The stupid trade that got everyone pissed off yesterday just got a lot stupider:
Just to clarify A.Q. Shipley cost the Ravens a conditional 7th Rd Pk if he makes the team.
— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) May 10, 2013
Look, I understand that general managers are going to make mistakes every so often. It happens. We're all human beings.
Example: I forgot to wear underwear today.
Maybe that's a little TMI, and if it is then chalk that up as another mistake. See? Human.
However, there are mistakes, and then there are moments of unexplainable idiocy. Grigson trading Shipley for a 7th round pick that he might not get is such unexplainable idiocy.
The Colts have also replaced Shipley on the roster is undrafted rookie Ricky Schmeig, a center from Purdue. For all you lovely folks out there who were flailing around yesterday and screaming that the trade simply HAD TO HAPPEN because it was UNPOSSIBLE for the Colts to keep three centers on their 90-man roster... I give you Schmeig.
This now means that the center position for the 2013 Indianapolis Colts is manned by the inconsistent and oft-injured Samson Satele and two rookies: The before-mentioned Schmeig and 2013 4th round draft pick Khaled Holmes.
This does not make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
It also means that Indianapolis is going to eat Samson Satele's $3.86 million cap hit for 2013. Cutting Satele before June 1st would have saved Indy $1.7 mill in cap space, money that could have been used to sign another player not named Schmeig.
At the end of the day, it' s not about Shipley, conditional picks, or Schmieg. It's about Satele. He's a 2012 free agent mistake made by Ryan Grigson. He's overpaid and not terribly good at this thing we call "pass blocking." A center who can't pass block well is pretty much like having a quarterback who can't throw.
Obviously, we still like Ryan Grigson and we still think he's a good G.M. However, just because we like him doesn't mean he gets an "awwww shucks, you tried" pass when he makes seemingly dumb decisions that hurt the overall talent-level of the football team.
We call it like it is here, and the Shipley trade to Baltimore is what we call pretty damn dumb.