From The Boston Herald:
According to a report first on ESPN, and later corroborated by WEEI’s Christopher Price, the Patriots are considering a trade that would send a second-or-third-round draft pick to Oakland for Raiders linebacker Derrick Burgess.
The acquisition of Burgess would finally help fill the void at outside linebacker created by the trade of Mike Vrabel. The two-time Pro Bowler is in the final year of his contract with Oakland. He is said to be unhappy with not being able to reach a new deal.
Burgess, who will be 31 at the start of next season, had 16 sacks for the Raiders in 2005, but he’s been slowed by injuries in recent seasons.
Wonder if the Raiders leaked this to put get some more bids on the table?
He never specifically said height was an issue. He just said it's a difficult position to scout and indicated this draft wasn't deep.
Sonny_Corlione,
Actually, Belichick said exactly that. Here's a quote from Boston.com on April 27, 2009, the day after the draft. I've also added the link to the article.
"I think the outside linebacker group this year was a little bit different," Belichick said. "Generally speaking, I'd say there were more shorter players, maybe a little less speed than what we've seen, but maybe a little more power with good production. There weren't a lot of 4.6, 4.65 guys in the [40-yard dash], and not a lot of 6-[foot]-4[-inch], 6-5 guys. There was a much smaller pool of those players."
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2009/04/27/not_in_a_rush_to_do_something_here/
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May 19, 2009
09:02 AM
Classic veteran addition if the deal happens. I wouldn't object to swapping one of their (3) 2nd rounder’s or their 3rd rounder in 2010 if he can come in and provide a legit pass-rush. Interestingly, Belichick mentioned that no OLB's in the 2009 draft met their height requirements (a couple over 6-3 Barwin, Matthews, Cushing etc) to play in the 3-4, yet they are looking at a 6-2 player, to go along with Adalius Thomas who's also 6-2. Apparently height is only a factor for unproven players.