NFL trade deadline: Bucs trade Mark Barron, Jonathan Casillas

The NFL trade deadline came and went and, once again, was largely marked by inactivity despite the slew of rumors.

As for the Bucs, they walk away with more draft assets than they had before in a season that’s already lost. The Patriots traded their fifth-round selection in next year’s draft for Casillas and a sixth. The Rams traded fourth- and sixth-round selections for Barron, which means Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht will have much more flexibility to move around in next year’s draft.

The Bucs 2012 first-round pick (seventh overall) out of Alabama had appeared in all seven games this season, ranking second on the team with 48 tackles but had yet to record an interception this season. He had mostly failed to live up to expectations with just three picks in 37 games since his debut three seasons ago. He ranked 66th out of 83 qualifying safeties this season, according to Pro Football Focus’ ratings.

The Rams are desperate for help in the secondary after losing Rodney McLeod and Cody Davis to injury this season. St. Louis has really struggled to contain the passing game, ranking last in the NFL in opponent Total QBR (85.9) and completion percentage (70.2 percent) this season.

The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Deals are few and far between in the salary capped world of the NFL, but that doesn’t stop fans and media types from getting duped by the occasional tweet from fake Twitter accounts like Adarn Schefter or Incarcerated Bob. But this year, ESPN is adding to the confusion with a poorly planned social media play.

They started to retweet trade proposals from their followers, and that caused some confusion among people who probably should know better.

If the Rams have indeed moved on from Stacy, they should be able to get a decent return on him in the trade market. He’s just 23 and coming off a 973-yard, seven-touchdown rookie season, though the value of running backs in today’s NFL continues to decline.

Likelihood: 3/10 - The chances of this happening remain low until we hear substantiated reports of either the Rams’ willingness to deal or interest from other teams. But trading Stacy makes enough sense that it’s worth keeping an eye on.

With Jackson’s five-year, $55.6 million contract not expiring until after the 2016 season, it would make sense for the struggling Buccaneers to trade away the play-making receiver, but the team will be unwilling to do so without the proper compensation. That desired compensation is a second-round draft pick, according to Rapoport, which might be a little pricy for a 31-year-old receiver, but not outrageous considering the instant impact that Jackson could make for a playoff contender.

Likelihood: 5/10 - After vague reports of “tons of calls,” I guessed there was a 4/10 chance of a trade involving Jackson happening, but considering the teams named in Rapoport’s reports and the somewhat reasonable desired compensation, I’m bumping up the chances just a little.