updated 12:38 a.m. ET June 27, 2009

Supposedly, pro football has reached its downtime. Considering how the NFL has ignored for nearly five months that this is the offseason, a break sure would be nice right about now.

Head coaches are on vacation — Philadelphia’s Andy Reid and Minnesota’s Brad Childress went fishing together in Alaska, where they presumably are not discussing how to incorporate dynamic first-round picks Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin into their offenses. General managers are examining 30-foot putts, not salary cap figures. Roger Goodell is climbing Mount Rainier.

Hopefully, with people in the league really reading the calendar and taking vacations, the rumor mill will stop spinning uncontrollably — no more breathless Brett Favre half-truths or total misrepresentations, please — and everyone can recoup before training camps open in five weeks.

Besides, we’ve just witnessed the busiest offseason in memory. We could use a hiatus.

Free agency and the draft are supposed to pique fans’ interest, and they’ve done the job well. Albert Haynesworth getting the biggest free agent contract in history, $100 million for seven years to take his defensive tackle skills from Tennessee to Washington, created a huge splash. Then came Kurt Warner, playing the money game to perfection before extracting a two-year, $23 million deal to return to the Cardinals. Brian Dawkins tearfully leaving Philadelphia for Denver. And, by the way, with $9 million over two years for the 35-year-old safety.

Potential Hall of Famers Derrick Brooks, Orlando Pace, Torry Holt and Fred Taylor were cut by the only teams they had ever suited up for. Pace and Taylor wound up with likely contenders in Chicago and New England, Holt landed in Jacksonville, and Brooks should find a new home this summer.

The impressive list of free agents on the move has included receivers T.J. Houshmandzadeh to Seattle and Laveranues Coles to Cincinnati. DE Antonio Smith left the NFC champion Cardinals for Houston, and Jason Taylor wound up back in Miami. Safety Darren Sharper signed with New Orleans, while linebacker Bart Scott joined the Jets.

Trades, which happen in the NFL about as often as the Lions win a game, resurfaced with three doozies, the juiciest of which was the Jay Cutler saga in Denver.

Already distraught over the firing of coach Mike Shanahan, Cutler was incensed when Shanahan’s replacement, Josh McDaniels, brought up the quarterback in trade talks. Things disintegrated from there, with Cutler at one point refusing to return McDaniels’ messages.

Eventually, the franchise quarterback was dealt to Chicago for a boatload of draft picks and his nominal replacement, Kyle Orton.

Special feature Best, worst moves NFL teams made Matt Cassel was one of the hot commodities from this offseason, but who won and who lost? Tom Curran breaks it down. NBCSports.com

Another unhappy player — this time over money — tackle Jason Peters went from Buffalo to Philadelphia, which has restocked so well it might be the NFC favorite.

And Kansas City sent the best tight end of his generation, Tony Gonzalez, to Atlanta just before the draft.

Amazingly, not even the T.O. carnival landing in Western New York — Owens signed a one year, $6.5 million contract with the Bills days after being released by Dallas — drew the most attention. Unfortunately, the stories involving guys who might not even play this season seemed to have the most juice. And drew the loudest and lengthiest analyses.

Whither Favre, for instance? Or perhaps more pertinently, when will he land in Minnesota?

According to a variety of stories throughout the spring, some of them actually contradicting each other as they were being reported by one particular national sports outlet, Vikings executives/doctors/trainers visited Favre in Mississippi. Or they didn’t make the trip.

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