Amid much pomp, circumstance and ballyhoo, the NFL’s trade deadline came and went on Tuesday afternoon with nary a big name moving on.
While the lack of trades might well have been a surprise and even a disappointment for some armchair general managers, it was a relief to some of the players whose names were bandied about.
Broncos cornerback Chris Harris was one of many notable players whose name had been prevalent in trade talks, but is staying put and happily so as Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline passed.
“I’m definitely happy,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. told 9Sports’ Mike Klis. “Now I can just play ball and get this behind me and focus on finishing strong the rest of the year. Try and get some wins.”
Another cornerback who stayed put was Detroit’s Darius Slay, along with Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams, some shockingly high-profile New York Jets, Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard and on and on, who all stayed put.
The only notable move saw a player who’s unlikely to play the rest of the season, cornerback Aqib Talib, shipped from the Rams to the Dolphins along with a fifth-round pick for a future late-round pick in a cap-saving move.
With defensive lineman Leonard Williams going from the Jets to the Giants and running back Kenyan Drake moving from the Dolphins to the Cardinals on Monday, the day before the deadline turned out to be more noteworthy than the final date for NFL squads to wheel and deal.
» Williams has ended his season-long holdout and reported to the Redskins. Though the Browns were interested, the Redskins’ ask was huge.
» The Lions reportedly were asking a high price for Slay and he’ll stay put in his final contract year.
» Harris restructured his contract, but is also in his final season with the Broncos.
» Howard was subject to plenty of hearsay, but suitors were told he wasn’t available.
» Melvin Gordon, Rashaad Penny, Vic Beasley, Josh Norman and Janoris Jenkins. They’re all staying put despite talks in the lead-up to Tuesday.
The story of the day other than the lack of movement was the speculation that stunningly popped up.
While Jets receiver Robby Anderson was long speculated to be moving, star safety and fan favorite Jamal Adams and running back Le’Veon Bell came out of nowhere. And at the end of the day, they went nowhere.
The Bengals announced Andy Dalton was being replaced as the starting quarterback for Ryan Finley, but Dalton is staying in Cincinnati.
Where there was talk, there wasn’t action on this trade-deadline day.