As the NFL season reaches its halfway point, there are plenty of topics and storylines to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those stories. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. We’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.
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The NFL’s trade deadline came and went this week without much fanfare, unless you happen to be a fan of the Broncos. General manager John Elway pulled off a trade for 49ers tight end Vernon Davis on Monday, and nearly landed Browns left tackle Joe Thomas in a last-minute deal on Tuesday. Otherwise though, things were mostly quiet around the league, with a handful of rumors and whispers not amounting to much.
That inactivity is nothing new in the NFL, where teams are typically hesitant to try to incorporate an incoming player into a new system or scheme halfway through the season, without that player having the benefit of a full training camp to get up to speed.
Still, occasionally teams are willing to roll the dice, as the Broncos did with Davis. The veteran tight end may not have the same rapport he’d have with Peyton Manning if the two players had been working together all year, but Denver is betting that the longtime Niner will still be able to make an impact down the stretch.
So what might make more teams willing to take a chance like that? Moving the trade deadline back a little is one option. The NFL moved the deadline from Week 6 to Week 8 a few years back, but many teams that might be sellers are still reluctant to write off their seasons in late October. Moving the deadline back several more weeks to late November might be one way to encourage activity.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk took the idea a step further this week, arguing that there’s no reason to limit trades at all before Week 17. As long as a team is still playing games, it should still be able to make trades, in Florio’s view. That means a playoff team couldn’t make a trade with a club whose season has ended, but up until the end of the regular season, deals should be permitted, Florio argues.
Such a format would allow teams who have been eliminated from the playoffs to move players for future assets. Meanwhile, a team that has clinched a playoff berth, or perhaps a club that is vying for a Wild Card spot, might be more likely to bring in a potential missing piece, with the finish line in sight.
What do you think? Is the NFL’s trade deadline fine as is? Should the league consider moving it back a few more weeks, or abolishing it altogether? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
Just get ride of the compensation draft picks. Give teams a reason to trade those vets they probably won’t resign.
The problem with moving the deadline back is that I think teams are still too stubborn to believe a player can come in and contribute without having a full offseason to learn the offense. There is a lot to be said about continuity and familiarity, but it is tough to believe at a certain point later in the season some team wouldn’t be willing to take a chance on a nickel corner or another ancillary piece late in the season.
Still, moving the trade deadline later would entice teams to be more willing to sell, even if Week 17 is a little late in the year for my blood when you start to think about a guy playing 15 games for one team and then being a big part of a playoff run for a competitor.
It may have just been the buzz surrounding the later deadline this year, but it certainly seemed like more significant moves were being contemplated than in years past. I’d say leave it alone and see what happens in 2016, and I wouldn’t be opposed to pushing it back another week or so, but I certainly don’t think there should be no deadline. There’s a cost-benefit analysis inherent in deadline trades that good GMs should be rewarded for properly exploiting, and removing the deadline would eliminate that entirely.
Mike is 100% correct get rid of the compensation picks. Make signing free agents more like the NBA in a sense where there’s restricted free agents and you can match said offer or let him go for nothing… That will up the big trades a lot. I’d prefer to see more big trades before the trade deadline