Brandon Lloyd Trade: St. Louis Rams Send Pick To Broncos For Josh McDaniels Protege

The St. Louis Rams traded for Brandon Lloyd, sending a sixth-or-fifth round pick to the Denver Broncos for the reigning yardage champion.

2011 NFL Trade Deadline: Rams Could Go Small-Scale With Eddie Royal

Brandon Lloyd would be the big-name move for the St. Louis Rams at the 2011 NFL Trade Deadline, but if they wanted to make a deal with the Denver Broncos that didn't involve breaking the 2012 NFL Draft bank Turf Show Times reports that Eddie Royal is also available. With fellow mid-level veteran receiver Mike Sims-Walker looking invisible through six weeks, that might not excite Rams fans looking for a number-one guy, but an 0-5 start makes it difficult to imagine trade rumors that involve any amount of future-mortgaging going through for this Rams team. 

Royal, a speedy slot receiver who's failed to break out in three seasons as the Broncos' would-be deep threat, hasn't yet established himself outside of the return game, where the Rams have, it should be noted, continually struggled to find a replacement for the injured Danny Amendola.

What makes it difficult to imagine this trade working out is that Royal isn't significantly better than any of the pieces the Rams have tried to fit into their porous offense so far—he's another fungible receiver, to add to a list with Danario Alexander, Brandon Gibson, Mike Sims-Walker, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, and—coming soon—Mark Clayton. 

Rams Trade Rumors: Brandon Lloyd Still On The Block; Rams Still Interested?

The St. Louis Rams saw their best wide receiver performance of the season Week 6 in their 24-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers, but that's not going to stop the rumor mill ahead of the 2011 NFL Trade Deadline: Brandon Lloyd, Josh McDaniels's favorite protege with the Denver Broncos, is still on the trading block as the Broncos move from a pass-led Kyle Orton offense to a run-driven Tim Tebow set-up. The Broncos are said to want a mid-round draft pick in 2012 out of the deal, which makes Lloyd an idea fit for a contender with a short competitive window. 

It makes it less-than-ideal for the St. Louis Rams, who are holey enough that they'll need serious production from their next two or three NFL Drafts. The Rams might be able to afford sending one pick away, but they'd have to have a lot of confidence in their ability to reemerge as contenders after an 0-5 start to spend it on a 30-year-old wide receiver with one excellent season under his belt. 

NFL Trade Deadline 2011: St. Louis Rams Hunt Wide Receivers At Deadline

Follow this thread for the latest news and rumors as the St. Louis Rams approach NFL Trade Deadline 2011.