Today is Saturday, March 10, 2018. It is the waning days of the 2017 league year when it comes to the NFL. The new league year officially begins on Wednesday, March 14. And yet there have already been 10 trades agreed upon prior to then, including four made just yesterday, and many of them very significant.
None of them have technically as yet happened. Notice that I specifically said that they have been agreed upon, and avoided saying that they have been made, because they have not. Technically, something can fall through with any of these trades that will wipe them out, and one trade could have a ripple effect on others. None of these things have officially happened yet.
But if they do, we will be in for a flurry of activity on the first day of the new league year next week, more so even than normal with the first wave of the top free agents signing new contracts. Never before have we seen this sort of extensive trade activity happening at this time of year, when, of course, it technically can’t. So let’s review what has already theoretically gone down before the 2018 offseason even begins.
Here is a rundown of who is expected to be moved, and where.
It started with the Kansas City Chiefs agreeing to trade quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, and included in that trade was cornerback Kendall Fuller. Washington is said to have already worked out a deal for an extension with the veteran quarterback.
The Chiefs stayed busy, agreeing to trade former first-round cornerback Marcus Peters to the Los Angeles Rams, who are giving up second- and fourth-round picks while getting a sixth-round pick back.
But the Rams have been the busiest teams in free agency. They also acquired cornerback Aqib Talib from the Denver Broncos for a fifth-round pick, while they traded linebacker Alec Ogletree to the New York Giants for picks and defensive end Robert Quinn to the Miami Dolphins, again, with day-three picks involved
The Philadelphia Eagles were also part of a pair of trades-to-be. They traded wide receiver Torrey Smith to the Carolina Panthers for cornerback Daryl Worley while they acquired defensive end Michael Bennett, sending wide receiver Marcus Johnson thataway while the two teams also swapped picks.
But it was the Cleveland Browns who ended up stealing the show, at least so far. First, they agreed to trade for franchise-tagged wide receiver Jarvis Landry from the Dolphins for fourth- and seventh-round picks, then sent a third-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Finally, they flipped quarterback DeShone Kizer for cornerback Damarious Randall from the Green Bay Packers, minor picks also involved.
Again, none of these things have officially happened yet, and as you can see, many trades are tied together, so if one falls through, it could affect others. If the Smith trade flops, the Chiefs likely don’t deal Peters, to give one obvious example. But if it all does pan out as planned, Wednesday is going to be the nuttiest start to a league year that I can recall.
