According to ESPN.com, via Schefter, Edwards has been traded to the Jets. This is a somewhat surprising move for several reasons—one of which is that the Jets are actually kind of good and handing a headcase to their rookie quarterback will certainly not help his poise. Also, the NFL is still investigating whether Edwards violated their conduct policy by punching a friend of LeBron James, so that's another headache they don't need.

ALSO: Michael Crabtree is finally a 49er, but he's pretty much already squandered his rookie year and will likely be playing catchup for his entire career so we don't have to think about him anymore.

Source: Braylon Edwards of Cleveland Browns traded to New York Jets [ESPN]
San Francisco 49ers, Michael Crabtree agree to contract [ESPN]
Braylon heads to Broadway [PFT]

Mike Ornstein is not part of the wide receiver's football negotiations, but he says Crabtree is "not under the gun" to sign a football contract any time soon, thanks to $750,000 in endorsements that Ornstein and his partner have already secured. I sure hope those are guaranteed dollars because commercial endorsements don't carry much weight when they come from unemployed people. Crabtree has deals with Subway, Jordan Brand, Upper Deck and Topps-although again, you generally don't get to be on trading cards when you don't own a football uniform.

Only in the last sentence of this article does Ornstein admit that Crabtree would have significantly more endorsement dollars had he already signed—yet another reason why rookie holdouts are extremely counterproductive. Of course, this is after he declares Crabtree "the Reggie Bush of this draft." Is that because he has such a marketable personality, he likes curvy reality stars, or because Bush fired Ornstein after his rookie year?

Ornstein: Marketing cash keeps pressure off holdout Crabtree [Sports Business Journal]

Rosenberg writes:

Michael Crabtree has had an unusual NFL career so far, wouldn't you say? He was drafted in April, and since then, he has played zero games and grown two horns."
[...]
And its a bad, bad time to be a holdout in the middle of the Great Recession, with millions losing their jobs, everybody worried about health care, people starving in Africa, etc."

Nice guilt trip, Rosenberg—although I can't say the tactic is too surprising coming from the likes of you people, by which I mean sanctimonious SI columnists.

Now that the 'gross overstatement' part of the article is out of the way, it's time for a rambling, farm-based metaphor to bring it home:

Crabtree is mostly hurting himself. For all the heat he's taken, its not like he broke a contract. He never had a contract. This is like going to the supermarket and deciding milk is overpriced, it shouldn't be more than two bucks a gallon, and everybody looks at you like you're crazy, but dammit, you've been around the block, you know how many cows live in a 20-mile radius, and this is ridiculous. And everybody else buys their groceries and you look like an idiot and you know it, but it is humiliating to finally fork over the full price."

If anybody can explain what the hell Rosenberg is talking about, please post in the comments section or shoot me an e-mail. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

Try to imagine yourself in Michael Crabtree's situation. No, really [SI]

Crabtree's cousin/advisor/miscellaneous hanger-on, David Wells, has been advising the 49ers draftee to hold out, all season if need be. Here's an article Crabtree needs to read.

The first thing you need to know about Wells is that he made his name as a bail bondsman. But if a man whose company's motto is "U Ring, We Spring," isn't enough to turn you off, back in 2002 the Dallas Observer did a story that makes you wonder why he isn't in jail, let alone advising a top young athlete.

A partial list of curious episodes before and during Wells's time as head of David's Bail Bonds:

•Arrested for stealing boxing gloves from the Dallas Police Athletic League.

•Banned for life by USA Boxing over allegations of misuse of funds.

•Served as the omnipresent bodyguard shoving reporters out of the way for Michael Irvin after his arrest for possession.

•Indicted for serving as a private investigator with a license that had lapsed four years earlier, but exonerated after a dubious receipt appeared showing he had renewed it.

•Let off the hook for $50,000 when one of his clients skipped town, after a dubious document appeared showing he had warned the county.

•Started a security company with a court bailiff, which is illegal due to conflict-of-interest rules.

So, Michael Crabtree, when this man tells you $23 million guaranteed isn't enough money for you, you really ought to get a second opinion.

Bail Me [Dallas Observer]

Crabtree was picked No. 10 overall by San Francisco this year, but has not signed a contract. The 49ers have offered him what tradition says that a No. 10 pick should make, yet his agent wants more. Way more. However, according to ProFootballTalk, he hasn't even made a counteroffer. So now they're going to sit and stare at each other until someone blinks.

The sticking point seems to be Maryland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. (Isn't it always?) He already signed a contract with the Oakland Raiders for $38 million ($23 guaranteed) and Crabtree wants to make more than that, because he thinks he's a better wideout. That may or may not be true, but Heyward-Bey was picked seventh by the Oakland Raiders and then grossly overpaid. So Crabtree's agent is now holding him out and attempting to "blow up" the prearranged "slotting" system for draft negotiations, simply because Al Davis is insane.

Now David Wells, an "adviser" to Crabtree who is also his cousin, is telling ESPN that Crabtree is ready to sit out the entire 2009 season and re-enter the draft just to prove his point. A point that would ruin Crabtree's entire career. He already missed all of the 49ers offseason workouts with an injury and has missed the first 10 days of camp. He can't go back to school, and when has a year of no football ever improved someone's career? (See: Mike Williams.) A holdout during a rookie season creates a chain reaction of setbacks that most players who attempt it never recover from. If he doesn't get to camp soon, this one big contract will probably be the only one he gets.

Of course, if agent Eugene Parker can somehow get No. 6 money for his No. 10 player, that would destroy the unwritten rules of rookie contracts that keep the NFL from imploding each fall. It would also make Eugene Parker extremely rich, not only now, but especially in future years. Oh, wait! Eugene Parker is already extremely rich! (Some of the rules in place to control rookie salaries are there because of him.) I think Crabtree needs a solid start to his rookie season more than Eugene Parker needs another house.

