The NFL rejected a submitted trade of A.J. McCarron from the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cleveland Browns.

The Bengals notified the league of the proposed trade at 3:55 p.m. ET, and the Browns notified the league shortly after 4 p.m. ET. Because the Browns were late, the league denied the trade. 

The Browns protested the NFL's decision but it was rejected.

The proposed compensation for McCarron would have been a second- and third-round pick in 2018.

The Bengals also tried to trade McCarron in the offseason.

The Buffalo Bills have acquired Kelvin Benjamin from the Carolina Panthers.

The Miami Dolphins traded away Jay Ajayi to the Philadelphia Eagles and could make another big deal before the deadline as Jarvis Landry is available.

"Jarvis Landry is available for the right compensation. Not giving him away though," wrote Armando Salguero.

Landry and the Dolphins have been unable to agree upon a long-term contract.

The Philadelphia Eagles have traded a fourth round pick to the Miami Dolphins for Jay Ajayi.

The Seattle Seahawks have acquired Duane Brown from the Houston Texans for Jeremy Lane, a 2018 fifth round pick and a 2019 second round pick.

John Schneider said the Seahawks are inheriting Brown's current deal from Houston, which runs through 2018, and that there is no new deal beyond that. Brown is owed about $5 million for the remainder of this season and is scheduled to make $9.75 million in 2018.

Schneider said the Seahawks had been talking with the Texans about Brown since Seattle lost starting left tackle George Fant to a torn ACL in the preseason.

The San Francisco 49ers have acquired Jimmy Garoppolo from the New England Patriots for a second round draft pick.

The 49ers owned two second round draft picks in 2018 and traded their own to the Patriots. The pick will be one of the first of the second round.

Garoppolo is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The Patriots have traded both Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett this season as they appear confident Tom Brady has several seasons remaining.

Brady said he hoped Garoppolo will make a good starting quarterback for the 49ers.

"He's put in all the effort," Brady said. "I've watched him for 3½ years and really enjoyed working with him. Hopefully he goes on and does a great job."

Pete Carroll sought out Jimmy Graham following reports he was included in trade discussions.

"When I heard that, too, I went straight to Jimmy, I ran to him to make sure that it wasn't bothering him," Carroll said in his Monday morning radio show on 710 ESPN Seattle. "He was aware of it, in my observation. So we just talked about it eye to eye, the reality and the truth of it and that there was nothing there and somebody just made that up. By the time we got to game time, I checked back in with him a couple times just to make sure he was OK, because we need his spirit going in the right direction. He came around fine. He was fine. But he was -- I don't know, you'd have to ask him. I think it bothered him."

Graham is making $7.9 million this season, which would be a lot of money for a new team to take on. 

Graham has four touchdowns over the past three games after catching two on Sunday. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars have interest in trading for Calvin Johnson.

The situation is similar to what happened between the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders with Marshawn Lynch. The Raiders traded their fifth-round pick in 2018 to the Seahawks for Lynch and a 2018 sixth-rounder. 

Johnson is now 32 and hasn't played in a game since Jan. 3, 2016.

The Jaguars already are facing contract negotiations with Allen Robinson, who also is in the last year of his rookie deal. The Jaguars can't afford to pay big money to two receivers, especially with six players already scheduled to have salary-cap figures of at least $10 million in 2018.

The Detroit Lions have been approached by two teams about potentially trading the rights to Calvin Johnson ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

The Lions told those teams to reach out to Johnson to gauge his interest about returning to the NFL. Johnson has been noncommittal to date, which was diminished any hope for a deal.

Johnson announced his retirement in March of 2016.

Johnson is now 32 years old.

The Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans have discussed a trade centered on Duane Brown.

The Seahawks have a need at left tackle and Brown recently ended his holdout.

Brown is one of the leaders in the Texans' locker room.