[MIJB#19]

Merchantmen have a busy day in the front office
So far, today was a busy day again for the Merchantmen. In an attempt to create cap room and be able to sign the drafted rookies, the Merchantmen announced two trades today. The gave up a very good player and a decent first round pick for mostly second round selections.

First, the Merchantmen agreed to terms with divisional rivals Bordeaux Vineyards to trade left guard Alvin Causey to sunny France. As five other interested parties either withdrew their interested in guard Butch White, saw negotiations for a trade up from Maassluis cancelled or couldn't match the Bordeaux offer, Causey stays in the same division to show he was worth a starting job.

Alvin Causey's stint with Maassluis has been a strange story. The Merchantmen gave up two third and a fourth round pick in three different drafts to acquire him from Orlando Knights. Causey was expected to miss the whole 2005 season and the Merchantmen hoped to have a steal of starting guard. When recovered, Causey looked like a very good player, but no longer an elite lineman. There were contract issues and eventually the Merchantmen franchises Causey at the start of this offseason. Then Causey signed a five-year deal, only to see the team traded in Timothy Lacy from Fort Worth to make him expendable. Bordeaux give up second and fourth rounders in the 2008 draft.

The mentioned Orlando Knights were the other trade partner today. The Merchantmen dealt away the unwanted #23 overall, they got in a trade for the #28 and #30 overall and where the also acquired the expected backup linebacker and defensive leader Carl Meier. The Merchantmen also gave up their 2008 fourth rounder to acquire the Knights' third rounder in 2007. Bust most notable, the Merchantmen got the #50 and #158 picks in the 2006 draft to have back-to-back picks in the mid second round and the end of the fifth round.

With these moves, the Merchantmen have six selections in the upcoming draft, but they have announced to trade one of their top two picks. If all is said and done, the Maassluis team is expected to have either the #12 or #35 overall, the #50, the #51, the #158 and the #159 overall. The team hasn't given away names, but the word has been spread that only three or four players are marked as potential #12 worthy, while the #35 is their escape route to pick a lesser talented guy at probably the same position. Putting the earlier mentioned "We will draft a quarterback" together with the statements, it makes sense that the Dutch team will pick a quarterback with their top pick.