Patriots Always Reliable To Make Noise At Typically Quiet NFL Trade Deadline
By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)
BOSTON (CBS) -- Every football season, columnists write pieces (like this one) about how uneventful the NFL trade deadline is compared to the deadlines of the other major sports. And there's no doubt that it lacks the firepower that you see in sports like baseball.
NFL columnist and former Packers Vice President Andrew Brandt published an insightful piece for ESPN in 2012 about his own experience with trades, and re-purposed it for MMQB in 2013. FOX Sports' Alex Marvez wrote an in-depth column about it last season. The general consensus is that football teams simply aren't as interested in making trades as teams in other sports, due to a blend of mitigating factors.
But in those three columns, there was another common thread: that the Patriots were among the only teams to make deadline deals. The Pats' recent moves have not exactly been Earth-shattering, but they have helped the team in major ways - so because of that, when Bill Belichick makes a move it's always noteworthy and the Patriots are the most reliable team in the league to deliver on deadline day.
Ask, But Don't Tell
There are several reasons that the NFL trade deadline always lacks pizzazz. One reason that is rarely talked about is the lack of information for the media. GMs and coaches apparently talk about specific players and float names out in trade talks way more often than the public would believe, and the largely rumor-based pre-deadline buzz would get a huge boost if info leaked out more often. Imagine the amount of fruitless bloviating that sports media could wring out of an Andrew Luck trade rumor.
One anonymous NFL exec told USA Today: "I got texts every day for probably two weeks leading into the trade deadline from about 15 GMs, not only about our players but about five guys they'd be interested in trading. If all those names got out, it would make the trade deadline a bigger deal than it actually is."
SEE ALSO: Potential Trade Deadline Targets For Patriots
The Patriots are notoriously tight-lipped about all information given to the media. So it came as a shock when the team traded Pro-Bowl players like Richard Seymour, Logan Mankins, and Randy Moss seemingly out of nowhere.
Tip Your Cap
Speaking of Seymour and Mankins, the Patriots made those deals for another big reason why the NFL trade deadline is quieter than others: salary cap concerns. The deadline used to have more fireworks in the pre-salary cap era, when teams could add contracts as they desired without having to manage a set roster budget. The Herschel Walker and Eric Dickerson trades were the major highlights of this era, and the NFL would undoubtedly generate tons more buzz if star players like Calvin Johnson and Matt Forte could be bid on by a group of buyers. But with the cap, and an unwillingness to part with franchise players that are part of the future, teams no longer have that luxury.
Yes, the Patriots and any other team in the NFL can maneuver around the salary cap in many different ways and the regime at 1 Patriot Place has been among the league's best at avoiding "cap jail" (of course, having Tom Brady and paying him under $10 million certainly helps). But conversely, acquiring an expensive contract usually requires some restructuring and teams often aren't willing to take on the extra cap space and re-work a player's contract when he may not make the impact they seek.
Exacerbating cap problems are contract-year players, who are typically strict and demanding about accepting new deals with teams they are traded to, which often derails potential deals. Brandt tried to trade for Randy Moss at the 2007 draft, but couldn't agree on the one-year contract that Moss wanted - which, of course, the Patriots accepted. And at the same time, trading a contract-year player may not return as much value as a potential compensatory pick received when the player leaves via free agency, an uncertainty that leaves GMs even more reluctant to pull the trigger.
Square Pegs, Round Playbooks
Despite the myriad of financial complications involved, arguably the biggest reason NFL trades don't happen is the challenge of fitting players in. Each NFL team has a unique and complex system that typically requires certain types of players, who also have to take the time to learn it and integrate themselves. Sometimes players just aren't a fit in their current team's system, or the locker room - and it's a big reason why you rarely see impact players on the trade block.
Most football players typically can't plug into a system and make a smooth transition, as a pitcher or batter could do when switching teams in baseball, for instance. Learning an entirely new system takes time, as Patriots fans have seen in recent years with receivers like Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell, who started off slowly but gradually grew into key roles and thrived in them.
But once again, the Patriots are one of the only teams in the league that has consistently found a way to integrate deadline acquisitions and get an immediate impact. Cornerback Aqib Talib, acquired for a fourth-round pick in 2012, instantly improved a weak Patriots secondary, and became one of the premier cornerbacks in the league in 2013.
In 2014 the Patriots acquired Akeem Ayers from the Titans, who proved they were merely misusing Ayers' talent as the linebacker piled up 18 tackles, 4 sacks, and an interception in just 11 games in a reserve role for New England. Ayers was on the field during the Patriots' last defensive stand in Super Bowl XLIX and assisted Dont'a Hightower on his game-saving tackle of Marshawn Lynch.
One former Patriots employee told FOX Sports: "There is the perception with Belichick that everything is very complex and he's incredibly smart, which he is...But the reality is he simplifies things more than people think. He envisions a specific role for a guy and works him in that way." Even if the Patriots acquire a no-name player, Belichick finds a way to put him in a position to succeed.
The NFL trade deadline was moved back two weeks in 2012, but hasn't done much to make it more active. Teams would still like to see it moved back even further, perhaps to facilitate talent acquisitions after late-season injuries. The deadline is relatively early in the season in part to prevent teams from tanking late in the season, but that won't stop teams from benching players anyway - so why not move the deadline further into November?
The NFL may not see any fireworks on the trade deadline, but the Patriots can be relied upon to make a move - even if it's just for depth. And you can be sure that Bill Belichick has a role in mind for whomever the Pats acquire, and the deal could pay immediate dividends as they have in the past.
Football's trade deadline may be quiet, but you can count on the Patriots to make noise.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
