Belichick: NFL Teams 'Reluctant To Trade' At Deadline
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- If the NFL could increase entertainment value in any area, it's the trade deadline. NFL teams rarely make trades in general across the league - except, per usual, the team residing in Foxboro.
The Patriots made two trades on Tuesday, one week ahead of the NFL's Nov. 1 trade deadline. Dating back to 2012 when Belichick acquired cornerback Aqib Talib from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2016 marks the fifth season in a row that he has made an in-season trade for the Patriots. Belichick has made in-season trades commonplace for the Patriots in recent years, having swung a deal between the start of the season and the trade deadline in every year but one since 2008.
The trades don't always work out, and sometimes they actually hurt the team. The 2006 Deion Branch trade, which came the day after the first game of the season following a lengthy contract holdout, sticks out as a trade that didn't work out for the best. But there have been plenty of wins for Belichick among his recent acquisitions ... Akiem Hicks and Keshawn Martin in 2015. Akeem Ayers and Jonathan Casillas in 2014. Talib in 2012. These were no-risk moves that provided above-average, if not markedly high, rewards.
There's no knowing whether linebacker Kyle Van Noy, whom Belichick acquired on Tuesday, will contribute in any meaningful way in 2016. He could be another Talib, but he could also be another Jonathan Bostic. The Patriots acquired Bostic from the Bears in 2015, then traded him back to Chicago in the Martellus Bennett trade after getting little to no contributions from him.
Belichick commented on what's clear about trades in the NFL: they simply don't happen very often. But it's also reflective of teams' apparent hesitation to send the Patriots any players that Belichick could polish off and turn into legitimate assets.
"There's a lot of teams that don't [make in-season trades]," said Belichick in his Wednesday press conference. "They seem kind of reluctant to trade - this time of year, especially."
Belichick added that the Van Noy trade, which he made with Lions GM and former Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn, was just "one of those things that came up fairly quickly and just worked out" and that Quinn is "great to work with," so it's clear that the relationship between the two helped them make a deal. But the Patriots' other trade on Tuesday, in which they sent tight end A.J. Derby to the Denver Broncos for a 2017 fifth-round pick, was more surprising. In standard Belichick fashion, he's not the least bit worried about helping the Broncos, who are currently one of their top rivals in the AFC.
"[We're] trying to make our team better, that's what we're trying to do," said Belichick. "I can't worry about what everybody else is doing or not doing. Just trying to make our team better."
That's another classic tenet of other teams around the league, especially the AFC. They always seem a little too concerned with what the Patriots are doing instead of their own teams, and that's why so many teams beat themselves before a single snap. Considering the rarity of trades in general, there's no hard evidence that teams are any more reluctant to trade with the Patriots than they are with other teams. But you have to wonder if the recent success of Belichick with former castoffs like Talib, Ayers and Hicks has given teams pause in sending even their worst players to New England, even if they reside in the NFC.
Belichick may have inadvertently hurt himself by being too good at trades in recent years, but he has a chance to make another trash-to-treasure transformation with Van Noy, a 2014 second-round pick who was picked 22 spots ahead of Jimmy Garoppolo. In Quinn and the Lions, at least, Belichick still has himself at least one willing trade partner.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
