Tuesday's trade deadline came and went, and nary a big trade was executed. Not in Washington. Not in Cleveland. Not in Denver, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati or Tampa Bay.
Not even in the swamps of New Jersey, where the New York Jets saw three of their marquee players bandied about in trade rumors on Tuesday afternoon.
Up until the 4 p.m. ET deadline, safety Jamal Adams, wide receiver Robby Anderson and running back Le'Veon Bell were all reportedly being shopped around, with the third-year Adams the most serious potential trade piece. But the Jets stood pat on all three fronts.
First-year Jets general manager Joe Douglas told reporters in a post-deadline press conference that while they fielded calls on a number of players, the team was not actively "shopping" its stars.
"On the players that were leaked out today, those weren't players that we were shopping," Douglas said. "But where I'm from and what I was taught is when a team calls you, you should always listen to what they have to say. So that's what we did. We listened. We had good conversations. There was some productive conversations.
"But at the end of the day, there was no fire sale. There's no garage sale going on with these players. We value these guys a lot. Ultimately the offers that we received for these players didn't equal the value that we had for them in this organization."
Adams was the centerpiece of trade talks between the Jets and Dallas Cowboys all afternoon. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Jane Slater reported that New York was asking for a first-round pick and two second-round picks in exchange for the Pro Bowl safety. Dallas was only willing to part with a first-rounder and a third-day pick, Slater added. The teams never came to terms on a deal.
That didn't stop Adams from tweeting his disappointment with his name being out there in trade talks Tuesday.
Anderson was reportedly trade bait following Sunday's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars along with defensive lineman Leonard Williams. New York shipped Williams across town to the New York Giants for a third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-round pick on Monday. An Anderson trade never came together. The receiver celebrated his retention in Florham Park with a "Wolf of Wall Street"-inspired tweet.
Bell, who signed a four-year deal with New York this offseason, was reportedly on the block, as well, but NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported during the build-up to the dealine that the Jets received "no solid offers" for the All-Pro back. Bell said in a tweet following the deadline, "I am happy as hell to be a New York Jet. ... I'm here and I'm happy to be here."
Douglas said he spoke to both Anderson and Bell following the deadline and planned to speak to Adams.
"If a team calls, I'm going to listen," Douglas said. "And I just want to say -- and I said this to Le'Veon -- (he's) probably one of our toughest ... one of if not our best practice players. So obviously, there were a few calls, and again, we just didn't get the value that was worth losing the player."
All three players will remain on New York's roster for the foreseeable future. But how Adams, Anderson and Bell will react in the coming weeks to their rumored departures while the 1-6 Jets attempt to turn their season around will be fascinating.
