According to the Baltimore Sun, the Ravens are reportedly willing to give up their first round pick (No. 26 overall) in order to acquire Cardinals’ wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Arizona is asking for a first and a third, but according to the report, the Ravens would also be willing to give up a second round pick and a veteran player.

My cohort John Paulsen and I got into a discussion recently about whether or not it would be worth it for the Ravens to give up their first round pick in exchange for Boldin. My first question would be: What position(s) is Baltimore targeting at No. 26? They have an obvious need for wideout with Derek Mason turning 35 in January and it appears that Mark Clayton is already at his ceiling in terms of potential. An argument could be made that they need a safety to replace Jim Leonhard (who signed with the Jets this offseason), as well as defensive end to eventually replace Trevor Pryce.

But if the Ravens have their sights on drafting a receiver at No. 26, then they should definitely trade for Boldin if they have the opportunity. Granted, it might cost them two draft picks in the process, but Boldin is already proven and even though he turns 29 in October, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and has at least four or five more productive years left in the tank. Plus, recent history has shown that receivers aren’t the safest picks in the first round, which also plays into the argument that the Ravens would be better of trading for a sure thing like Boldin.

Conversely, if Baltimore is targeting another position in the first (i.e. a defensive starter), then they would probably be better served passing on Boldin and keeping their draft picks. Even though it would be nice for Joe Flacco to have a legit No. 1 receiver like Boldin to throw to, defense comes first. Teams like the Steelers, Patriots and Colts are competitive every year because all of them draft well. Even though Boldin would be a sure thing, the Ravens have to trust Ozzie Newsome’s scouting and rely on him to get an eventual starter at No. 26. The Steelers didn’t win two Super Bowls in the last five years because they traded for sure things. They relied on their scouting and built their roster through the draft.

Team president Joe Banner says that trading for Cardinals’ receiver Anquan Boldin is still an option for the Eagles.

“We’re always looking for players that we think can make us better,” Banner said. “I think we’ve proven many times that we’d be willing to do what it takes, whether it be a trade or do something with somebody’s contract in order to get them here.”

Given that the Eagles surrendered a first-round draft pick – the 28th overall – and a fourth-round pick to get Peters, they have less trade ammunition than they did a few days ago, but Banner said the team would not rule out dealing its remaining first-round pick, the 21st overall.

“There are teams that start the year with only one first-round draft pick and they’ve traded them,” Banner said. “If we made another trade with a first-round draft pick, we’d just be in the same position as them. I think we’ll do whatever we evaluate to be the best move with any of the available players. . . . Some of the evaluation is about the quality of what we have at certain positions.”

It would seem that the Eagles’ biggest decision right now is whether to go after one of the top running backs in the first round of Saturday’s draft or try to trade for Boldin or one of the other star receivers that could be available. Both Cincinnati’s Chad Ocho Cinco (Chad Johnson) and Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards also are on the trade market.

This is one of those times when a team official says something without really saying anything. Philly GM Tom Heckert has said all along that the receiving corps is set, although I could see the Eagles adding a wideout in the later rounds come draft day.

The Eagles are in “win now” mode, so adding a dynamic piece like Boldin is certainly still a possibility, but I just can’t see them giving up two first round picks and possibly a third before the draft even starts on Saturday. That’s just not the Eagles’ style.

Throw the Ravens into the mix of teams interested in acquiring wideout Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals.

In a move that could drastically change this year’s NFL draft, the Ravens have expressed interest in acquiring wide receiver Anquan Boldin from the Arizona Cardinals, a league source confirmed Thursday.

It would likely take a first- and a third-round draft pick to acquire Boldin, who had 89 catches for 1,038 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.

This is the third time in five years the Ravens have considered trading for a wide receiver. Their trade for Terrell Owens in 2004 was rescinded, and the team failed to complete a deal for Randy Moss in 2005.

Asked whether the Ravens have contacted the Cardinals about Boldin, general manager Ozzie Newsome said Thursday: “With the draft coming up, I’ve had a chance to talk to eight different teams over the past 48 hours.”

Boldin, 28, would be attractive to the Ravens because they couldn’t draft a proven receiver like him with the 26th overall pick.

As the article points out, if the Ravens are determined to take a receiver at No. 26, then giving up a first and a third for Boldin would be wise. Any receiver they take in the first round would need two to three years to develop and even then, they might not be half the player Boldin is right now.

Giving Joe Flacco a highly productive wide receiver like Boldin would be an outstanding move. But is it more important than filling their defensive (their identity) holes? Remember, Baltimore lost Bart Scott to the Jets in free agency and released cornerbacks Samari Rolle and Chris McAlister. They did sign free agent Domonique Foxworth, but that still leaves a hole at the other cornerback position. Then again, the Ravens would have one of the better offenses in the NFL if they brought in Boldin, so it’ll be interesting to see if they put together a trade package.

While the Cardinals are still trying to work on keeping Anquan Boldin in Arizona, head coach Ken Whisenhunt noted that the team is willing to field trade offers for the wide receiver.

“Before the draft, you know there is going to talk about Anquan and his situation and a trade,” Whisenhunt said. “Since not a whole lot has changed with his contractual situation, we know that will come back up.

“It would be foolish from our standpoint not to listen to those opportunities and see what actually exists. But I want to make the point … our goal is to re-sign him to a long-term deal. That hasn’t changed.”

Said general manager Rod Graves, “We just think it is prudent for us to evaluate all our options.”
The Cardinals have already talked some with other teams, although Graves declined to say which ones.

