Cowboys Fail To Consider Fantasy Implications Before Making Trade

DALLAS, TX--The Dallas Cowboys drew the ire of the fantasy community recently when they made a trade with the Cleveland Browns without first considering the fantasy implications. The team traded wide receiver Antonio Bryant to Cleveland in exchange for another wide receiver, Quincy Morgan. After the trade, both clubs faced a barrage of criticism from the nation’s fantasy owners.

“This is a pretty curious move. While it’s true that Bryant was unhappy in Dallas, it’s not likely that Quincy Morgan will be much of an improvement,” said Michael Fabiano, senior fantasy writer for CBS Sportsline.com. “Morgan’s fantasy value will drop considerably from this trade, so if you drafted him this year, you’re pretty much screwed. Parcells is going to face a lot of heat for this move, and deservedly so.”

The Browns are facing their share of ridicule over the deal, too, even though the trade will probably increase Bryant’s fantasy value.

“A lot of people cut Bryant off their roster the past couple of weeks because he was unproductive,” said Fabiano. “Now he’s probably going to catch a lot more passes in Cleveland’s offense. This would’ve been a lot fairer to the rest of us if the Browns had given some advance notice that they were going to make the deal. I, personally, just traded the guy the week before the Browns acquired him. This doesn’t say much for Carmen Policy and the rest of Cleveland’s front office. They really dropped the ball on this one.”

Around the country, fantasy football owners are scrambling to repair their rosters. Those affected by the recent trade are furious with the two teams’ failure to think about the consequences of their actions.

“I hope, in the future, that teams will consult fantasy football websites and publications before they start haphazardly making trades,” said Larry Ulrich, 28, whose Rotisserie team is currently at the top of the Yahoo.com fantasy league. “I had Quincy Morgan and now I’m going to have to trade him. If I knew this deal was going to happen, I never would have drafted him in the first place. Being a Rotisserie GM is hard enough as it is without having to deal with these frivolous moves.”

The two teams rushed to do damage control after making the controversial move. Policy and the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones admitted to thinking only about their teams and not the needs of thousands of fantasy footballers. They vowed to cover all the bases in the future.

“At the time of the trade, both teams really thought it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, there were other factors that we did not take into account,” Jerry Jones told reporters at a press conference Saturday. “We did not take into account everybody’s fantasy football roster. In the future we will. But for now, all you dorks are going to have to simmer down a little.”

Policy reiterated Jones’ stance but went a step further, promising to consult the nation’s Rotisserie experts before making any more moves.

“I never realized how popular fantasy football was before,” said Policy. “The second we announced the trade, I was bombarded with emails and phone calls. A lot of people were upset about the trade and I vowed to do a better job in the future. From now on, I’ll be consulting Brandon Funston before making any roster changes. He’s that fantasy football guy from ESPN. He knows so much about fantasy football, it’s almost impossible to imagine him ever getting laid.”

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue contacted both teams to express the league’s displeasure. He called the move “irresponsible” but stopped short of levying any fines or penalties.

“Clearly both parties are guilty of being irresponsible and shortsighted,” Tagliabue said during an interview on Outside the Lines. “Today’s GM’s often forget that one small trade can have far reaching implications for thousands of people. Fantasy football is a multi-million dollar industry now. Team owners and GM’s must learn to think like Rotisserie owners when they are making transactions. The player’s individual numbers are more important than his overall value to the team. We need everyone to have that mind set, not just Randy Moss.”