Scott Kane- US PRESSWIRE
At the start of the 2012 season the trade deadline was moved back two weeks to promote more trades and trade discussions. Now, due to Hurricane Sandy the deadline could be moved again.
It’s entirely possible that the NFL will move its trade deadline back another two weeks to encourage more trade talks due to Hurricane Sandy’s affect on teams’ operations. The original deadline is scheduled for 4 pm EST on Tuesday but according to NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello they have discussed delaying it to give teams more time.
The NFL offices are closed today and possibly tomorrow due to the impending storm while multiple teams have shut down their operations to avoid getting caught up in the hurricane. The New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets have told players and non-football personnel not to report to team facilities Monday so that could hamper any trade discussions with those teams. Regardless, getting to safety should be the top priority for those individuals.
It makes sense to push the deadline back another two weeks due to the storm. There’s more important things than football in times like these and all of the team personnel should focus on making sure their families are safe and out of harms way.
Sandy, a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph as of early Monday, was blamed for 65 deaths in the Caribbean before it began churning up the Eastern Seaboard. It’s been called a ‘super storm’ and poses a big threat to many of the east coast’s major cities.
The most likely players to be traded by the trade deadline, whether it’s tomorrow or in two weeks, are St. Louis Rams‘ Steven Jackson and Carolina Panthers‘ DeAngelo Williams. Both players have been subject of trade discussions in the past week and both teams have been open to potential trades for those players.
Hopefully everyone can stay safe during this storm and once it passes then the focus can shift back to football.
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UPDATE: NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello tweeted that teams have been informed that the new trade deadline is on THURSDAY at 4 PM EST.