Boldin, who has been looking for a new contract, still has two years left on his current deal. Because of that, the Cardinals don’t feel a sense of urgency to deal Boldin. If a trade isn’t consummated before the first day of the draft April 25, it is unlikely Boldin is going anywhere.

The way this story has developed this offseason has been strange. First Boldin says that his situation with the Cardinals is “irreparable” and the next moment he says he’d like to stay in ‘Zona. Then the Cards say that they’re doing everything they can to retain him, yet now they’re willing to field offers.

My best guess is that the two teams most likely to come up with a decent trade package are still the Giants and Eagles. But it appears that the Giants are more likely to land Braylon Edwards at this point and the Eagles have more to offer the Cards in terms of trade value because they have two first round picks. But does Philly want to give up one of those first rounders for Boldin? General manager Tom Heckert has said all along that his receiving corps is set, but who knows if that’s just a smokescreen.

On Thursday, ProFootballTalk.com reported that the Cardinals had begun actively shopping receiver Anquan Boldin. But Arizona GM Rod Graves is denying the report.

General Manager Rod Graves denied a report by profootballtalk.com that the team is “shopping” receiver Anquan Boldin to potential trade partners.

The report was attributed to an unnamed NFL source.

Via text message, Graves said the Cardinals position regarding Boldin has not changed.
Boldin first asked for a trade about a year ago, and the Cardinals have consistently said they were not interested in trading the Pro Bowl receiver. Graves, however, has left open the possibility that the team’s stance could one day change.

Boldin has two years remaining on a four-year extension signed in 2005. That extension was worth about $23 million in new money, including $10 million in bonuses.

Boldin recently backed off a promise never to re-sign with the Cardinals. Through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Boldin said he would be willing to re-sign provided an offer was forthcoming in a reasonable amount of time.

Graves could be denying the report in order to keep trade talks on the down low, but it wouldn’t be surprising if this was just another made up report by PFT. More times than not, the site uses unnamed sources for its reports so any content from them must be taken with a grain of salt.

Philadelphia has emerged as a landing spot for free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and trade bait Anquan Boldin, but according to Eagles’ GM Tom Heckert the team is already set at the wideout position.

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert tells Fox 29 the team likely won’t be adding a free agent receiver to Donovan McNabb’s arsenal.

“It’s an easy out for everyone to say we need a wide receiver but we did get one – DeSean Jackson,” Heckert said. Jackson was a second-round pick last season.

Heckert believes Jackson is a prime threat at wide receiver and receivers won’t be an issue for the team during the free agent season.

He also said the Donovan McNabb has been at the Eagles training facility daily since the Super Bowl and that he’s been talking regularly with McNabb.

But Heckert was tight lipped about any ongoing contract talks with the star quarterback.

This could just be a smokescreen by Heckert, but then again, this hasn’t been a team that goes out and pursues top dollar wide receivers very often so maybe the GM is speaking honestly.

On Tuesday, a report surfaced that Cardinals’ wideout Larry Fitzgerald was willing to restructure his contract in efforts to keep teammate Anquan Boldin in Arizona. But apparently that story was a bit overblown.

From Rotoworld:

Asked about possibly restructuring his contract Wednesday, Larry Fitzgerald said, “I don’t know where that came from.”

Fitzgerald spoke to Rotoworld’s Gregg Rosenthal among a media throng Wednesday morning and seemed perplexed by the story, but didn’t exactly shoot it down. “Someone asked me if I’d be willing to do something to help the team and I said absolutely. … This is an amazing feeling and I’ll do anything I have to do to get back to this point.” It sounds like Fitzgerald is open to the possibility, but he was just answering a question vaguely. Ultimately, his agent will have the biggest say in the matter and probably hopes Fitz will decline to discuss the matter more publicly.

Okay, so apparently some overzealous reporter ran with a story that didn’t exist. It was a nice idea and maybe it’ll still happen, but for now the Boldin-contract situation is still as much of a mess as it was in preseason.

According to ESPN.com, Cardinals’ GM Rod Graves says he plans to meet with Boldin after the season in attempts to resolve the issue. But money talks in the end and if the team doesn’t pony up, this situation won’t be resolved any time soon.

According to NFL Network’s Adam Schefter, Larry Fitzgerald might be willing to restructure his deal in order for the Cardinals to keep wideout Anquan Boldin this offseason.

Questions surround Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin and his future in Arizona. But one of the keys to it could turn out to be Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Just as Fitzgerald accepted a four-year, $40 million deal from Arizona last year when he could have made considerably more on the open market so he could leave the Cardinals cap space, Fitzgerald would like to help the Cardinals again.

Fitzgerald is willing to restructure his contract so that the Cardinals can redo Boldin’s and keep him in Arizona long-term. Boldin wants his deal redone and said during the season that he never would re-sign with Arizona again, but many around the league believe that as long as the Cardinals make a sufficient offer, then Boldin will agree to stay.

Plus, it will be especially hard to turn down when Fitzgerald is willing to make the selfless offer that he is to make it possible for Boldin to stay. The two compose the game’s top receiving duo and their salaries also could be tied to one another.

Everyone has seen that Fitzgerald is one of the games top players this post-season. Now they’re about to see how selfless he can be this off-season.

If this is true, what a selfless act by Fitzgerald. He knows what it took for the Cards to reach the Super Bowl and he understands that with Boldin on the other side, his production rises. Some wideouts only care about numbers, but Fitz just proved that he cares about winning above all else.

He’s certainly an easy athlete to root for.