In an obvious statement move, the Steelers traded former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth-round pick and a half bag of stale Cheetos that were found in the bottom drawer of Rex Ryan’s office desk.
Just to put the trade in perspective, the Jets parted with two players (receiver Chansi Stuckey and linebacker Jason Trusnik), plus two undisclosed draft picks when they acquired Braylon Edwards from the Browns last October. And there’s no question that Holmes has more talent in his right pinkie toe than Edwards has in his entire body.
Make no mistake: Holmes is a top-flight receiver that can stretch the field and be productive in any offense. He’s a freaking coconut (a coconut that may be suspended the first four games next season), but he’s a dangerous deep threat and a true playmaker in every sense of the word. The Jets got a steal in this trade and have gone a long way in upgrading their passing game for Mark Sanchez. Assuming Edwards doesn’t throw a tantrum now that he won’t be the main guy, he and Holmes could do some damage together in the Jets’ offense.
That said, the Steelers don’t care what they got in return for Holmes because it’s clear that they just wanted to rid themselves of the headache. It wasn’t about the compensation for them – it was about cutting their losses and dumping their mess on another team. They certainly failed to get value in this trade, but at least they don’t have to spend the rest of the offseason wondering whether or not Holmes will be suspended at the start of next season. They already have enough to worry about in Ben Roethlisberger – the other turd in their punchbowl this offseason.
It’ll be interesting to see how this trade affects the Steelers’ draft. They vastly need to upgrade the interior of their offensive line, but Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, Antwaan Randle El and Limas Sweed aren’t going to get it done at receiver. They might not target a wideout with their first pick, but they’ll have to address the position at some point during the draft.
