Yeah, I've never liked trading away draft picks, just for the right to give a guy a raise.... it's like being forced to pay twice, especially when you could just wait a year and pay once.
Originally Posted by: beast
I understand your point, but the recent trade is why a team would make a move like this. Otherwise, they may never have a shot at the player. There is always some team willing to crazy overspend in free agency, or a player may never consider a certain team or market when they are an unrestricted free agent. Now they secured a potentially very good WR without having to further compete with any team. As long as they expect to resign him, it could work out. Worse case scenario, they could tag him for a year.
I'm not saying I agree with this particular move, but there are obviously some benefits, especially if a team has a critical need and is ready to win now. Let's say if the Packers made this trade, and Bryant was a key cog in helping the Packers win another Super Bowl, it would have been well worth it, even if he departed the following year. A team could also get a decent compensatory pick in that scenario anyway, further minimizing the damage.