Was Duane Brown Traded Out Of Spite?

Of all the batshit moves made (and not made, if you’re Cleveland) at the shockingly active close of the NFL’s trade deadline, the one that will probably have the greatest impact on this year’s playoff race was Houston sending franchise LT Duane Brown to Seattle for draft picks.

That trade came right as Brown, who held out for the first six weeks of the season, became one of the most vocally agitated Texans after team owner and Irish mob strongman Bob McNair made his little “inmates” crack. Brown ended up leading a mass anthem kneeldown prior to playing against his new team. And even though, on paper, this is a fairly even trade for both sides, it’s hard not to wonder if the Texans—who suck at pass protection and have themselves a stud rookie QB who is very much worth protecting—made it for more than just football reasons. Was Brown traded out of spite? Amigos, that is the subject of this week’s Deadcast.

Could there be more? There can. Deadspin alum and FiveThirtyEight doorstop Kyle Wagner joins Marchman and me to talk about the Cavs, Kristaps Porzingis, George RR Martin, and we answer YOUR questions about traffic, horse-sized battle animals, hot beverages, and more.

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