6 Super Bowl Hopefuls Send in Proposals to the NFL Asking for the Trade Deadline to Be Pushed by 2 Weeks, Owners Split on Decision

Some teams have taken it upon themselves to bring about a change in the NFL’s trade deadlines. According to CBS Sports, the Cleveland Browns, Washington Commanders, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and Philadelphia Eagles are the six teams who plan to approach the league to push back the deadlines for mid-season trade. 

Their decision comes with the intent to “increase trades” within the NFL and “heighten drama and intrigue in the league.” The teams wish to shift the deadline to Week 10 from the current Week 8.

According to CBS Sports’ sources, the owners and general managers have not yet reached a consensus about the decision. The decision might face some resistance from the NFL because of the league’s firm stance against tanking. Moreover, pushing the trade deadline might weaken the competitiveness between teams and enable the swapping of outstanding players. The league source told the website that they “don’t want to be baseball.” However, one member of the Cleveland Browns disagrees with this notion.

Browns’ GM Andrew Berry disagrees with the NFL’s views on trade deadline

GM Andrew Berry has a contrasting opinion about the NFL’s belief about a later deadline promoting tanking. Tanking means when a team loses a game intentionally. Berry cited that the present “data” doesn’t align with the league’s view.

“That’s part of the reason why we didn’t really push it deeper into the season,” Berry said. “After Week 10, there are usually, at minimum, 27 teams that are within two games of a wild-card spot with seven or eight games to play. So it affords more flexibility for all teams without getting into a position where the NFL is a league of, call it, like haves and have-nots.”

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The GM discussed the NFL having the “earliest trade deadline by far,” per CBS Sports. Berry further compared the league to basketball, baseball, and hockey. He mentioned that the NFL’s current timeline is when 45% of the games are done. The GM wants to push it to post 55%, comparable to hockey’s 78% and basketball’s 65%.

Berry further explained that around 27 teams mostly reach Week 10 when the wild-card spot exit occurs. Furthermore, he pointed out that a team has only twice had to exit the league after Week 11.

“If you look at it, on average, over 27 teams have been within two games of a wild-card spot exiting Week 10 games,” Berry said. “And the earliest that a team has been eliminated from postseason contention over the last decade has been after Week 11, and that’s only happened twice.”

Whether the team owners and managers will reach a common ground and follow through with their appeal remains to be seen. A major decision could emerge after the team owner’s annual meeting, scheduled around March 24.