Bobby Carpenter, the newest member of the Detroit Lions, would have joined the team back in 2008 if it were up to the Cowboys, the team that drafted him in 2006. Around this time two years ago, the Lions and Cowboys made a trade involving wide receiver Roy Williams and a few draft picks. Had the Lions not said no, however, Carpenter would have been involved in the trade as well. From Tom Kowalski:
First, when Lions general manager Martin Mayhew dealt receiver Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys two years ago, the Cowboys wanted to make Carpenter part of that deal and the Lions refused. Mayhew was adamant that he wanted draft picks instead and that's how it ended up.
The Lions ended up receiving a first-, third- and sixth-round pick in the 2009 draft for giving up Williams and a seventh-rounder in 2010. Detroit turned those picks into Brandon Pettigrew, Derrick Williams and Aaron Brown, who are all still on the roster. Now that Carpenter has bounced around the league a bit and ended up in Detroit anyway, I'd say it was a good move asking for picks rather than Carpenter back in 2008.