Raiders stand pat as trade deadline comes and goes with little to movement

Each season, the NFL trade deadline approaches with the level of hype normally reserved for the baseball trade deadline. And each season it leaves with the level of excitement of your typical baseball game.

Just as I started to nod off, the first and only deal made at the deadline came through. The Eagles made a deal to send DT Isaac Sopoaga and a 6^th round pick to the Patriots for a 5^th round pick. Then I nodded off again.

The names out there are potential trade bait included several wide receivers the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Hakeem Nicks, Josh Gordon, and Kenny Britt. Two former Chiefs Tony Gonzalez and Jared Allen both had their names dangled out there. Both were rumored to possibly return to the AFC West with Gonzalez possibly heading back to the Chiefs and the Broncos showing interest in Allen. But in the end, the stay put.

Dennis Allen hinted in his press conference Monday that the Raiders weren't really too keen on making a trade at the deadline.

"Well, there's a reason why you go to training camp," said Allen. "There's a reason why you have an offseason program. It's so that you can install your schemes and what you want to do offensively, defensively, in the kicking game, how you're going to build the culture of your football team. It's just hard to bring a guy in in the middle of the year and think that he's going to come in and have a chance to be really effective for you midway through the year. I just think it's a tough proposition to think that you're going to bring somebody in that's going to make a huge difference, but we'll see."

The last time the Raiders made moves at the trade deadline was 2011 when Hue Jackson put together two trades, sending a first and second round pick to the Bengals in exchange for quarterback Carson Palmer and sending a fifth and seventh round pick to the Seahawks in exchange for Aaron Curry. Neither deal worked in the Raiders' favor.

Curry was a bust and then was lost to injury before being cut. Palmer played well but the team gave up on him after a season and a half and traded him for a sixth round pick. They were then saddled with $7 million in dead money and still had a second round pick to shell out for his services.

So, be careful what you wish for.

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