Brown Takes Trade Breakdown in Stride

While his teammates enjoyed time off, Brown was busy shuttling around. He was traded from Philadelphia to Detroit last Tuesday in a deal that sent fellow running back Jerome Harrison to the Eagles. But the deal was rescinded when Harrison failed his physical, so Brown returned.

Harrison was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and a Lions teammate confirmed he already had surgery.

"I'm just glad that he found out his situation before it could turn into anything a couple of weeks down the road," Brown said Monday. "That's always good that he found that out and got that taken care of. So I'm excited about that."

A former second overall pick, Brown has been a disappointment in Philadelphia. He's only had 13 carries for 38 yards, and he committed a costly fumble near the goal line in a 24-23 loss to San Francisco earlier in the month.

Since that turnover, Brown has dropped below rookie Dion Lewis and starter LeSean McCoy on the depth chart. McCoy is fourth in the NFC with 569 yards rushing and is second with eight touchdowns.

"It's tough," Brown said. "I was looking forward to more opportunities when I got here, but given the situation, knowing that this is a passing offense and the way things are run ... I guess there's not enough opportunities to go around for everybody."

Brown was one of several high-profile players the Eagles acquired before the season. The moves haven't paid off. The Eagles are 2-4 heading into Sunday night's game against Dallas (3-3).

Brown went home to Atlanta after coach Andy Reid gave the Eagles a week off. He hurried off to Detroit after the trade, practiced with the Lions on Wednesday and was in the middle of game planning when the deal was voided.

"There were going to be more opportunities out there in Detroit for me, more carries than I would have gotten here," Brown said. "But it happens, it's over with and you move on."

Brown was drafted by Miami and went to the Pro Bowl in 2008. He rushed for 4,815 yards and 36 touchdowns and caught 184 passes for 1,491 yards with the Dolphins.

"I'm just trying to keep it professional," he said. "I'm here. I'm a Philadelphia Eagle. Given an opportunity, whatever I'm supposed to do, I'm going to do that to a level of professionalism. If I'm expected to be in a meeting or whatever, I'm going to do things the way they're supposed to be done, and everything will take care of themselves."

Brown may not get a chance to contribute on the field, but he's doing his part to help in the community. He'll speak to students at South Philadelphia High School on Tuesday about stopping youth violence.

"Fortunately for us who are on this level, we have an opportunity and a chance to touch people's lives outside of what we do on the football field," Brown said. "It's really an initiative that's pointed at stopping youth violence. It started when I was in Miami with all of the stuff that was happening in the schools with some shootings and all those things.

"You never want to see that kind of stuff. No matter what background you're from or what kind of struggles you've had in your life, you can always overcome them and that's good."

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NOTES: DE Brandon Graham practiced for the first time since injuring his knee against Dallas last Dec. 12. Graham, the first-round pick last year, had surgery for a torn ACL and microfracture surgery. "I feel a lot better than I expected," Graham said. ... DE Trent Cole (calf) and LT Jason Peters (hamstring) also returned to practice after missing two games each.

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A life-saving trade for Jerome Harrison

Not two minutes after I published this post on the future of one Detroit Lions running back, ESPN's Adam Schefter broke a stunning story about another.

According to Schefter, veteran Jerome Harrison was diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this week during a routine physical to approve his trade to the Philadelphia Eagles. The discovery prompted the Eagles to void the trade, and Harrison is now undergoing treatment.

We don't know any details of Harrison's condition or prognosis, but it's safe to say the tumor wouldn't have been discovered if he hadn't been included in the Eagles' compensation for running back Ronnie Brown. Harrison is on the Lions' active roster for the moment, but you would have to assume his treatment will take precedence over playing football at this point.

I'll bring you more details as they are reported, including how the Lions will deal with their current depth at the position. For now, however, we should all take a moment to accept the randomness of this world. Who would have thought that the NFL trade deadline could be responsible for saving a life?

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Raiders Acquire Carson Palmer From Bengals at Trade Deadline

The deal was a bold one for both teams, but it was a steal for the Bengals. Their owner, Mike Brown, had vowed for months that he would let Palmer, a former Heisman Trophy winner who had grown disenchanted with the sometimes dysfunctional team that drafted him first over all in 2003, retire rather than trade him.

After Palmer demanded a trade, Brown maintained that there was a principle at stake, that players should honor the commitment to a team they made by signing a contract, even though those contracts are not guaranteed and teams can cut or trade players on a whim.

Palmer, who has never spoken publicly about the situation, sold his home in the Cincinnati area and had appeared willing to forfeit the $11 million in salary he was due. (His contract with the Bengals went through the 2014 season.) He essentially quit, and even in recent days, the Bengals said that they would not trade him.

Brown’s reputation for stubbornness paid off, allowing him to maintain bargaining leverage. That was enhanced when the rookie quarterback Andy Dalton led the Bengals to a 4-2 start and the Raiders’ starter, Jason Campbell, broke his collarbone Sunday, sending the Raiders scurrying for a new quarterback less than two weeks after the death of Al Davis.

In a statement, Brown referred to Dalton’s emergence as one reason the Bengals were willing to deal Palmer. “We also find ourselves rather suddenly in position of being able to receive real value for Carson that can measurably improve our team — which is performing well and is showing real promise for this year and years to come.”

The Raiders, with the first-year coach Hue Jackson now leading the way on personnel decisions, gave the Bengals their first-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick in 2013 that is a second-rounder unless the Raiders win a playoff game, when it would become a first-rounder, according to Fox Sports, which first reported the trade.

“If you know Hue, you don’t get recruited any harder,” Palmer said. “For the past six weeks, I thought I was retired. Before the start of the season, I was training like it was a normal off-season. Week 1 hit, I thought I have got to find what the next phase of my life would be.

