While the Oakland Raiders still hope to acquire disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals tailback Corey Dillon, the league's most stealthy franchise continues to hold its cards close to the vest, and the much-rumored deal does not appear imminent.
Sources said that, beyond casual conversations at the NFL meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., this week, the two franchises did not have substantive discussions about a Dillon deal.
Heading into the meetings, which adjourned Wednesday, there was much speculation that having the owners of both teams under the same roof would fuel trade negotiations. The loud media buzz was that a deal could indeed be brokered at The Breakers, the posh and venerable resort hotel at which the meetings were held.
But it appears the deal wasn't nudged even incrementally forward by Raiders owner Al Davis or Bengals counterpart Mike Brown. As usual, Davis presented his typical air of mystery when asked about a Dillon trade.
"I know Cincinnati would be dying to hear what I have to say," Davis told reporters when asked if he still had his sights set on adding Dillon to his backfield.
Given the track record of some of the principals, particularly the purposely-vague Davis and agent Steve Feldman, it is difficult to cut through the considerable posturing involved in a proposed deal that has been spinning on the rumor mill for more than a month. What seems clear, though, is that Oakland hasn't captured the Bengals' interest with what it has offered so far, and that the two sides may simply sit back and see who blinks first.
One Raiders coach hinted that Oakland officials are content for now to wait and see how the Bengals handle the Dillon situation. "The [preference] is to trade for him, and get him into the system, but only at the right price. But most people think you can get [Dillon] for nothing when they cut him in the summer," said the coach.
Dillon cleaned out his locker following the 2003 season finale, has said he will not return to the Bengals, and in a recent television appearance ripped teammates and management.
Consensus around the NFL is that the Bengals will eventually be forced to release Dillon, not only for salary cap reasons, but because of his proven proclivity toward insurgency. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis insisted again this week that there are scenarios under which Dillon could return to the Bengals as a backup to emerging tailback Rudi Johnson, but no one believes Cincinnati officials want the tailback in their locker room.
For now, at least, Oakland lacks the kind of power back new head coach Norv Turner prefers for his offense.
To acquire Dillon, under his current contract, the Raiders would also have to create some cap room, rarely a problem in the past for the franchise. Dillon is due base salaries of $3.3 million for 2004 and $3.85 million for 2005. As of Wednesday, the Raiders had only $101,234 in available cap space for '04, the lowest amount in the league.
Dillon, 29, is coming off an injury-plagued 2003 campaign, one in which the seven-year veteran posted career worsts for rushes (138), yards (541) and touchdowns (two). For his career, he has 8,061 yards and 45 touchdowns on 1,865 carries.
In his first six seasons, he rushed for 1,000 yards every year and had four straight years in which he ran for 1,200-plus yards.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.