The 2009 trade wheels started spinning in earnest around the NFL back on Sept. 6, when the Raiders raised eyebrows leaguewide with the acquisition of five-time Pro Bowl DE Richard Seymour from the Patriots for a No. 1 draft pick in 2011.

The deal looked like an industrial-sized steal initially, as Seymour played like a house on fire in his first game in Silver and Black before plummeting to earth for what is widely considered the league's most dysfunctional team at the moment. It is worth noting that Seymour came out of the chute on fire against the Eagles on Sunday.

Fast-forward to the first full week of October, when the Browns, who showed they were more than willing to wheel and deal this offseason by trading TE Kellen Winslow to the Bucs, shipped talented but troubled WR Braylon Edwards to the WR-starved Jets in exchange for WR Chansi Stuckey, LB Jason Trusnik and two undisclosed draft picks.

Like Seymour, Edwards, who might have sealed his fate in Cleveland after getting into an alleged fight with a buddy of NBA star LeBron James at a downtown nightclub, very quickly made his presence felt with a strong performance in the Jets' 31-27 Monday-night loss to the Dolphins. With five catches for 64 yards and a touchdown — and nearly two other TDs on plays that led to scores — Edwards' act could play well in the Big Apple, although there are hardly any guarantees considering his checkered history.

A third major strike in the trade mart was delivered by Bears GM Jerry Angelo, whose blockbuster deal back on April 2 for QB Jay Cutler produced one of the biggest buzzes in recent league history.

Angelo's deal four days before the Oct. 20 trade deadline for Buccaneers DE Gaines Adams (in exchange for the Bears' second-round pick next season) wasn't nearly as big a jaw-dropper as his deal for Cutler. But if Bears D-line coach Rod Marinelli can turn the former first-rounder, whom he has long coveted, into another Simeon Rice — which he thinks he can — the net gain from the Adams deal could be almost as significant.

Will these three big deals set the stage for a major run of late-breaking trades in the next 48 hours?

The way we hear it, a very unpredictable wait-and-see mode is in the offing, with, at the very least, a lot of chatter sure to burn up NFL phone lines right up to the wire.

"With all the action that has gone down in recent weeks, the major movers and shakers — (Patriots head coach Bill) Belichick, (Jets GM Mike) Tannenbaum, Angelo — may be all tapped out," one NFL personnel director told PFW. "The activity we've seen so far has been the result of contenders aggressively seeking to make moves and build for the future - that's why they are contenders."

It's the other side of the coin, though, that has people in the know thinking there could be a flurry of late-breaking activity.

"(People like Raiders owner) Al Davis, (Browns head coach) Eric Mangini and (Buccaneers GM) Mark Dominik are all dwelling in the league's basement and have rosters that need to be reshaped," the personnel director said. "There are more winless teams and more first-year GMs in place than usual, and if any of them could stockpile picks by trading away malcontents, I think they would be very receptive to it.

"But there is a very short window remaining."

Not surprisingly, well-known players with well-documented baggage similar to what Edwards was carrying around in Cleveland — such as Bills WR Terrell Owens and Chargers OLB Shawne Merriman — have frequently popped up on the trade rumor mill in recent weeks.

But there's no denying that trades for such players could be risky business of the highest order.

"You can't win with the T.O.'s," one league exec said. "Everyone that has tried to win with him can't. When you are dealing with malcontents, you have to get what you can out of them (in the trade market) as long as you can get some value. You have to build the 'team' at some point. Guys like Winslow and Edwards take away from it.

"It's like real estate. It's a buyer's market right now. The bad teams are looking to sell off (their rosters)."

With that premise in mind first and foremost, PFW offers a rundown of obviously troubled teams that might be looking to wheel and deal before the fast-approaching deadline Tuesday evening.

At the top of the list, not surprisingly, are the Raiders, who we've been hearing for a few weeks now would be willing to conduct a "fire sale" that might or might not attract some serious shoppers. Rumor has it that everybody on the Raiders could be had, with the possible exception of blue-chip CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Former top-10 pick and backup S Michael Huff, who has long been in Al Davis' doghouse, is perhaps the most likely Raider to be dealt.

Not too far behind the Raiders in the trade rumor mix are the Chiefs, who we hear could be willing to peddle a number of players who could attract more than a little interest, including a boatload of former first-round picks (RB Larry Johnson, DE-DT Glenn Dorsey, ILB Derrick Johnson and WR Dwayne Bowe) and veteran OG Brian Waters, who didn't hit it off well initially with new Chiefs head coach Todd Haley.

Already having traded Winslow and Edwards, the Browns may be busily working the phones as we speak. While they have already publicly denied rumors that they would consider dealing QB Brady Quinn, who recently put his suburban home up for sale, or hot-shot return specialist Josh Cribbs, we hear there are a number of interesting players who are drawing interest, led by former first-round OT Joe Thomas, a Wisconsin graduate who could be a very attractive fit on a Packers offensive line that has surrendered a league-high 25 sacks this season. It's worth noting that the Packers gave up five sacks Sunday, and veteran OLT Chad Clifton reinjured the right ankle that forced him to miss the team's previous two games. 

Other potentially attractive Browns include OLG Eric Steinbach, DLE Corey Williams, CB Brandon McDonald and S Brodney Pool.

Moving on to Tampa Bay, we hear the Bucs might not stop their shopping with the Adams deal, as Dominik appears intent on stockpiling as many 2010 draft picks as he can, with his team clearly in a rebuilding mode. Possible Bucs that could be straddling the fence include WRs Antonio Bryant and Michael Clayton and MLB Barrett Ruud.

While we hear the Bills are not likely to deal Owens, whose name has been bandied about ad nauseum in Chicago recently — "he's not going anywhere after they gave him $6 million," said one league insider — WR-PR Roscoe Parrish and Bills DT John McCargo could possibly be had for the right package.

As for the downtrodden Titans, we hear the names of RB LenDale White, WR Justin Gage, C Kevin Mawae and LBs Keith Bulluck and David Thornton could be well worth remembering the next few days.

In St. Louis, there had been scuttlebutt for some time now that RB Steven Jackson could be on the block, but with the Rams extremely tight against the cap, the hit they would take in the team's money vault makes any deal for the Rams' offensive centerpiece extremely unlikely.

Before signing off, there are a handful of teams with needs that will at least be doing some investigating before the deadline expires, and several names that could be revisited.

To wit:

• We hear the Ravens could be in search of WR help and definitely looked into the possibility of acquiring Owens. One player who might pique their interest is former first-round pick Ted Ginn Jr., who has struggled in his development as a receiver and returner in Miami.
• We've already mentioned the Packers' O-line problems, and we hear it's possible, although not likely, that they would consider dealing Aaron Kampman, who has only two sacks and has looked like a fish out of water at left outside linebacker in the team's new 3-4 scheme and is in his contract year.
• The Steelers could be in the market for a replacement for DE Aaron Smith, the underrated run stuffer supreme who suffered a season-ending torn right rotator cuff in Week Five. We hear the Steelers might consider cutting the cord with RB Willie Parker, who could be expendable with Rashard Mendenhall lately coming on like gangbusters.

Other big names that could potentially attract interest for a relatively nominal price include — Patriots RB Laurence Maroney, Lions LB Ernie Sims, Rams OT Alex Barron, Eagles WR Kevin Curtis and Bears CB Nathan Vasher — all of whom have fallen out of favor with their coaches.

At the very least, it's a given that it will hardly be quiet on the NFL trade front the rest of today and tomorrow.

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