What about Bob?

Thanks to Bob's Blitz for pointing out this article by SI's Peter King that states safety Abram Elam was the key component to the trade which landed the Jets Mark Sanchez.

According to King, Eric Mangini loves Elam (whom he coached for the last two seasons) and signed the restricted free agent to a one-year, $1.5 million offer sheet in March. But the Jets, despite signing safety Jim Leonhard this offseason, matched the offer, keeping Elam a Jet.

When the Browns and Jets began talking trade last Friday, Elam was the centerpiece of the deal. But the Browns' VP of Football Administration Dawn Aponte found an obscure rule in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (Article XIX of Veteran Free Agency, Section 3 [h]) that states: "If a Club exercises its right of first refusal and matches an offer sheet (which the Jets did), that club may not trade that player to the Club that submitted the offer sheet for at least one calendar year, unless the player consents to such trade (meaning the Browns).''

So the night before the draft, the Jets had to explain to Elam that they would need him to sign a formal document approving any trade that could potentially be made the following day. If one wasn't completed, he'd still be a Jet.

Realizing that going to Cleveland would give him a better chance to play (the Jets have Leonhard and Kerry Rhodes as their safeties), Elam signed the document, which the Jets e-mailed to him, and faxed it back to their offices in Florham Park late Friday night.

Interesting maneuvering by the Jets.

-Chris Mascaro