So 4 p.m. EST on Oct. 14 came and went, leaving tight end Tony Gonzalez, arguably the best at his position in the league, in Kansas City despite his announced hope that he would be able to play somewhere else to earn a chance at a Super Bowl ring. The passing of the deadline left the Giants, who lost their Monday night game, to absorb their first defeat of the season, with three virtual no-name tight ends.

Additionally, it left the Giants with no proven tight end as they prepare for a home game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, following a horrendous loss to the Browns, 35-14.

Gonzalez, 32, had specifically mentioned the Giants as one of the two or three teams he would choose, and he would have been more than welcome in New York, where the tight ends are Kevin Boss, Michael Matthews and Darcy Johnson.

That potential abyss was created when the Giants traded Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for second- and fifth-round picks, and, according to reports that have not been confirmed, the Chiefs wanted the second-round choice.

The Giants demurred. Gonzalez is 32, after all, and his salary is way up there in the stars, reportedly with two more years remaining at a total of $17 million. It is more than Giants' general manager Jerry Reese could agree to pay, although it came close.

Apparently very close, as evidenced by the fact that an otherwise healthy Sinorice Moss, who has finally started to play like a second round (2006) wide receiver, was placed on the Game Inactive list for the game in Cleveland (did the Giants choose not to take the risk of a last-minute injury?) and the fact that Moss' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was in attendance in Cleveland that night.

The problem seemed to stem from an attitude taken by longtime Chiefs' general manager Carl Peterson, who perhaps over-estimated Gonzalez's worth or at least miscalculated what other teams might be willing to give up for him. The huge contract was probably the stumbling block, as well as an insistence (or so it is being reported) on a second round pick.

Had he been willing to settle for a third and Moss, the Giants would have rushed to sign an agreement before Peterson lost the pen.

Gonzalez would have fit well with the Giants; staying with the Chiefs rankles him, it is said, and he has run out of patience for yet another rebuilding season. It is possible that, one way or another, he'll yet be moved, but if that should happen it won't be as a straight-up trade.

It is now too late for that.

SERIES HISTORY: 27th regular-season meeting. Series tied, 13-13. In addition, the teams have met seven times in the postseason with the 49ers leading, 4-3. The NFC championship game after the 1990 series, a 15-13 Giants' victory, put them into the Super Bowl and was based on five field goals by Matt Bahr.