Browns GM Says His Team Is Proposing Moving Back NFL Trade Deadline

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The NFL Trade Deadline is generally one of the least-exciting of all the trade deadlines in professional sports. Part of the reason is that it occurs too early in the season. Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry wants to fix that.

Currently, the NFL Trade Deadline happens the Tuesday after all Week 8 games are completed. The problem is that most teams haven't yet decided if they are going to be "buyers" or "sellers." Some teams have played as few as seven of their 17 games. 

Speaking to reporters at the NFL Draft Scouting Combine, Berry explained how differently the NFL deadline works compared to the other professional sports leagues. 

"Baseball and basketball have their [trade deadline] when 65% of the games are played, hockey is at 78%," Berry stated. "Currently, [the NFL] is at 45%." 

Cleveland Browns Executive VP of Football Operations and GM Andrew Berry talks to the media at the 2024 NFL Combine.

Cleveland Browns Executive VP of Football Operations and GM Andrew Berry talks to the media at the 2024 NFL Combine.

(Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports)

He also noted that this is exacerbated by the fact that the NFL added an 18th week to its schedule, but didn't adjust the deadline to compensate for that. 

"We want to retroactively correct the fact that the trade deadline never moved when the season expanded to 17 games and … if, at some point in the future, the regular season expands to 18 games, we want to be proactive in terms of the positioning for the trade deadline," Berry said. 

He says the proposal that the Browns put forth moves the trade deadline to after 55% of the games are played. 

Berry mentioned wanting to be proactive for when the NFL season inevitably moves to an 18-game schedule, so the 55% mark based on a 19-week season puts the deadline after Week 10. 

Last year's deadline came on October 1. After Week 10 would put it somewhere in the neighborhood of mid-November. 

This seems like a complete no-brainer. The NFL Trade Deadline has always occurred too early in the season and with the added game, it's even worse. 

If anything, the proposal from Berry and the Browns is still too early. I can see the league wanting to have it before Thanksgiving, which would be a great spot honestly. 

The league already dominates the Thanksgiving holiday; imagine if they had the trade deadline on the Tuesday prior to that three-game slate. That would make for an incredible week in the NFL. Although, it would be tough for players to turn around and play on Thursday, so that might be tricky. I'd be happy if they moved it to the Tuesday AFTER Thanksgiving, quite frankly. 

Let's get this done, NFL. This is an easy one. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.