The NFL Trade Deadline: A Translation

by | Nov 2, 2016 | Uncategorized |

This afternoon the NFL trade deadline came and went without too much notice. That being said, trade rumors seem to make their rounds and are inevitably followed by a team official releasing a finely-tuned statement to throw us off the scent. Here’s my translation:

Many fans question why the NFL trade deadline doesn’t feature the frenzy that surrounds the trade deadlines of the other major sports. The lack of movement between teams can be attributed to one specific reason: football is a schematic game. It takes a significant amount of time for a player to learn the ins and outs of a team and trading a player mid-season would set them several steps.

For more on the nature of the sport affecting trades, check out my MMQB column from 2014, Let’s Not Make A Deal. If a player is traded before the deadline, there is often times a negative connotation associated with the player on his way out.

The New England Patriots did make waves when they traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns on Monday. Many Pats fans and media members alike were shocked to see Collins go. This move was made for one of two reasons – either the Patriots don’t think he’s as good as the fans do or it was a simple business move – Collins is fast-approaching free agency. Everyone’s favorite grumpy uncle, Bill Belichick, has a history of trading players before they hit free agency, so this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.

Something notable about this trade is that in exchange for Collins, the Browns sent one compensatory pick the Pats way. Essentially, they’re trading a pick that they technically don’t have yet. This is the first year in the NFL’s history that the league has allowed it – we’ll see if it catches on moving down the road.

Back when I was with the Packers, we proposed two different ways the trade deadline could be improved. The NFL, unfortunately, shot down both. In recent years the deadline was pushed back from Week 6 to Week 8. I think we should push it back even further, to right before, or even after Thanksgiving. This would allow for teams that are contenders to fill the holes in their rosters prior to the playoffs – the “rent-a-player” approach that is frequently seen in the other major sports leagues. We also suggested that teams should be allowed to trade cap room for players, which again was rejected.

For more on my thoughts on the trade deadline listen to this week’s The Business of Sports podcast and stay tuned for my final thoughts in Thursday’s column for The MMQB.