Matt Breida for O.J. Howard? A fifth-rounder for Howard?

Tuesday afternoon, the New England Patriots traded TE Rob Gronkowski, and a seventh-round pick to Tampa Bay, and the Bucs also sent a fourth-round pick to New England. The Patriots getting a fourth-rounder for a player that was never going to play for them is good business.

O.J. Howard was available before this trade. Tampa Bay just lost a ton of leverage after acquiring Gronk. Any hopes of acquiring the 25-year-old tight end for a premium pick just went out of the window. Tampa Bays’ biggest needs after free agency included a speedy, pass-catching running back. While he may not have the experience as a receiver, Matt Breida will make some team happy in 2020, so why not the Bucs? We’ve seen player-for-player trades more than ever over the past year. If you trade for Howard, there’s one year left on his contract and only $1.9 million guaranteed. Plus, you have the fifth-year option you can decide on. Considering it’s a weak, tight end class, why wouldn’t John Lynch pick up the phone?

One reason may be that he feels the Niners can use Breida as a trade chip for another offer. Let’s remove Breida for now. The 49ers have three fifth-round picks. While Lynch joked they like to hold onto their fifth-rounders Monday, he’d be remiss to not offer two of those for Howard. If Tampa Bay says no, then so be it. As we’ve seen all offseason, you never know if you don’t ask.

Which trade proposal do you like better?