Trade deadline comes and goes with a whimper
Trent Williams stayed put, as did Josh Norman, Chris Harris Jr. and Le’Veon Bell. Jamal Adams, Melvin Gordon and Patrick Peterson aren’t going anywhere, either.
The NFL trade deadline was a dud this year but only because teams didn’t wait for the cutoff to swap draft picks and established stars, something they’d been doing since August.
The big news Tuesday was Williams returning to the Washington. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press that the left tackle ended his season-long holdout after not getting traded.
During Cleveland’s recent bye week, Browns general manager John Dorsey said he’s spoken with Washington president Bruce Allen about acquiring Williams. But when asked if there would be a deal, Dorsey said, “it takes two to tango.”
Dorsey, who pulled off a blockbuster trade for Odell Beckham Jr. in March, couldn’t get Washington to dance, leaving the Browns to solve their left tackle situation in the offseason.
The only big name traded at the deadline was Aqib Talib, but unlike seven years ago when he was dealt from Tampa Bay to New England at midseason, Talib is no longer in his prime or headed to a contender.
The Rams traded the 33-year-old cornerback to Miami along with a fifthround pick in 2020 for an undisclosed draft choice. But the 12-year veteran is on IR with a rib injury and likely won’t play again this season.
Talib will be an unrestricted free agent this winter after playing out the sixyear, $57 million deal he signed with the Denver Broncos, with whom he won the Super Bowl four seasons ago.
That makes this deadline deal akin to the ones seen so often in the NBA when a tanking team absorbs a contract from another team in exchange for draft capital. VIKINGS’ KERASE FACING MULTIPLE CHARGES >> Minnesota Vikings safety Jayron Kearse was charged Tuesday with multiple gun and alcohol counts after authorities say he was driving impaired while a loaded handgun containing more than two dozen rounds was on the floor of his car.
Kearse, 25, was arrested early Sunday after he drove his car onto a closed portion of Interstate 94 in Minneapolis.
Prosecutors charged him with five counts, including a gross misdemeanor count of carrying a gun without a permit. The other four counts were misdemeanors, including two drunken driving counts.
BENGALS BENCH DALTON >> With no wins at the season’s midpoint, the Bengals figured it was time to end Andy Dalton’s tenure and see if rookie Ryan Finley is their quarterback of the future.
Coach Zac Taylor decided
Tuesday to bench Dalton, ending his nine-season run as a starter. The move came two days after a 24-10 loss to the Rams in London left Cincinnati 0-8 for the first time in 11 years.
PATS, SAINTS, NINERS TOP PRO32 POLL >> Halfway through the NFL’s regular season, teams are starting to get bunched together in the standings. And in the latest AP Pro32 poll .
The New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers are tied for the second spot in the poll behind the defending champion New England Patriots.
The Patriots received 11 of 12 first-place votes for 383 points in balloting Tuesday by media members who regularly cover the NFL.
“The Patriots are making a case for one of the best teams in NFL history and one of the best defenses in NFL history,” said Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “Can they rinse and repeat in the second half of the season?”
The Saints received the other first-place vote, and both New Orleans and the unbeaten 49ers have 366 points.
“The 49ers haven’t been this good since the glory days of (Joe) Montana, (Steve) Young and (Jerry) Rice,” Newsday’s Bob Glauber said.