By Tom Rock
Not quite. Even though one Internet site has "sources" reporting that the Jets are in serious negotiations with the Lions to trade up for the No. 2 pick in the draft (and competing with the Falcons and Bucs if it's true) and ship LB Jonathan Vilma to Detroit, I just got off the phone with Vilma's agent who said he has not heard anything that would lead him to believe that Vilma will not be playing for the Jets this season.
Is that a flat-out denial? No. But it's pretty strong. And there's a chance that the Jets are testing these waters without Vilma's knowledge -- while it would be nice to think that they take a player's opinion into account they are certainly not required to. Fact is it just doesn't sound Jets-like, throwing a cornerstone defender and a bucket of other draft picks to the Lions for the second overall pick (And who would they take? Calvin Johnson? Alan Branch? Adrian Peterson? Brady Quinn a year after taking Kellen Clemens?).
More than likely this Internet report was generated from somewhere within the Lions organization in an effort to drive up the price of their selection.
Still, I wouldn't go out and buy any more No. 51 jerseys until this whole draft blows over!