Negotiations are all about leverage. If leverage is tilted your way, chances are a favorable deal hangs in the balance. If not, you might have to accept something less than desirable, in order to salvage any kind of deal. That’s why leverage is so important.
Go to a car dealership and you might not want to tip your hand that you have a trade in or answer any questions about a targeted monthly payment. If you do, you lose leverage and you might not get the ideal bargain on your new car.
And if you are hoping to trade your quarterback, you should probably not tell the world that you plan to part ways with him before you actually do. By announcing that Joe Flacco will be moving on, the Ravens sacrificed negotiating leverage.
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At this time last year, it was believed that the Chiefs would hand the reins of their offense over to Patrick Mahomes to start his second season. But the Chiefs never tipped their hand, retained leverage, and as a result they were able to get a 3rd round pick and slot corner Kendall Fuller from the Washington Redskins in exchange for their 2017 starting QB, Alex Smith.
Conversely, John Harbaugh made it perfectly clear following the Ravens wild card playoff loss to the Chargers, that Flacco would be moving on. Now, that the Ravens have revealed their hand and a potential release of the Super Bowl 47 MVP looms, teams might not be willing to pony up as much to trade for Flacco. Perhaps they may not pony up anything at all.
Maybe the Ravens will tell other clubs the same thing that many fans have said throughout the years – that Joe didn’t have the proper supporting cast nor did he have an adequate play caller or offensive architect to get the most from his physical gifts. And with those things, the acquiring team will get a player capable of winning a Super Bowl.
Even if that’s true, if you were a buyer for Flacco’s services, would you give up a draft pick and/or a player to acquire Joe NOW and take other potential suitors out of the mix? OR, would you wait to see if he’s released and give up nothing other than a paycheck?
Unless there’s a desperate team out there, the answer is obvious.
And it’s just as obvious that the Ravens blew it by tipping their hand.
