According to SI.com’s Don Banks, the Eagles have jumped ahead of the Falcons in the Tony Gonzalez trade talks.

• The buzz about the Chiefs resuming their attempts to trade veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez has re-started, and it sounds as if the Eagles might have nosed ahead of the Falcons as the most likely trade partner. Philly is thought to be willing to give up a third-rounder for Gonzalez. But Kansas City is seeking at least a second-round pick for a player it considers a future Hall of Famer, and may not be willing to bear the brunt of any criticism that could come if it’s perceived to have given away Gonzalez too cheaply.

Considering the Falcons vehemently denied that they were interested in Gonzalez, Banks’ report shouldn’t surprise anyone. There is a lot of speculation that Philly is interested in Oklahoma State tight end Brandon Pettigrew at No. 21, so it makes sense that they would be willing to give up a third rounder for a proven commodity like Gonzalez. (Although I don’t know if a third round pick would be enough to acquire him.)

I went into more detail about the Gonzo-trade talks yesterday. You can read it here.

One of the more interesting situations that has been brewing for the past couple months is what the Chiefs are going to do with tight end Tony Gonzalez, who appears to desperately want out of Kansas City.

Since February of this year, several media publications have speculated that Gonzalez has made it clear that he doesn’t want to be a Chief any longer. Yet every time a new rumor hits the web, Gonzo usually denies the claim within a few days.

But he failed to report to KC’s voluntary minicamp last Saturday and his absence would seem to indicate that he does want out, or else why wouldn’t he be spending this time getting acquainted with new quarterback Matt Cassel? Gonzo is the consummate pro, so even though the workouts are voluntary, one would think that he would want to spend as much time as possible getting in sync with Cassel.

New GM Scott Pioli has already stated that he doesn’t feel obligated to trade Gonzalez this offseason, yet he might consider it if the right deal comes along this weekend during the draft. Several teams could use Gonzalez’s services, most notably the Falcons (who have already been linked to Gonzo-internet rumors, although they proved to be false), Bills, Jets, Eagles and Browns.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to the National Football Post, the Falcons are interested in trading for Chiefs’ tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Lombardi reports that the Falcons may be willing to give up their second round draft pick (#55 overall) in order to obtain the services of Gonzalez.

The move makes sense as Justin Peelle, the Falcons top tight end target from 2008, caught only 15 passes for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns in 16 games last season.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez is coming off another Pro Bowl season in which he hauled in 96 receptions for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns.

More on this story as it develops.

If you’re looking for a connection, Atlanta’s GM is Thomas Dimitroff, who used to be the Director of College Scouting for the Patriots under former New England general manager and now current Kansas City GM Scott Pioli.

But even with that connection, this rumor is still a little far-fetched. None of the major media outlets have had anything to say about a possible trade and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that so far, there’s ‘nothing concrete about the rumor.’

Yes, the Falcons do want to give a pass-catching tight end to quarterback Matt Ryan. But to give up a second round pick for Gonzo is a steep price when you consider how many holes Atlanta has on the defensive side of the ball. The Falcons haven’t been major players in free agency this offseason, instead choosing to wait for the draft to fill their needs. It’s unlikely that Dimitroff would give up his second round pick when there are pressing holes at linebacker, defensive tackle, safety and defensive end. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be a good trade, it’s just seems a little unrealistic at this point.