He just signed a contract though
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-02-04/new-deal-for-blues-young-gun-patrick-cripps
Yep...which means it's a matter of breaking the contract, which has been known to happen. With a trade like that it's not unforeseeable but of course it's just a rumour at this stage. It'll be massive if it happens but ultimately I don't think either side's supporters will mind because they're both guns.
Having said that, when you analyse it more carefully it wouldn't make sense for Carlton to do it...they'd lose slightly because they'd have to pay Fyfe more than Cripps from 2018 and Fyfe is older, meaning less salary cap space for their rebuild to grow organically.
I haven't looked at the relative age structures of Carlton and Fremantle but I'd suspect Carlton would be aiming for a longer-term rebuild, with Freo aiming to legitimately contend from 2018.
Not sure why I want Fremantle to lose Fyfe but that's the vibe I'm sensing within. Maybe it's the potential schadenfreude given their
almost unanimous stance that Fyfe will stay.
If Cripps eventually comes back to WA, it goes without saying that I'd prefer him at the Eagles. But the cost of that makes me shudder.