NFL Trade Rumors: Did Chiefs Offer Fifth Round Pick for Tony Gonzalez?

Jan 14, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager

speaks during the press conference announcing his hiring at the University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL trade deadline came and went without the Chiefs making a deal. How that will impact the rest of the season will be determined over the next few months, but for now we will try to figure out if the Chiefs were anywhere close to making a deal for any of the players that were reported to be available.

Marty McDonald, famous for his “Save our Chiefs” movement that helped with the ouster of the Scott Pioli era, says he knows something no other journalist knows (so far, anyway).

Later, Carrington Harrison, a radio host for 610 Sports in Kansas City, sent this tweet:

The reply…

A few things to note right off the bat here:

1. No other journalist is running with this story, including Harrison. In fact, Harriston tweeted this later in the day.

2. McDonald does have a history of being right on these things, enough for Harrison to tweet him and ask for his source.

3. Repeat point number one: No one else is running with this story in KC or Atlanta (yet).

The only other mild reference to a potential Gonzalez deal was by Sean Keeler of Fox Sports Kansas City, who wrote this:

"Was it a fourth-rounder? A fifth? A third and a conditional? Two sixth-rounders and a $100 gift card at Jack Stack?…The Chiefs-Gonzalez dance picked up serious heat a few weeks ago, got shot down by all the required parties, then picked up heat again Tuesday morning, when Tony G … told ESPN that he ‘would listen’ to offers if Atlanta found a partner that fit."

That’s a lot of dancing on Keeler’s part to say that “he has no idea.”

However, it doesn’t mean there isn’t some smoke to McDonald’s claim, though some of the details may be incorrect by the time we get the full story – and who knows when that will be.

Tony Gonzalez would indeed have been a fit for what the Chiefs offense was lacking. John Dorsey did not shoot down the idea of a trade for Gonzalez, saying: “No, it’s not a no. We have to analyze each situation. That’s kind of what that is.”

We also know the Atlanta Falcons were not sending signals to the public that would suggest they were ready to trade Gonzalez. These signals were very strong as late as yesterday. So it would make sense for the Falcons to ask for something unreasonable, something that would be considered a “win” for the Atlanta organization. A first round pick would be insulting. A third round pick is the highest pick the Chiefs have after that since they traded their second rounder for Alex Smith. A third round pick would not be considered a slap in the face. Make out with a third round pick in this draft, and of course you do that deal if you’re the Falcons.

Otherwise, Atlanta wasn’t having it. Which makes sense because A) they said they didn’t want to trade him and B) Atlanta has not packed it in. A fifth round pick would be tremendous value for a player who intends to walk away in two months, a no-brainer type of trade for a team that’s given up on the season.

So, to some degree, this rumor could be true, but for the moment there is nothing of substance to back it up. File this rumor away for further review.  Eventually there will be a reported story that comes out about how Tuesday went down for Tony Gonzalez, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Kansas City Chiefs.