Trading Days

The NFL trading deadline rarely, actually never, has the fireworks of those in baseball, basketball, and hockey. It's just too difficult for football teams to make significant personnel changes in the middle of a season. Coaches spend so much time game-planning with what they know that tossing a new variable into the fold can be a health-breaking challenge. No matter how much Roger Goodell and media vultures want to see internet-busting moves at the trade deadline they just don't happen in the NFL. Until this year. In terms of the number of trades and the quality of the players involved, the league has never seen an in-season trading frenzy like the one that occurred this past week.

The Buffalo Bills send DT Marcel Dareus to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2018 6th-round pick.

The first thing that struck me when news of this trade fell last Friday was "why?" Why did the Jaguars have to do such a thing? The strength of the team this season has been their defensive line. Calais Campbell, Malik Jackson, Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler, Jr., and friends have been thrashing offensive lines. Upon further reflection, the one thing missing from the team's deep defensive line rotation was a run-stuffer. Opponent rushing statistics show that. The Jaguars were missing a player like Marcel Dareus. Now they have him.

Houston Texans send OT Duane Brown and a 2018 5th-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2018 3rd and 2019 2nd-round pick.

The Seahawks have been looking for a franchise left tackle since Walter Jones retired. It's more than a little odd that a football team finds their answer to such a long term problem during the season. But this trade deadline wasn't an ordinary trade deadline. Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane was originally part of this trade but he didn't pass the Texans' physical. The two teams adjusted the picks involved to make it work. The entire Seahawks backfield is a little happier.

The New England Patriots send QB Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for 2018 2nd-round pick.

This trade was the biggest attention-grabber among the flurry of trades. That's because a quarterback was involved. Jimmy Garoppolo seems to have all the makings of a franchise quarterback. That's why the Patriots wanted to keep him and every team needing a quarterback wanted to trade for him. The 49ers got him and should be thrilled. The Garoppolo-Kyle Shanahan pairing appear to be one made in heaven.

The Miami Dolphins send RB Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2018 4th-round pick.

The Eagles now have a stable of runners. Jay Ajayi is the sort of back that can milk away yards and time off the clock. Perfect for late season games and the Eagles hope to be playing into February. The Dolphins apparently wanted to send a message to the players that remain in Miami. I wonder if it was received. I've seen some mentions that the 4th-round pick is a conditional one.

The San Francisco 49ers send CB Rashard Robinson to the New York Jets for a 2018 5th-round pick.

The most surprising thing about this trade was that the 49ers received better return for Rashard Robinson than the Bills received for Marcel Dareus.

The Carolina Panthers send WR Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills for 2018 3rd- and 7th-round picks.

Who really knows why their Panthers unloaded young, talented receiver. Kelvin Benjamin seemed to be the perfect receiver for Cam Newton. His ridiculous catch radius was an ideal target for a quarterback that often had issues with accuracy. I've wondered about Benjamin's dedication since reading the book Muck City about his high school days. Who knows? A couple of people that know Benjamin better than most are in Buffalo. Head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane.

After an unprecedented number of trades this past week one has to wonder if this is the start of a trend or an anomaly. If at least a few of these trades prove beneficial for the teams that made them it'll probably continue. Making trades is the easy part. Making them work is the biggest challenge.

The trade that probably got the most attention, it certainly got the most laughs, was one that was never finalized. Just as the trade deadline approached, the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals agreed to a trade that would send backup quarterback AJ McCarron to the Browns for 2nd- and 3rd-round picks. The Bengals filed their necessary paperwork with the league in time. For whatever reason the Browns didn't file their necessary paperwork with the league in time. The Browns have done a lot of silly, stupid, shocking things in recent years. This one might be the most stunning. It's definitely the most bumbling. It's as a mind-bungling fog passes over every new and old employee when they pass through the doors of the Browns' facilities.

When this trade didn't go down as it was intended I was taken back to the 2003 NFL Draft. The Minnesota Vikings had the seventh pick in the draft and had agreed to trade it to the Baltimore Ravens. The Vikings filed their paperwork with the league when they should. They Ravens did not. The draft clock expired on the Vikings and the teams drafting behind them raced to the podium. The Vikings have been painted as draft day fools ever since because they let the clock run out. They were the Bengals in this scenario. They did what they were supposed do. The Ravens were the Browns. They didn't do what they were supposed to do. How is it that the Vikings were the draft day clowns?