Most of us can’t even conceive of what goes into being traded behind the scenes, but the human side of one of the NFL’s busiest business days is basically cold, and sometimes nasty. Denver Broncos tight end Adam Trautman has been there, done that, and he was one of several players who opened up and gave Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic a first person account of how it works and how he got to Denver. 

“We had told (the Saints) in February of that year that, ‘Hey, I’m willing to go somewhere else,’” Trautman said about being traded in exchange for a sixth-round selection back in 2023. “(My) agents were talking to every GM and you kind of get a feel for what might happen. They are pretty plugged into it all. …

“I was at my older brother’s bachelor party in Galveston, Texas. There were like 15 of us and we were at a bar on the oceanfront. I got these calls from my agent all at once and then a text. Something’s happening. I walked outside and the reception was barely working. At one point, it wasn’t working at all. So I got a ride from my little brother — we just got in the car and drove until we had reception. And that’s when it went down.”

There are plenty of stories about how teams communicate well and everything goes down smoothly, but Trautman’s isn’t one of them. 

“I knew something was happening, so I was prepared for it, but the communication was all messed up,” the tight end explained. “It’s pretty crazy. I went straight from there to Denver and never went back to New Orleans. I was like, ‘I have to get to OTAs.’ I literally left the bachelor party on a Sunday, they got me on a flight Sunday night and on Monday I was in the building working out.”

Things got better after that. The personal side of this particular trade involved Traughtman’s wife, who was his girlfriend back then. She was in New Orleans, and that’s when the Broncos stepped up and did right by the couple. 

“She was there and we had people come and pack it all up,” he concluded. “She was there for another 10 days while I was at the hotel (in Denver). Then she came out here and we started looking for an apartment. I rented a car for a couple weeks until my car got shipped out here. They did it right. They took care of me.”

The real happy ending is that Trautman is still with the Broncos as a productive player. He’s the backup tight end on a team that’s rumored to be looking for tight ends, so this won’t be a comfortable day for him. He probably isn’t going anywhere today, but this is why NFL players get nervous for weeks as the deadline approaches.