NFL Trade Deadline: The Colts and 5 Teams That Are Worse After the Deadline

The NFL trade deadline often comes and goes, creating less of a buzz throughout the world of sports than the MLB or NBA trade deadline. Football being as complex as it is makes it difficult to just send one guy somewhere and bring someone new in and expect instant results.

Without the advent of a "draft lottery," the worst teams in the NFL know what picks they will be getting as they continue to lose games throughout the fall and winter. At the same time, the best teams keep winning, without the need for a new receiver or defensive end.

The NFL is a special league, unlike its American counterparts in many ways, and whether or not teams in the NFL swing players with the frequency of the NBA or MLB, there is still plenty left to talk about.

Here are the five teams that are worse after the trade deadline.

The Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts find themselves in a conundrum. They are without their leader Peyton Manning for the entirety of the season, and are 0-6, without a win on the horizon.

Furthermore, the "Suck for Luck" sweepstakes is a snowball of drama that is constantly swirling around the Colts. Couple that with the sizable contract extension they gave Manning this offseason before the neck surgery, and you've got the Colts' predicament.

One great way the Colts could have improved themselves on several levels would have been to trade defensive end Robert Mathis and wide receiver Reggie Wayne.

Both long-time Colts stars are now in their 30s and in contract years. The Manning contract means neither will get the money they want, nor the franchise tag. Mathis is having his worst statistical season ever, and without Manning there, Wayne hasn't been anything special either. 

There is always a market for a veteran (and Pro Bowl) defensive end or wide out, and the Colts dropped the ball not shopping their guys. 

The Cleveland Browns

Peyton Hillis has felt the effects of the "Madden Curse" differently than former cover players. Hillis is yet to have a season-ending injury, but he had plenty of drama of his own.

He had a couple of slow weeks out of the gate, followed by strep throat that we still haven't confirmed really was strep throat. He then apparently sat out because he wasn't happy with his contract, and finally he appeared to be benched this Sunday at the half, although team officials said he went out with a hamstring injury. If those aren't signs of an imminent trade, I don't know what would be. 

Cleveland must have known that there was a market for a big strong running back. Teams like Detroit (25th in rushing offense), Philadelphia (awful on 3rd-and-short) or the Jets (have taken a step back with their run game) could have all used a back like Hillis.

Seeing as how Hillis came out of nowhere last season, rushing for nearly 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns, Cleveland should have taken advantage of the market and shopped him. 

The Denver Broncos

It is a lot clearer now that the Denver Broncos made a rather costly mistake not sending former starting quarterback Kyle Orton to the Miami Dolphins this offseason. New management, John Elway, and new head coach, John Fox, weren't sure of their quarterback situation, so they backed out of a deal with the Fins. 

Six weeks into the season, Orton has been benched and Tebow is the starter. Denver is now left to think about what could have been had a trade occurred. Making matters worse is how bad Miami's quarterback situation is. Denver knows they had something there and missed out.

So, what does Denver do at the deadline, since they can no longer send Orton anywhere (his contract is now undesirable)? They send their star receiver Brandon Lloyd to St. Louis for a sixth- or potentially a fifth-round draft pick.

Nothing better than sending your new quarterback's best target to another team days before he tries to salvage your season.

The Tennessee Titans

I couldn't be happier for Matt Hasselbeck right now. He left Seattle this offseason with the potential to sign in several different cities. He settled on Tennessee, and had more confidence in himself than anyone had in him, and it has paid off thus far.

He has the Titans at 3-2 and in first place in what could turn out to be the NFL's worst division, the AFC South. He has been a leader for the team and set the tone from day one.

The one thing he hasn't been able to do is throw the ball to Kenny Britt very often.The Titans' star receiver went down in Week 4 with a season-ending injury, leaving Hasselbeck one tool short. 

It wouldn't have hurt management to have made a few calls and felt out the other teams in the league. Indianapolis, as mentioned earlier, had plenty of reasons to shop Reggie Wayne, and the Denver Broncos had already discussed Eddie Royal as a viable trade commodity. 

The Titans have a shot at a playoff spot that nobody even thought to give them, and at the deadline they didn't appear interested in helping themselves. 

The Houston Texans

This has been a highly volatile and unpredictable NFL season thus far. One thing that hasn't changed much though, is that Houston is on their way to yet another disappointing season, doing it in grand fashion.

They come off a big win against Pittsburgh by losing consecutive games to Oakland and Baltimore. Texans football.

They lost wide receiver phenom Andre Johnson, in addition to their defensive leader and tone-setter linebacker Mario Williams. Johnson's injury is being played out on a week-to-week basis, but Williams is out for the season.

So why the Texans didn't make it clear to the league that they were in need, I don't know. Brandon Lloyd came and went, as did the opportunity to snag a guy like Eddie Royal from Denver or Jason Taylor, the defensive end from Miami.

Houston knows they can win, they just apparently don't want to.