It was reported earlier today that the Vikings would be willing to trade a third-round pick to Houston for quarterback Sage Rosenfels. Those talks apparently broke down, but I thought it might be worth explaining why a team that values picks like the Vikings would be willing to give up a valuable one. The short explanation is that Minnesota has two third rounders in this year’s draft.

The second one came from the Denver Broncos and was obtained in a draft-day deal last year. Denver wanted the second of the Vikings’ fourth-round picks, No. 121 overall, last April so it could take defensive tackle Marcus Thomas. But the Broncos did not have a fourth- or fifth-rounder to exchange and so they offered their sixth- and seventh-round picks in 2007 and that third-rounder in 2008.

It’s not clear which third-round selection the Vikings offered to the Texans.

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