The Jets had an awfully hard time finding a trade partner for Dewayne Robertson before finally sending him to the Denver Broncos on Thursday. Robertson's combination of a massive salary and knees that couldn't pass a physical kept the return pretty low, a 2009 conditional draft choice, but the point was getting his contract off the books not on a massive bounty. That's good, since that pick may never actually come to fruition. The Denver Post reports that the Jets will only receive a pick from Denver if Robertson plays more that 65% of the defensive snaps during the 2008 season. Elvis Dumervil was the only Bronco lineman to reach that plateau in 2007 and, given the way Mike Shanahan stockpiles linemen, it's not hard to see them getting good production from Robertson and giving up nothing to the Jets.
In spite of his knee problems, Robertson has never missed a game with the Jets and has crossed the playing time threshold each year so there's still a chance the Jets could get a payoff. Even if the Broncos do have to hand over a pick, Shanahan gets high marks for pulling off this deal. Robertson's contract has been restructured and he fills a big lead in the middle of the defensive line and it cost the team relatively little, if anything.