“I’m honored,” he added. “I don’t know a lot about this organization, but I know it’s dedicated to winning. I know where this organization has been and where it wants to get back to.”

After so many years of losing, the Raiders showed their players they were not willing to give up on the season. But the Raiders paid a staggering price for the 32-year-old Palmer, whose recent play has not approached his early success.

Palmer is a two-time Pro Bowler, but he missed much of the 2008 season with an elbow injury, and there have been concerns about diminished arm strength and accuracy ever since. During the lockout, many talent evaluators around the league doubted that Palmer would be worth even one first-round pick. Last season, he completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns and 20 interceptions, matching a career high, as the Bengals sank to 4-12.

But Jackson has a long relationship with Palmer, whom he helped recruit at Southern California and whom he worked with when he was a receivers coach for the Bengals. And the Raiders are flush with speedy receivers who will present Palmer with viable options.

The Raiders’ next three games are against division rivals. After a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, in which Kyle Boller will probably start, the Raiders have a bye, which would give Palmer three weeks of practice before starting against the Denver Broncos and then the San Diego Chargers.

Jackson was noncommittal about whether Palmer might play this week.

“Would this have happened if Jason was here?” Jackson said. “Probably not.”

The Raiders believe they can win now. At 4-2 and one game behind the Chargers, they may be right. They better be. The new collective bargaining agreement makes first-round picks economically friendly to teams, and the Raiders have potentially given up their next two. They currently do not have second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2012. The fourth-rounder was given up for Campbell, who now becomes expendable. He will be a free agent next year.

And if Palmer does not play well, Jackson, who has gained significant influence within the Raiders in the wake of Davis’s death because of the team’s success, figures to lose some of his credibility on a team that will probably hire a general manager after the season.

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Broncos Trade Brandon Lloyd to Rams

The Denver Broncos traded Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Lloyd, the league's leading receiver last year, to the St. Louis Rams on Monday for a conditional 2012 draft pick.

The move comes a week after Tebow supplanted Kyle Orton at quarterback and six days before Tebow's first start at Miami.

While the trade provides opportunities for young receivers Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker and Matt Willis, it also opens the organization to increased scrutiny in the midst of its 1-4 start.

"We think it's a position of strength," Broncos coach John Fox said of his receiving corps. "We've got some guys coming back — Demaryius Thomas, Eddie Royal — and (we like) the emergence of Eric Decker."

Lloyd said the trade was a mutual effort. He said he wanted to be a featured receiver in a more pass-oriented offense and thought his departure was best not just for his own career but for those of the receivers he left behind.

And Lloyd stressed his desire to leave Denver was unrelated to the Broncos' quarterback switch last week.

"This had nothing to do with Tim," Lloyd told 104.3 The Fan radio station in Denver. "I'm like everybody else, I find it hard not to like the kid and I have a lot of respect for him and a lot of respect for what he wants to accomplish in his career.

"I think this move creates the space for Denver to really find out what they want to do with the organization and the same thing for me. It puts me in a situation where maybe a team will want to look at me long-term or maybe I can fill a void for a season for St. Louis and get those guys back on track."

Now that Orton's no longer calling the plays, the Broncos are expected to go to even more of a ball-control offense under Tebow, a scrambler and a 49 percent career passer.

In St. Louis, Lloyd will be reunited with former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, now the coordinator of a Rams offense that has stumbled with so many of Sam Bradford's receivers banged up.

"That helps tremendously. There shouldn't be any kind of learning curve," Rams general manager Billy Devaney said.

The Rams said they sent a sixth-rounder to Denver that could turn into a fifth-rounder if Lloyd catches 30 passes for St. Louis, something all parties certainly expect to happen.

"He's made a lot of big plays in the NFL," Devaney said. "He's got size, good hands, (is) a polished route runner. He's got a knack for making a big play. We're going to put him in the mix."

Lloyd said he would play Sunday against Dallas and was excited for his reunion with McDaniels and eager to work with Bradford and Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo.

Lloyd is in the final year of a deal that pays him about $1.4 million, a bargain for a player who led the league with 1,448 yards receiving last year, when he caught 77 passes, 11 of them for touchdowns.

His numbers are down this year, with 19 catches for 283 yards and no touchdowns.

Broncos football chief John Elway said he appreciated Lloyd's hard work and wished him well, adding via Twitter: "I'm excited about our wide receiver group - This is as healthy as we've been at that position since the start of the year. Our young WRs have really emerged and made some plays, and this is a great opportunity for them to continue to step up."

The remaining receivers learned of Lloyd's departure when he was absent from their morning meeting Monday.

"It's, 'The decision has been made, it's you guys left in the room, let's make the most of it, go out there and play hard,'" Decker said of management's message. "Nothing's changed. Guys aren't scared. They just know that more opportunities are here now and we've got to make the most of them."

Lloyd had a breakout season in 2010, his eighth in the NFL. He had 18 catches of 25 yards or more and posted the third-highest receiving average (18.8 yards) since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 after a mostly nondescript career in San Francisco, Washington, Chicago and Denver, where he played in two games in 2009.

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Lombardi: Bengals won’t trade Palmer

Published: January 24th, 2011 | Tags: Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, Michael Lombardi, Mike Brown, NFL Total Access

Carson Palmer wants out of Cincinnati. Bengals owner Mike Brown says he won’t make a trade.

So will Brown budge? NFL Network information man Michael Lombardi doesn’t see it happening.

“I stress this strongly: Mike Brown is a man of his word,” Lombardi said. “When he says he’s not going to do something, he won’t do it.”

But let’s just suppose … if Palmer did leave, where could he end up? Lombardi suggests the 49ers, who have several members of the front office represented by agent David Dunn, who also represents Palmer.

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