NFL Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding Top Stars Ahead of 2017 Deadline

General managers throughout the NFL are running out of time to get any trades across the line before the 4 p.m. ET deadline Tuesday.

Plenty of rumors have been flying in the days leading up to the 2017 NFL trade deadline. Whether any of the players mentioned in said rumors are traded is another matter entirely.

Deadline days tend to be underwhelming affairs, and that's particularly true in the NFL, a league where blockbuster deals are the exception rather than the norm. Then again, Monday night was full of surprises.

First, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Seattle Seahawks acquired offensive tackle Duane Brown from the Houston Texans. Then, Schefter broke the news of Jimmy Garoppolo's trade to the San Francisco 49ers.

After that, perhaps fans should expect the unexpected when it comes to the three players below.

Calvin Johnson Likely to Remain Retired Despite Interest from Teams

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

While Calvin Johnson didn't retire at the top of his game, he caught 88 passes for 1,214 yards and nine touchdowns last season before walking away from the NFL.

On pure talent alone, it makes sense Johnson would be the subject of fevered trade rumors. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported on Mike & Mike (h/t PhillyVoice's Jimmy Kempski) the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles are tracking Johnson's availability.

CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora provided the one problem for the Jaguars, Eagles and anybody else hoping to land Johnson:

Schefter reported Sunday that Johnson was "noncommittal at best" about possibly returning to the NFL.

Convincing Johnson to come out of retirement, sorting out the financial details related to his contract and working out a trade to Detroit's liking is a lot to accomplish in the space of a few hours. Even assuming a team has been burning the midnight oil in recent days to negotiate a trade for the six-time Pro Bowler, there appear to be far too many hurdles standing in the way of a Megatron trade before the deadline.

Dion Lewis Reportedly Staying in New England

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

The Boston Herald's Stephen Hewitt and Jeff Howe reported in September the New England Patriots had received trade calls about running back Dion Lewis. The Patriots hadn't initiated the discussions and weren't in any rush to move Lewis on.

According to The Ringer NFL Show's Michael Lombardi, nothing has changed:

Signing Mike Gillislee in the offseason added depth to the Patriots' backfield, but the move hasn't quite worked out as planned. Gillislee is averaging 3.6 yards per carry and ranks 38th among qualified players in the category.

Lewis, on the other hand, is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

Were Gillislee playing better, trading Lewis would make more sense for New England. But Lewis has been the superior option on the ground through the first half of the year.

The fact Lewis is a free agent at the end of the year shouldn't factor much into the team's decision-making, either. The Patriots are focused on repeating as Super Bowl champions in 2017. Trading an expiring contract just to get something back—even when talking about a more peripheral player such as Lewis—runs counter to that idea.

Dolphins Not Considering Jarvis Landry Trade

David Goldman/Associated Press

To the surprise of almost no one, the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero reported the Miami Dolphins are hoping to improve their offense before the trade deadline. Salguero added the team is "willing to be both a seller and a buyer—both willing to part with certain players currently on the roster and willing to add players to its roster."

According to Salguero, the Dolphins don't intend on trading Jarvis Landry but added his contract situation casts some doubt on where he fits with the team in the years ahead.

Landry is a free agent after the season, and unlike others who were in his position, the Dolphins declined to agree to a long-term extension.

Landry's contract status and his underwhelming production—50 receptions for 398 yards and three touchdowns—leave Miami with little leverage should it want to deal the 24-year-old.

There's also the question as to why the Dolphins would want to part with a young receiver who had back-to-back 1,100-yard receiving seasons in 2015 and 2016.

While it would be a stretch to call Landry an elite wideout, he's good enough to at least be a No. 2 option for a contending team. Miami might as well hold onto him since it would almost certainly fail to get back fair value in return.