With the trade deadline fast approaching, possible player swaps will be rumored, shared, debated and discussed as the leverage-game ramps up.
The constant trade talks are fun for the fans. Not so much for players who might be on the move.
One big-name player caught in the rumor mill is Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who said after Sunday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that he wishes the gossip never got out.
"How would you feel at your job [if] your boss, whoever, said they wanted you someplace else?" Thomas said, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. "And you come into work every day and have to think about it? How would you feel? But I had to do it for my team, like it was normal, act like it was normal. It just kept coming up, from left and right. ... I had to think about it. ... It'll be interesting to see what happens in next couple days.
"I think it should have never gotten out, to tell you the truth. I would have never been thinking about it if it never got it. Nobody would be talking about."
It's fair for Thomas to be frustrated at the trade talk after more than eight seasons in Denver. With the Broncos sitting at 3-5 and looking to groom younger players like Courtland Sutton at his position, however, it's part of the process for good players like Thomas stuck on sinking teams to be the subject of trade talks.
The deadline for players to be traded is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. After that, either Thomas will be on a new team or the rumors will wash away like dust on a rain-soaked road.
The 30-year-old receiver put his odds of being traded at "50-50."
"I'll be on a squad. I'll be able to play ball," he said. "I'll be able to do what I love. If it's the Broncos, I would love it. But if it's not, it's a business. I gotta deal with it."
Such is life of a professional athlete.
