Seahawks acquire Rice before deadline

Jerry Rice and Keenan McCardell switched teams Tuesday, when there actually were deals at the NFL trading deadline for the first time in five years.

Rice, the leading receiver in NFL history, went from Oakland to Seattle early Tuesday. By 3 p.m. CDT, when the deadline officially arrived, Dallas had sent Antonio Bryant to Cleveland for Quincy Morgan and the 34-year-old McCardell, who had been holding out, was sent from Tampa Bay to San Diego.

The last time there were trades at the deadline was in 1999, when Miami sent running back Abdul-Karim Al-Jabbar to Cleveland and Tampa Bay traded defensive end Regan Upshaw to Jacksonville, in both cases for draft picks.

The best-known player traded this week, of course, was the 42-year-old Rice, who was openly unhappy in Oakland and went to the Seahawks for a seventh-round draft pick.

He had gone without a catch in three of five games this season, including Sunday's 31-3 loss to Denver when he didn't even get a pass thrown his way. His NFL record streak of 274 games with a reception ended in Week 2 against Buffalo.

In Seattle, he will rejoin coach Mike Holmgren, who was his offensive coordinator in San Francisco at the height of his career and play again in the West Coast offense. Until this season, he had been in that system his entire career -- first with the 49ers and then with the Raiders.

McCardell, who led the Bucs last season with 84 catches for 1,174 yards and eight touchdowns, was sent to San Diego for third- and sixth-round draft picks next season. Reche Caldwell, the Chargers' leading wide receiver, hurt his right knee last Sunday in the 21-20 loss in Atlanta although the extent of the injury has not been disclosed.

"I have been working hard every day to stay in peak physical condition, and I am prepared to come in and make an immediate contribution," said McCardell, who began his career with Cleveland and also has played for Jacksonville. "I could not be happier with this trade."

The Bryant-Morgan trade, a rare player-for-player deal, involved two young wide receivers who were unhappy with their lack of playing time.

Bryant, who had been the Cowboys' third wide receiver behind Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn, landed in coach Bill Parcells' doghouse during a workout in June, when he threw a sweaty jersey at Parcells' face.

He has 16 catches for 266 yards this season.

Morgan caught three touchdown passes this season but was disappointed with his reduced role over the last 1 1/2 seasons.