NFL Trade Deadline 2013: No New York Jets’ Moves, No Surprise

Sep 8, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets general manager John Idzik during warmups before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Well, the trading deadline has come and gone, with a whole lot of silence. There were a lot of rumors, Josh Gordon, Jared Allen, and many others. However, nothing happened. Our New York Jets, and the rest of the league, stayed the same.

Teams may have been in dire need of talent, but folks, don’t be surprised that moves were not made. I want to piggy back on a piece from our news desk yesterday, written by Ioanny, and talk a bit more about why the Jets didn’t make any moves, and why they don’t happen league-wide.

John Idzik is a guy who doesn’t make rash decisions.  You can see it with the moves that were made with the current team.  Kellen Winslow, David Nelson, Mike Goodson, Chris Ivory, what do these guys have in common?  They were thought out, rational moves set to work within a budget.

Furthermore, what has Idzik talked about since day one?  How has he said he is going to put this team back together?  Through the NFL draft, that is how.  John has made it clear that his intention is to stockpile draft picks, in order to set this team up for “sustainable success”.

Why would a general manager that professes to love the NFL draft, make a move for one player at the trading deadline, and mortgage a portion of the future?  Yes, they did deal a draft pick for Chris Ivory, but a trade at the deadline is different.

A move at the deadline should be made when your team is close to championship level.  If you are looking for that one receiver, that one spark to put you over the top, make a move.  Not when you are a .500 team with a rookie quarterback.  A deadline move would have been premature, and John Idzik knew that.  Nobody should be surprised that he didn’t make a move.

Then, you take a look league-wide, and you realize that nobody made a move.  Everyone, despite all of the rumors, stayed put.  This is also no surprise.  Think back to the trading deadlines in past years, as far back as you can remember.  Does anyone ever remember a flurry of activity?  Absolutely not.  The NFL trading deadline is by far, the most un-eventful deadline in the major sports.  Why?

Because trades in the NFL are as rare as recent Tim Tebow tryouts.  (Sorry Frank Vittorini).

You can thank the NFL salary cap for the infrequency of trades.  You can have all of the rumors you want, but when it gets down to it, the teams involved have to make the money equal out.  The move for both teams has to fit under the salary cap, and with the complexities of contracts, it is nearly impossible.

It becomes too difficult to make an in-season trade work.  It becomes far easier for teams to make moves in the off-season, while they are still aligning their salary caps, either by trade or via free agency.

That is why there may be a lot of talk about trades at the deadline, but they don’t happen.  They didn’t happen for the Jets, nor anybody else in the league.  It should come as no surprise.