The owners gathered in Atlanta for their quarterly meetings are expected to take up a host of items that were tabled in March.
They are, as MDS listed them at the time they were tabled: (1) an extension of the trade deadline from the Tuesday after Week Six to the Tuesday after Week Eight; (2) shifting the final roster cuts from the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend to Friday, given that the first game of the regular season has been moved from the Thursday after Labor Day to Wednesday; (3) the creation of an injured reserve exemption that allows a player to return that same year after missing at least six weeks of practice and eight weeks of games; and (4) one roster exemption per team per week for a player who has a concussion.
Also tabled was the increase in offseason rosters from 80 to 90. That change was passed prior to the draft.
Each of the remaining tabled changes make plenty of sense, especially the adjustment of the trade deadline. Currently, it lands too early in the regular-season calendar. And while the NFL surely wants to avoid baseball-style fire sales, a two-week delay likely won’t prompt a rash of also-rans to fold the tents and trade star players to contending teams.
In 2011, a Week Six injury to Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell prompted a deadline-day deal with the Bengals for Carson Palmer. Thereafter, the Broncos were able to get nothing for Kyle Orton, after the Bears lost Jay Cutler and the Broncos waived Orton at his request. The Chiefs blocked the Bears’ effort to bring Orton back to Chicago by making a waiver claim from a position of higher priority.
We’ll keep you updated on all developments from the ownership meetings, primarily since there isn’t a whole lot else going on that doesn’t relate to maintaining the image and intellectual property rights of the Jets’ personal punt protector.