NEW YORK — It seemed pretty odd at the time, that the Eagles and Patriots swapped pick Nos. 193 and 194 in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. What made the trade a bit more strange was that it was announced about 30 picks ahead of time, near the end of the fourth round.

As the 21st of 22 trades made during this NFL draft, it simply went like this: Eagles get pick No. 193. Patriots get pick 194. That’s it.

None of us could figure out who benefited from the trade, or why it was made. But after some digging, the answers are “no one ” and “just for fun.”

The Patriots and Eagles apparently made this trade just for kicks. The internet rumors that the teams have conducted draft-day trades every year since Bill Belichick arrived in New England in 2000 are far from true. In fact, according to the fine folks with the Patriots, the teams have conducted four trades since the 2000 season and this is their second-ever draft-day trade.

Nonetheless, it still appears this was just for fun. Although, we have to wonder if there’s a free dinner involved from Andy Reid to Belichick to grease the wheels to get the Patriots to move down that one spot.

– Frank Tadych

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