Saints fully intend to trade Darren Sproles; he finds out on Twitter

You can't be blamed for suspicion of hearing a player is on the trade block, figuring that he'll be released in due time.

But in the case of Darren Sproles, the New Orleans Saints might actually have a market for his services.

ESPN's Adam Schefter said there is heavy interest in Sproles and that the team will indeed trade him and will not cut him.

[Be sure to check out Shutdown Corner's NFL free-agent rankings. Click here for the list of offensive players, and click here for the list of defensive and special teams players]

Sproles now has caught wind of the latest developments and has responded summarily on Twitter.

Yes, it stinks for Sproles, who heard about his impending departure from the Saints four days ago and thanked the fans for their support at the time. But he thought he was getting cut, not traded. Now he has been in limbo while his team culls the best offers and decides where to trade him.

Perhaps the fact that free-agent safety Jairus Byrd surprisingly is in town for a visit will speed up the Saints' efforts to trade Sproles because they have zero chance (and cap space) to sign Byrd otherwise.

But it's the nature of the biz. And at some point soon, another team should be adding a lightning-quick running back, pass catcher and returner who immediately can add some juice to an offense and return game.

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Eric Edholm

is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm