Forget the adage about deadlines spurring action. With nearly a month left until the NFL's cutoff for in-season exchanges, the annual swap meet is already in full swing.
The trade deadline – which this year falls on Nov. 4 – was once largely an ornamental event on the league's calendar. But the action has ramped up considerably in recent years, with teams being far more amenable to reshaping their rosters and financial futures on the fly.
After a couple of minor deals in the immediate aftermath of Week 1 – the Jacksonville Jaguars trading running back Tank Bigsby to the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots trading injured wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk to the New Orleans Saints – the low-stakes reshuffling resumed later in the month with another pair of deals. But things ramped up considerably following Week 5, as the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday dove in for an ultrarare intradivision quarterback acquisition in landing Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns. Teams were hardly finished, with the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers exchanging notable defenders in Odafe Oweh and Alohi Gilman later Tuesday before the Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday reshaped their secondaries by moving Greg Newsome II for Tyson Campbell.
