NFL Trade Deadline 2011: Recapping Moves That Were Made And Ones That Weren't

The 2011 NFL trade deadline has come and gone with some more activity than we're used to. There were three trades that were made in the last couple days leading up to Tuesday's deadline: Bengals traded Carson Palmer to the Raiders, Broncos traded Brandon Lloyd to the Rams and the Eagles traded Ronnie Brown to the Lions.

There were plenty of others that were discussed but never materialized. Here's a recap of the moves that were made and the ones that weren't.

Raiders strike a deal for Carson Palmer. This is clearly the headliner of the 2011 NFL trade deadline. There usually aren't a lot of major trades made near the deadline, let alone major trades involving quarterbacks, but the Raiders and Bengals were able to come to an agreement -- a 2012 first round pick and a conditional first in 2013 -- to send Palmer to Oakland. This is one of the biggest deadline deals in NFL history.

Rams get Brandon Lloyd for peanuts. The Rams traded for Brandon Lloyd from the Broncos for just a fifth round pick. That seems so low for a guy who had 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns just last season. The key now for St. Louis is to sign Lloyd to a contract extension so you didn't just give up a fifth round pick to rent a player for 10 games when you're 0-5.

Eagles send Ronnie Brown to the Lions. Brown is a big name but this is a very minor trade. He has just 13 carries on the season for Philly so this doesn't have a big impact on their season. The Lions gave up Jerome Harrison (who was traded to Philly from Cleveland last year) and a 2013 seventh round pick.

Browns say Peyton Hillis wasn't available via trade. Some reports said the Browns may listen to trade offers for Hillis if the price was right (and I imagine that price was very high) but the Browns said he was never available. My question is two-fold: First, are the Browns going to give Hillis an extension? Second, if they're not going to give him an extension, why wouldn't they entertain trade offers for him? Seems to me Hillis could have netted a mid-round pick while the Browns may lose him at the end of the season anyway.

Asante Samuel was supposedly on the trade block. No team made a move on him but the Eagles reportedly made it known he was available. And why wouldn't they do that? The Eagles signed Nnamdi Asomugha and traded for Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie before the season so Samuel, and his nearly $19 million owed to him over the next two years, were expendable.

Kyle Orton stays put. There was some talk that the Broncos would listen to offers from Oakland for Orton considering the Raiders had just lost Jason Campbell for a large chunk fo the season. Ultimately, though, nothing ever came of it and the Broncos have to hang onto Orton while the Tim Tebow era starts next weekend.

Chris Harris was seeking a trade but didn't find a partner. Harris, the Bears safety, was benched last week and requested permission to seek a trade, which the Bears allowed him to do. Ultimately he found no takers and he remains in Chicago.