One of the most consequential NFL trades of the last few years was hatched thanks to ... secret trips to the bathroom?
According to Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead, his team shared an adjacent suite with the Titans at the scouting combine this year and the pair pretended to hit the restroom at the same time to talk about a deal for the No. 1 pick.
"It was easy for Jon (Robinson) and I to sneak out the back of the suite there, and act like we were going to the restroom, and then chat about the pick," Snead said, via the team's official site.
"I did talk to people in the top five, but they're good buddies of mine, so ... on the long commute here (to Oxnard), I've got to have something to do," Snead said. "But I think we focused in on (No.) 1, because you didn't know what was going to happen at 2. And, hey, if you want something, go get it."
Snead's anecdote confirms that some level of conniving still exists in the NFL. Even though the sport has moved away from its Wild West days, there is still a need to sneak out to the bathroom with another general manager to talk about swinging a deal that will throttle draft boards for just about every team in the top 15. However, we wonder why, with the advent of cell phones, this was an absolute necessity. Maybe this gives momentum to the theory that this is still a people business -- you need to read facial expressions and tone just as much as anything.
Enterprising reporters would do well to stake out the restrooms next year in Indianapolis.