Source: Parker tells Niners that Crabtree will re-enter draft [PFT]
Adviser: San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree ready to sit out, re-enter draft in 2010 [ESPN]
Agent's need for a big payday could be misleading Crabtree [Sacramento Bee, via Yahoo]

Quarterback Graham Harrell and last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner, Michael Crabtree, lead Texas Tech into what they hope will be their break through season in both the Big 12 South and the BCS. Texas Tech returns 18 starters (ten on offense) and rides its highest preseason ranking in 31 years in this season’s quest to escape its reputation as the “also ran” of Texas college football. Harrell returns for his senior year and his third as a starter after once again putting up “holy shit” statistics last year (5,705 yards, 71.8% completion, 48 touchdowns and 14 interceptions is difficult on PlayStation even when you’re sober). Crabtree came into last year with expectations that he would contribute immediately, and put together such an outstanding year that he avoided the “system player” knock. Besides the two big stars, Tech has more depth and talent on both sides of the ball than ever. If the breakthrough doesn’t happen this year, then I’m giving up on football and throwing all of my support behind Tech’s Meat Judging team.

Mike Leach is entering what I think is his ninth season with Texas Tech (I can’t be expected to confirm this. I’m a fucking volunteer writer.) They call him the Mad Scientist. I don’t particularly like this nickname because (1) he’s a lawyer by training, not a scientist, and (2) although he’s peculiar, he doesn’t exhibit any signs of dementia. Nonetheless, he’s done a damn fine job. Regardless of whether we make big waves this year, he’s made Tech recognizable and relevant. That is no small task at a university with a relatively isolated campus that has to compete with Texas, Oklahoma, Aggieland, etc., etc.

Strengths:

It’s Texas Tech, so unless you’ve been in a coma the last 8 years, you know their strength is the passing game. They shouldn’t miss a beat this year with ten starters returning. Crabtree’s numbers will likely decline because of the added coverage he will draw. He’s still a badass and should open things up for other receivers like Eric “The Elf” Morris (5’8” 177lbs), Edward Britton, Detron Lewis, and a handful of others. Seriously, in an average season, 15 or 16 guys catch a pass.

At least early on, running back will be by committee with Shannon Woods, Aaron Crawford, and Baron Batch. Each of them is in the slightly undersized 5’11” 200lbs mold and they’re each pretty good in the open field.
The entire starting offensive line is back (although a couple of the starters are being challenged for their spots). The O-Line averages about 6’5” and 325lbs., and only gave up 18 sacks in 763 pass attempts last year. They also handled Chris Long pretty well last year in the Gator Bowl. (Side Note: If you watched that game, you know that Chris Long plays like someone put PCP on his cornflakes and lit a block of firecrackers in his ass.) Louis Vasquez is the name to remember, at least as the season begins.

Gratuitous Leach Quote #1: “If you get into a fight, don't take your helmet off. We're looking for smart football players, not dumb ones. In the interest of time, don't get into any more fights today."

Weaknesses:

Six months ago, I would say Tech’s biggest weakness is that they let opponents stomp a mud-hole in their ass with the running game. However, Tech has added a lot of quality depth to their defensive front seven in the off season (Tech only played 3 guys at DT last year in their 4-3 system). Chris Perry, Brandon Sesay and McKinner Dixon are all newcomers that should all contribute to the D-Line this year. Sophomore Coby Whitlock and junior Brandon Williams each appear to have the ability to play on Sunday.

That being said, the real weakness is consistency, both throughout the season and in individual games. There’s no room for a horrible loss to a bad team like years past with Colorado, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, New Mexico, etc.

Look no further than the last two bowl games for inconsistent play within a game (overcoming deficits of 31 and 14 points due primarily to inconsistent play and penalties). Although it is especially not cool to get a 21 point first half lead on Texas, prompting me to leave a buddy’s wedding reception in downtown Atlanta on Halloween weekend in search of a sports bar, then give up the lead and lose leading me to drunkenly scream at a television in the corner of said sports bar, all the while surrounded by southern metrosexuals in clever Halloween costumes. It was demoralizing to say the least.

Gratuitous Leach Quote #2: “We played two games out here today. We played a very poor one the first half, and we played a pretty good one the second half. The first half, Baylor's three defensive lineman consistently whipped our five offensive linemen. I'm very disappointed with the first half, pleased with the second half, so it's kind of a love hate game really."

Rival:

Aggieland refuses to acknowledge that Texas Tech is their rival. The fact that we’ve beaten them in 10 of the last 13 games makes me obliged to focus on them. It may surprise people unfamiliar with the Big 12, but I shit you not that most Aggie fans think A&M has a top 15, if not top 10 program. Thus, they cannot be bothered with lowly Texas Tech (I’m not making this shit up.) Maybe taking only three days to find a new coach, but more than 3 months to find a new mascot. (Reveille VIII was introduced on August 11) is what leaves Aggieland from being our “rival in denial” to being our “trap game” at best. Also, we kicked the shit out of them in Meat Judging last year.

Gratuitous Leach Quote #3: “Yeah, you've just got to work around the Corps. I think it's one of the greatest settings in college football, and they've got those guys with swords marching around. I'll make my annual plea that I think the opposing team should be given some swords too, and after the game, we'll give them back so the next opposing team can use the swords. I don't think it's fair that just one side should have swords. But I do think the Corps, in and of itself, is impressive. They march around there and sometimes you have to dodge between columns to get to the locker room, but you work through that."