One of the other major rules being considered at the NFL owners meetings early this week was the shift of the trade deadline. If you remember, the week 6 deadline often creates an issue for teams that suffer a major injury before the halfway point of the season but after the odd week 6 deadline. It’s a mark that simply doesn’t make sense, especially when looking at the much later deadlines in other sports leagues like the MLB or NBA. Even after the owners met, the rule remains the same for now.
Adam Schefter reports that the rule has the potential to change to week 8, which would have made a major difference for a team that loses its starting quarterback like Matt Cassel at that point and can help keep the competitive nature of many teams alive who might not be able to with the old deadline. However, the move will have to wait until negotiations with the players union.
Expect this one to go ahead and move for the sake of fan interest in the NFL. By moving the deadline back, teams can have another couple of weeks to get a hot streak to see if they can be competitive in a given season. If not, they can trade out spare parts for draft assets with half a season left on them. It’s good for all sides and fan interest as well. This is only a matter of time most likely.