When is the last time a team was very public about engaging teams in trade talks for a player, then didn’t trade that player?

Let’s retrace the Seattle Seahawks‘ offseason with Richard Sherman. Sherman, who had some sideline blowups last season, was the subject of trade talks. We know he was the subject of trade talks because the Seahawks weren’t secretive about it. The Seahawks usually couched it by making it seem like they were just taking calls, but it’s extremely rare for a team to keep discussing teams calling them about a player. Think about other trade rumors, in practically any sport. Very, very few are as publicly acknowledged on the record by a team as this supposed dalliance was.

Yet, here we are with the offseason programs going, and the Seahawks say trade talks are dead. Liz Matthews of USA Today’s Seahawks Wire and other outlets quoted coach Pete Carroll as saying there will be no Sherman trade now that the draft has passed. Carroll said the likelihood of it happening is “zero percent.”

Let’s be clear: If the Seahawks wanted to trade Sherman, they could have traded him. And if they want to trade him before the week is over, they could. Maybe not for a huge bounty, but Sherman is a three-time All-Pro and he just turned 29. No deal, however, was made.

So it makes more sense that there was more to this than Seattle legitimately shopping Sherman. Maybe it was just the Seahawks, who don’t seem as paranoid as the other 31 teams who guard everything like it’s a military secret, being a little looser with information than any other team would be. It always seemed like the Seahawks were more intent on sending a message than making a deal. Maybe the message was intended for Sherman. Maybe it was intended for the rest of the players, so they could see that nobody is above being traded. Who knows.

Whatever the reasons, the Sherman trade rumors that nobody seemed to believe have come and gone. Sherman is still with the Seahawks, as one of their key pieces as they try to get back to a Super Bowl. And whatever point the Seahawks were trying to get across seems to have been made.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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