It was almost foreboding for AJ McCarron that the NFL trade deadline fell on Halloween.
On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback learned he was being traded to the Cleveland Browns, and then an hour later, as his entire family dressed in their Halloween costumes, he was told the trade didn't go through.
"With the trade and all that, you've got my mother bouncing around in a dolphin suit, the dogs are going crazy, (1-year-old son) Tripp's pissed he's wearing a tutu. I'm lost like everyone else," McCarron said to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.
It turned out the trade was not accepted because the Browns failed to send in the appropriate documents to the league office before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
As a result, McCarron remains a member of a team that he knows had tried to trade him.
"I'm not angry. I'm not upset. It feels good to be wanted," McCarron said. "Today I'm going to thank (Bengals president Mike Brown) personally. I really appreciate that of him. He's been an unbelievable owner in my experience here."
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis acknowledged that the failed trade makes for an odd scenario.
"It's not a good situation," he said at his Wednesday press conference.
"AJ is a very valuable member of this team," Lewis said. "I told him that (Tuesday) after (the trade deadline). Frankly, I was relieved that I don't have to go through those gymnastics of the next steps. He's a great kid. True team player. He's a leader - a leader on this football team. And that's why we feel like he's such a valuable asset."
McCarron will be back in the Bengals' stripes for their next game Sunday versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
