peterson set up a scenario in which he would give his pet draft picks — Gonzalez and Larry Johnson — expensive new contracts that would help the Chiefs win four games in 2007 and one game (so far) in 2008.

The Chiefs will be paying for Peterson’s miscalculation for a long time.

Gonzalez and Johnson both have plenty of Hunt money and mixed emotions about staying in a Chiefs uniform. That’s quite a bargain for Clark Hunt and an interesting dynamic in Kansas City’s locker room.

On Saturday I asked Brian Waters for his thoughts on Gonzalez wanting out of Kansas City.

“I’m not concerned because I think we all would like to play for a contender,” Waters said. “But I would rather be the foundation rather than ride on the coattails of others.”

Will Gonzalez’s desire to leave impact locker-room morale?

“This team could handle it,” Waters said. “This team has some tough young people. It’s the older guys that you worry about.”

The older guys want out. You can’t really blame them.