NFL Trade Deadline Rumors Swirl; Whether They Make Sense is Another Story
The NFL trade deadline is a week from today, and two big names are garnering the preponderance of trade talk: Brady Quinn and Terrell Owens. What makes these two amusing as trade bait is that they could have been acquired by any team in the league prior to the season’s start, yet they’ve likely diminished their trade value over the first few weeks of the season.↵↵Of the two, Quinn seems the more likely to actually be dealt. Especially now that his house in the area is up for sale. Not that it’s an ideal move for Cleveland. Derek Anderson is coming off a 2/17 performance for 23 yards, and this is when the Browns are going to signal to them that he is their guy under center? I suppose given the firesale value given to the Jets for Braylon Edwards that Cleveland’s front office is ready to do away with holdover players from the prior head coaching regime and start fresh. Plus, holding onto two quarterbacks doesn’t make financial sense in the long term. But that’s why the decision needed to have been made prior to the season, so one of them could have been moved while his value was still high. Now, if the Browns got so much as a third-round pick for Quinn, I’d be downright shocked. Who is a potential suitor in a midseason deal for Quinn? Miami would have made the most sense before last night. Other than that, I could only think of Oakland and San Francisco as possible destinations, but both those teams have signaled through inaction that they are willing to stand pat at QB.↵
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↵The rumor being floated by ESPN has Terrell Owens going to Chicago (Insider). On the surface, it makes some sense for the Bears, if they ignore that they would be joining a volatile receiver with a highly emotionally unstable quarterback. Not the best scenario you want to be entering into, even if it gives your team an established deep threat to stick alongside Devin Hester. Unless Chicago's offer in generous, what would be Buffalo's reason for ditching the receiver on a one-year deal? Sure, there's the argument that they want something in exchange for a player who will not return to the Bills next year, but trading a free agent acquisition the organization touted for months tells the fanbase squarely that the team is willing to take a flyer on the season after five weeks. Not the greatest idea in what is already a financially troubled NFL market.↵
↵↵If either or both of these players are moved in the next week, it will likely come as a benefit to their new team. As Braylon Edwards’s performance last night showed, a downbeat player can get a boost from joining a contending team. The problem for the old team is that they’re getting value for the listless shell that last took the field for them.↵
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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