NFL agrees to extend trade deadline and new IR rules
 

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
NFLPa Agreed to move trade deadline back and the new IR rule.

IR rule:
NFL decided to tweak IR rules so teams could pick one player to come off injured reserve after Week 8.

Trade Deadline will be extended back by two weeks (not sure if this is what has been done, but that was what was proposed by the owners)

Edit: Trade Deadline is set to the tuesday after week 8 of the season

That's cool. Both good moves. Last I heard, it was dead in the water because the NFLPA wanted a concession by the league to allow these to pass (even though both benefit the players even more than the league.)

I'm a little surprised that this was agreed to now of all times, with the NFLPA one of the most pissed off parties about the whole replacement officials thing.

And one of the reasons the trade deadline was never extended before was the league worrying it would become too much like MLB or NBA with teams having fire sales right before the deadline and tanking the rest of the year.

But the NFL just isn't like that. Not enough games in a season, not enough time for new acquisitions to acclimate to their new team and system, etc.

i kinda wish trades happened more in the NFL

why even bother with the trade deadline? i can't imagine there will be any more trades than there were before.

Like I ninja edited into my first post, the NFL will never be like the MLB and NBA in terms of trades. Pushing it back by two weeks might allow for an extra trade or two per year, but we're never going to see the full blown fire sales in the NFL.

yeah i don't get this either, but maybe minor players will be able to be traded. I think it will become more like baseball trade deadlines where teams trade a player to a contender in order to get a large compensation.

while i agree with this, I still think this will ultimately help the lower tier teams get back into competition with teams that are contending for the SB being more aware of their chances, their roster holes, and more willing to give up draft picks because of the higher chance. By week 8, you have a decent idea of playoff hopes.

I expect David Decastro to be put on this new IR rule.

That would be logical. Part of me wonders if the Rooneys had something to do with getting this passed now after weeks of it being dead...they might be the most influential owners in the league and they're in a situation with DeCastro that having that IR rule would greatly help.

Wouldn't surprise me. They do have to carry him on the 53 man roster until after the cut deadline, I believe. So a player they really like that they have to put on waivers for Decastro might end up leaving because of it, for example Adrian Robinson.

If a playoff contender has a guy that has to go to IR go down in week 8, they could go to a team that is out of the playoffs and pay picks to get a good player on their team.

I don't see this as a huge change, but I think some teams will take advantage of it.

This is the key. Pretty much the entire league still has at least a glimpse of hope in week six, and if only not to piss of the fan base and give up on a season 5 or 6 games into the season they would never trade away a contributing player even for good draft-pick compensation. Plus, some of these deals would have to enter preliminary discussion stages a week or two before coming to fruition, giving the organization about 3 games before making a decision.

Teams will have a better idea of their identity now, and have more evidence to better convince their fanbase of any move that puts a damper on the rest of the season

Not expecting any more trades than usual, but this is definitely a huge factor in the decision to push back the deadline.

i don't see any team selling a good player like that, especially when every team knows they're not necessarily more than 6 months from the playoffs, no matter how bad they currently are.

it would be job suicide for a GM to pass off his best player, in the fans eyes accepting that his team won't win again, to get draft picks. especially if they aren't top tier draft picks.

and i can't really see any playoff team GM passing off their future for a one year veteran rental. if they're already in the playoffs, their job is likely pretty secure.

The owners wanted the IR rule it was the NFLPA that was dragging their feet. I don't see what Roonet could have done in this situation to change that.

It was completely stuck and dead in the water. The NFLPA wasn't going to pass it without some concession from the NFL, and the NFL wasn't going to give them jack ****.

Then, suddenly, it passes. Just as the team with the most influential owners have a player who the IR rule would help tremendously. It's quite the coincidence if that is all it is. I wonder if some favors were called or strings were pulled. Maybe the NFL really did give something up that we haven't heard about yet.

For now, all there is is this:

Cool now we could get Desmond Bishop back... if he can make it back from his torn jammy that is.

I can understand why the NFLPA was dragging their feet with the IR rule. A team making a playoff run could jeopardize a players long-term health by pressuring him back too soon, and any player worth salt wants to get back on the field to make a possible championship run.

I like the deadline rule. The following 6th week deadline prevented teams from being aggressive to get better player or dump player to avoid salary penalty. However, I do hope teams do not make too many trades. If teams do that, I can bet you that in near future NFL will slap a tax bullcrap for each trade. lol.


I am not sure if I get new IR rule right. An injured player has to be on 53 man squad after the final pre season cut to be eligible for returning to an active roster within a season (after 8th week). Someone on an active roster is qualified too but active roster is 46 man so 7 inactive players wont be eligible to return if put on IR.

Does it mean, the rule is in effect for any player on 53 man roster between the final preseason cut and a kickoff regular game and then the rule applies to 46 active man only during the season? Right?

Once the final cuts are made you can designate a player from the final 53 to be your marquee player on IR. Once you do that you can then sign a player to again finalize a new 53. The IR player can return to practice after 6 weeks and to game action after 8 weeks. It has nothing to do with active players on gameday.

I read Steelers article about David DeCastro. It said he had to be on active roster after the final pre season cut. It prompted me to think of 46 man active roster for gameday. My bad. thanks.

So can we even get Desmond Bishop off IR? Because he is already on it so hes not a part of the 53. But if this rule would have been changed a week ago and he wasn't eligible now I'm sure they would have waited and kept him off IR for a few more days.

You designate the marquee IR player after final cuts so Bishop should still be eligible.

Too late. He is already on IR.

I know that but you don't designate the special IR until after final cuts. I don't think it matters when he's placed on IR.

I love both new rules. The IR rule will really help if Suggs can actually make it back this year (doubtful).

I think the new trade deadline will jump start more mid season trades. Every year I'm always surprised how soon it is. Trades won't be plentiful, but I hope that more than a Chris Chambers gets traded each year.