NFL Trades

Two semi large blockbuster NFL trades went through this weekend and early Monday morning. The Washington Redskins got Jason Taylor from Miami to replace their two injured D-Ends and the Saints were able to aquire Jeremy Shockey from the NFL Champs New York Giants.

According to ESPN.com's John Clayton, Taylor told the Redskins he did not need to renegotiate and was willing to play for the final two years of his contract. He is scheduled to make $8.1 million this season. With around $9 million of cap room, the Redskins were able to work the trade quickly.

The Dolphins had been waiting for an opportunity to trade Taylor, who asked to be moved to a playoff contender at the beginning of the offseason. Before the draft, the Dolphins were asking for a first-round draft choice. They lowered the demand later to a second-rounder.

Jason Taylor Trade Article

The Saints had been trying since February to acquire the disgruntled New York Giants tight end. First, they offered a second-round pick. Before the draft, they increased the offer to a second- and a fifth-round draft choice, but the Giants felt he was too valuable to lose until a few days before the start of their training camp.

As Payton and Saints general manager Mickey Loomis did their last few minutes of office work before heading to Jackson, Miss., for Wednesday's start of training camp, they received a call from the Giants saying that Shockey was theirs.

Shockey, 28, a four-time Pro Bowler, has 371 catches for 4,228 yards and 27 touchdowns during his six-year NFL career. He grew disgruntled with the Giants because he wanted to be more involved with some downfield passing. The Giants valued his run blocking.

Shockey Trade Article