Rick Spielman Interview

[Demi]

Yeah his job is always on the line and the surest way to get canned would be to dump the franchise's best, most popular player.

His surest way to get canned is to be the GM on a team that isn't winning.
Well, on most teams. Lions and Vikings seem not to mind as much.

[PurpleHalo]

Yeah his job is always on the line and the surest way to get canned would be to dump the franchise's best, most popular player.

It's the best way to keep your job, not wasting aging players and getting nothing for them. The best way to lose a job is playing it the way he has. Adrian and Jarred both should have been traded 2 years ago, letting players walk for nothing makes a team stagnant, turning players who can't help you win into young players is how you do it. I would rather base my model after what Belechick has done, the proof is in the pudding.

[saint33]

It's the best way to keep your job, not wasting aging players and getting nothing for them. The best way to lose a job is playing it the way he has. Adrian and Jarred both should have been traded 2 years ago, letting players walk for nothing makes a team stagnant, turning players who can't help you win into young players is how you do it. I would rather base my model after what Belechick has done, the proof is in the pudding.

Belichick is also well known for signing veteran players and getting the most out of them in the twilight of their careers. There is no rule that states that once a player reaches a certain age, it is detrimental to the team to keep him and the team must trade him for what they can get out of him, it is purely based on each player. Some might say that Jared Allen should have been traded, and I can't really disagree with that. Trading him after his near record breaking season would have been selling him high, for sure, but that is an extremely risky move that can back fire just as easily. Jared Allen appears to be on the decline, but I don't necessarily believe he is, we have seen players of his caliber have a down year or two, only to go on to other teams or bring in new coaching who revitalize their careers

And of course trading AD 2 years ago would have been quite possibly the biggest joke ever, considering he was MVP just one season ago. I am not opposed to this belief that trading players nearing decline can be beneficial, I think there is an argument to be made. But there has to be appropriate value in return and certainty that said player is truly entering his decline. In regards to Adrian, I don't think we could meet either of those criteria. Peterson is a special talent, but he plays a devalued position and is approaching an age that is widely considered the end of RBs careers. Due to Peterson's special talent, there's certainly reason to believe that he could be the exception, but would any team be willing to offer multiple high draft picks to take on his massive contract, all with the risk of his potential decline imminent? The fact of the matter is that Peterson has more value with this team than he does on the open market. And if we were to trade him for less than what he's worth, we lose an elite "blue chip" player for what is likely a marginal contributor.