NFL Trades Before the Cuts

[BigKen]

The NFL decided that there would be no more gradual cutting of the rosters this year and the Eagles aren't waiting for final cuts on Saturday to make their roster moves. This is a whiff of what nearly every team will be doing come Friday. More personnel trades will happen than ever before.

Nearly every team has 90 players on their roster today. Come Saturday they'll have to slice 37 players to get to the mandatory 53. They can't stash any players and can only keep guys who are on IR. No Practice Squad signings until Sunday.

Teams will be calling each other trying to reinforce positions or replace players who were injured and trades will be the order of the day.

Example.....Patriots call the Seahawks...."You guys have 7 outside pass rushers. Who you going to cut?" Seahawks respond, "You got 7 WRs, who you going to cut?" How about we swap?

 

[BigKen]

Just think ..................... 1184 players will be cut Saturday and only 320 will be re-signed to Practice Squads.

 

[redseat]

The glory that is football

 

[jarntt]

No big difference. Instead of over a week it's overnight. I don't see how this changes much.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

No big difference. Instead of over a week it's overnight. I don't see how this changes much.

Quite a difference I would think? Under the old system you had a week to evaluate/grab a cut player. Keep him or unload the following week if someone else is there. Now it will be a frenzy, more like the UDFAs just following the draft. My wive's cousin was called immediately following the draft by the Dolphins. He had 5 minutes to say yes or no because the team needed to move on. He said no and didn't get another call. Had a pretty decent career in the CFL.

 

[jarntt]

Quite a difference I would think? Under the old system you had a week to evaluate/grab a cut player. Keep him or unload the following week if someone else is there. Now it will be a frenzy, more like the UDFAs just following the draft. My wive's cousin was called immediately following the draft by the Dolphins. He had 5 minutes to say yes or no because the team needed to move on. He said no and didn't get another call. Had a pretty decent career in the CFL.

The first cuts were the easiest and for the most part the worst players. How many guys were cut day one in prior years that you thought were going to make the team? No one that was going to be put on the practice squad was cut until the last cuts. It's little different than any other year. The scrambling started after the last set of cuts for a reason. Because those were the best players and closest to making their respective teams/PSs and those players are still being cut at the same time as prior years. All that changed is the guys that the team had no interest in keeping get to stay longer and maybe play in the 4th preseason game.

 

[DonMan]

one example, no surprise - Reggie Ragland had been playing with the 3rd string LBs all camp. There was no way he was going to make the final roster. Bills traded him to the Chiefs for a 4th rd pick in 2019.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

The NFL decided that there would be no more gradual cutting of the rosters this year and the Eagles aren't waiting for final cuts on Saturday to make their roster moves. This is a whiff of what nearly every team will be doing come Friday. More personnel trades will happen than ever before.

Nearly every team has 90 players on their roster today. Come Saturday they'll have to slice 37 players to get to the mandatory 53. They can't stash any players and can only keep guys who are on IR. No Practice Squad signings until Sunday.

Teams will be calling each other trying to reinforce positions or replace players who were injured and trades will be the order of the day.

Example.....Patriots call the Seahawks...."You guys have 7 outside pass rushers. Who you going to cut?" Seahawks respond, "You got 7 WRs, who you going to cut?" How about we swap?

This is really a big change. I agree teams will be on the phone a lot more than normal trying to move players via trade that they would otherwise be releasing on Sat.

An example we've been talking up...the Bears are probably going to release Kyle Fuller...and the Steelers are probably going to release Justin Hunter...CHI needs WRS, PIT needs a depth/upgrade at CB....might not happen, but it seems like a win/win for both teams...why not do it?

There will be dozens of deals like this I think.

 

[shopson67]

No big difference. Instead of over a week it's overnight. I don't see how this changes much.

The only real change is that the teams have more warm bodies to play this week while all the starters sit.

 

[thedddd]

49ers Trade TE Vance McDonald To Steelers

 

[thedddd]

Patriots, Bengals Complete Trade

 

[Pattersonca65]

49ers Trade TE Vance McDonald To Steelers

Glad he is gone. Stone hands. And he could never stay healthy. I don't think he ever played a 16 game season.

 

[thedddd]

Glad he is gone. Stone hands. And he could never stay healthy. I don't think he ever played a 16 game season.

I am surprised at the market for him, honestly. But shows how desperate the Steelers are for a TE after the Green bust.

 

[jarntt]

The only real change is that the teams have more warm bodies to play this week while all the starters sit.

Agree and I think this is a good change by the NFL for that reason

 

[Pattersonca65]

I am surprised at the market for him, honestly. But shows how desperate the Steelers are for a TE after the Green bust.

The Steelers must be pretty desperate. Vance McDonald has been on the market pretty much all summer after the new FO took over. They didn't have any takers. They should have never signed him to that extension last year. It made trading him much more difficult. I am okay with getting next to nothing for him.

 

[thedddd]

The Steelers must be pretty desperate. Vance McDonald has been on the market pretty much all summer after the new FO took over. They didn't have any takers. They should have never signed him to that extension last year. It made trading him much more difficult. I am okay with getting next to nothing for him.

Jesse James is the starter with Xavier Grimble and David Johnson as the backups. Yeah they were desperate.

But that contract of his is way over his ability. I am not surprised they had no takers until the end of camp knowing a team like the Steelers would come calling for a basic salary dump. That 4th round to the 49ers won't be many picks off than the 5th round coming back.

 

[Jikkle]

Basically a salary dump by the 9ers because the pick will just likely net them 10-15 spots of draft positioning.

McDonald isn't a terrible player by any means as he's gifted physically but just isn't not a natural pass catcher at all.

He'll make some plays for the Steelers but he's also going to let some passes bounce off his hands which you hope doesn't happen in key moments.