Strategic Moves in the NFL: Heading into the Regular Season
With the end of the NFL preseason and the definition of the 53-player rosters, the league enters its final phase of trades before the start of the regular season. Players who could be candidates to be cut or who have seen their positions on the team unexpectedly challenged during training camp are available. Organizations battling injuries in key positions are frantically consulting their professional scouting reports to try to find players who may be available for modest compensation. In this context, a few days before the start of the campaign, several players have changed teams. Among them, quarterback Sam Howell, running back Brian Robinson Jr., defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, and wide receiver Skyy Moore, have been traded in exchange for late-round picks or draft pick swaps. The Commanders and Vikings assumed part of the cost to facilitate the transfer and obtain better draft pick compensation for players who might otherwise have been candidates to be cut. Here, we analyze some possible transfers that could make sense across the league. Most of them are similar to recent agreements, with players who are at the back end of a team’s roster ending up elsewhere where there is a need to fill a vacancy due to injury or depth is required in the reserve. Most of these moves will be made for relatively low compensation, with a Day 3 draft pick as a starting point for a typical post-preseason trade. There aren’t many teams with tens of millions of dollars available to acquire veteran stars and pay them what they want. With that in mind, some big names are absent here, partly because I don’t see a realistic path to a deal getting done in the next couple of weeks. I don’t believe the dispute between Micah Parsons and Jerry Jones in Dallas will lead to anything other than a record extension. The Commanders have communicated that they have no intention of trading Terry McLaurin, and I’m not sure there’s the kind of trade market that would make Washington general manager Adam Peters change his mind. Likewise, while the Patriots would love to get rid of the $10.5 million they owe unwanted safety Kyle Dugger, I’m not sure there’s a fit there unless they’re willing to eat the vast majority of what the 29-year-old is owed.On the other hand, the Bengals have been willing to trade Trey Hendrickson since the spring, and he could be the only veteran in the group with a realistic chance of changing teams between now and the start of the season. And although there aren’t many teams willing to delve into their budget and commit to what it would take to pay him so late in the offseason, there is one organization that usually seems to find a way when it wants to add a player. Ask Joe Burrow!
