Some trades takes days or weeks of negotiations. Others take hours.
The Everson Griffen trade fell into the latter category, as the Detroit Lions found a motivated partner in the Dallas Cowboys and the two sides consummated a deal in the span of three or four hours Tuesday afternoon.
"It really helps (to know the player), especially when things go down maybe last-minute or pretty quick," Lions coach Matt Patricia said Wednesday. "And sometimes that’s how those situations come up and they occur, but the more familiarity you have with the player, and certainly when you play against someone like that for as long as we have, you are very used to what he is and what he can do and his skill set and how that would fit with whatever you’re doing from that standpoint.