Earlier today, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported via Twitter (this is where we’d made the crack about it maybe being a hoax, but we’re already getting tired of that one) that three teams have talked about trading for Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who finds himself on the block after losing his starting job for the second time since 2008.
Schefter says that the Bills, Giants, and Raiders have “discussed” the possibility.
The Bills now say, via their official website, that Schefter’s report is “erroneous.” (But they’ve refrained from calling him a “false rumor monger”. Or a doodyhead. For now.)
“ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on his twitter account that the Bills were one of three teams that have discussed trading for Arizona QB Matt Leinart along with the Raiders and Giants. That report is erroneous,” writes Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.
“Buffalobills.com has confirmed that the Bills have not had any discussions with the Cardinals in regards to Matt Leinart and aren’t anticipating any in the future. The report is simply not true.”
But here’s the key. Schefter didn’t report that the Bills have talked to the Cardinals. Schefter reported only that the Bills have discussed it internally. Perhaps they have, and perhaps they decided against it. Or perhaps the Bills don’t want to spark a clamor in the locker room or the media or the fan base for or against the move until the Bills can decide whether to make the move.
Either way, we’re rarely inclined to accept at face value the things an NFL team says when strategic interests are involved. And we believe that the Bills are adding details to Schefter’s report that he never reported in the first place.
UPDATE: Maybe the Bills aren’t adding details, after all. Though Schefter’s tweet didn’t say that the Bills had talked to the Cardinals, his ESPN.com report says that they did. And given that he’s reporting that three teams have talked to the Cardinals, it’s possible that the Cardinals are putting out bad info in the hopes of conjuring a market for a guy that, possibly, no one wants.