Wednesday Morning QB (Week 8)
Much like every other major league in North America, there are certain dates on the calendar that everyone watches.
In a few leagues, the trade deadline is one of those dates as teams look to make moves that will make them better in the long run.
The NFL rarely works that way though as teams in the league are not very willing to trade players to help another team get better.
There has always been a sense of not letting talent walk away in the NFL unless the contract is up and the money can be spent on someone better or younger.
The competitiveness in the league seems to prevent teams from giving up on players that they have invested time and money into especially to a team that could use that player to win a Super Bowl.
Unlike many of the other leagues the NFL is not a big fan of rebuilding and so they aren’t usually happy to see a player leave until they are officially done with them.
It is just something that has developed over the years as free agency is a far bigger time than the trade deadline with a few decent players moving for draft picks but little else.
That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore though as the Trade Deadline is becoming much more for more teams.
This year topped all of them as the NFL has one of the most active trade deadlines ever and some big names were on the move.
The big day started with the New England Patriots who are almost never involved in any of these types of days.
The Patriots prefer to work with what they have signing very few big names and finding talent from everywhere.
It became a bit of a problem for the Patriots though as they had the talent on their team but were unable to use that talent.
Tom Brady is showing no signs of slowing down despite his age and that left the Patriots with a wealth of quarterbacks and no playing time for two of them.
With Brady solidly in place, the Patriots traded Jacoby Brissett in the pre-season to the QB-needy Colts who saw their starter, Andrew Luck, go down with an injury.
They held on to the man that many saw as the future of the position in the city but not many thought that he would be able to stay long enough to follow Brady.
That prediction came true as Jimmy Garoppolo was the first big name to move when the Patriots traded him for a second-round pick in 2018 to the San Francisco 49ers.
There is no doubt that the Niners need quarterback help and taking a swing to get Garoppolo could be the difference they need.
It won’t happen this year as their season is essentially done starting 0-8 but if the hype is real for Garoppolo he could be the answer the Niners need for years to come.
He wasn’t the only big name to move though as the Patriots just started a big day where teams got a lot of extra firepower.
The Buffalo Bills are having a great year competing with the Patriots in the AFC East with a good group but not a group that doesn’t really include a great weapon.
They may have found one in Kelvin Benjamin though as they traded away a seventh-round pick for the 26-year-old receiver.
He has not been as productive as his rookie year but the Bills are hoping that a new environment can bring back some of that explosiveness and give them a big target in the red zone.
Obviously, he has a lot to prove but the Bills know they are in the hunt for the playoffs and they took a chance to get a big receiver.
They weren’t the only team to get a new weapon as the Eagles got a new running back to help them on their unbelievable run to the playoffs.
They are the most unexpected team in the hunt this year as their season has been a great one and now they will get some extra help.
That came when they traded for Jay Ajayi with the Miami Dolphins adding to their backfield and giving them a new toy to play with.
Although LeGarrette Blount has been good for them, Ajayi will provide them with a different kind of back that can do more.
He will likely take most of the snaps from now on spelling Blount and providing a one-two punch for one of the best teams in the league.
The trade deadline has never been this active before and it is going to create some interesting situations in the next few weeks.
Garoppolo will look to turn the Niners around, Benjamin will try to provide a real offensive weapon for the Bills and the Eagles are only getting better with a new running back.
The new commitment to the trade deadline could be a trend if these teams see their new additions do big things.
If they don’t expect a new trend of busy trade deadlines to die out pretty quickly.
Fifth Quarter
Scary Incident in Chicago
There is never an injury that isn’t scary for a player as one wrong move can end a career but this week something much bigger was at stake. Chicago tight end Zach Miller was looking for a big touchdown in the third quarter but when he came down in the end zone his knee buckled and his day and possibly season was over. It was a dislocated knee but reports began to surface that the severity of the injury was far worse than just a season-ending injury. He went to the hospital where his leg suffered vascular issues and was apparently close to being amputated. The proper doctors were brought in and through a lengthy surgery, his leg was saved allowing him to continue his career.
Trouble in Houston
This week it surfaced that Houston Texans owner Robert McNair had made a comment in the NFL owner meetings that didn’t sit well with many. Apparently, when talking about the player protests McNair said that the owners “Can’t let the inmates run the asylum.” In these politically charged times, it was a poor choice of words as he was speaking about a situation that involved mainly African American players protesting an issue with racism and calling them inmates. It may not have been his intention but it did not do good to help the relationship between the owners and the players as the Texans team almost entirely took a knee in response to the comments made by their owner with some having to be asked to stay with the team throughout the week.
Held Up
Roger Goodell has been in a state of uncertainty for a while now as his contract extension seemed like it was a done deal at the start of the season. Since then it has been held up as the Commissioner has been dealing with a number of issues from the start of the season. That includes the player protests that some owners are not very happy with. Reports came out this week that one of those owners is responsible for holding things up as Jerry Jones seems to be delaying the deal for the lack of action taken on the protests. Moves to Los Angeles and other issues have also been a main topic despite Goodell presiding over the most profitable time in NFL history.
The Sport Addiction 