National Football League

2 trades + 3 teams = 1 giant WTF?

Published Aug. 20, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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If one man's trash is another man's treasure, then good luck figuring out who came out on top in the John Moffitt saga.

You see, the Seahawks on Monday traded the guard to the Cleveland Browns, in exchange for defensive end Brian Sanford. And on Tuesday, the Browns shipped Moffitt back to Seattle and got back Sanford after voiding the trade, reportedly over "health concerns." Yet only hours later, the Denver Broncos agreed to add Moffitt, giving the Seahawks defensive tackle Sealver Siliga in return.

So . . .

• The Browns' medical staff either saved the team from a disaster or cost a possible starting guard.

• The Broncos either made out — proving yet again that the Browns are lost in the personnel department, or are going to learn a lesson in Trading 101 the hard way.

• The Seahawks either really got one over on one a fellow Super Bowl favorite, or gave up on somebody they shouldn't have — twice.

But there is so much more to this story. And we're not justing talking about Moffitt's Twitter avatar:

Let's start with Cleveland's aforementioned "skills" in evaluating players. For starters, next time they make a trade, they might want to conduct the physical — and get the results — before doing things like:

• Issuing a news release: “We continue to look each day of the year for any opportunity to improve our roster,” said CEO Joe Banner. “We’re committed to building a team that can consistently compete in this league.”

• Letting the new guy meet with the local media.

• Letting him actually take the field with team, which leads to awkward moments like this, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Moffitt talked to the media in the locker room before practice, and then pulled on his shells and jersey and headed out to the practice field, helmet in hand. But before he even began warming up, coach Rob Chudzinski escorted him back to the locker room and was overheard telling him they would take care of it upstairs.

Heck, as of Tuesday night, the headline announcing the trade for Moffitt was still on the Browns' official website:

But in all fairness, the Seahawks jumped the gun a bit on Monday, as well. Acoording to The Seattle Times:

Seattle had planned to use Sanford as a tackle to bolster depth on its defensive front. Coach Pete Carroll answered a question about Sanford after practice Tuesday, then noted that the trade was not official yet and he probably shouldn’t have said anything.

And NFL.com quoted Carroll as saying this about the Mofitt-to-Cleveland deal on Tuesday before learning the deal had been voided:

"We would not have been able to do a trade like that if the young guys hadn't been doing such a great job. I think that it's really a statement about those guys growing and coming in and helping us."

But ultimately, it appears each team got what it wanted and Moffitt is a Bronco — for now.

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