3 Reasons Why The Trade Deadline Hurt Colts
Why is the NFL term hurting the Colts?
The Indianapolis Colts could have taken advantage of the late NFL trade deadline.
The NFL has expanded everything in recent years.
The league has more games and playoffs than ever before in its history.
However, the NFL trade deadline has remained unchanged since 2012.
The Indianapolis Colts could use another NFL trade deadline this offseason, which is at least a few weeks away.
The colt is not alone.
Heading into Week 9, there are currently 13 NFL teams that are not in the playoffs but are 1.5 games or less out of a wild card spot.
Teams stuck in playoff purgatory like the Colts had no buyers on Tuesday.
But they weren’t really salesmen. Of the 13 playoff-eligible teams on Tuesday, only the Washington Cardinals and Green Bay Packers traded starting pitchers.
The Chiefs had to make an exception before trading two star players.
The Colts signed Michael Pittman Jr. Or they could trade Julian Blackmon.
Both have expiring contracts, as do defensive linemen Montes Sweet and Chase Young. Washington traded both Sweat and Young on Tuesday.
But losing Pittman and Blackmon will not only hurt Indianapolis’ ability to compete for the rest of 2023, it will also have a huge impact on the talented receivers and safeties.
This move would be more realistic if the Colts were out of contention for good.
But it doesn’t come in week 9.
Therefore, Colt did not sell to anyone. They weren’t competing at 3-5 either, so no one was buying them.
That could change if the Colts win two or three games in a row in early November.
But by then it will be too late for general manager Chris Ballard to add anyone to the roster.
If the NFL trade deadline had been November 15th or even November 22nd instead of October 31st, things would have been different.
There’s a chance the Colts will be eliminated from the playoffs or Gardner Minshew will have a chance to lead Indianapolis to the playoffs before Thanksgiving.
Plus, with few games until the next holiday, the Colts can worry less about holding on to players, so they have plenty of bodies. NFL general managers are more interested in trades now than in the past.
But with 14 playoff spots remaining and one week left in the season, the Halloween trade deadline is too early.
Even the 2-6 Chicago Bears are currently just two games out of the final NFC wild card.
Simply put, there weren’t enough sellers on Tuesday to meet a truly exciting NFL trade deadline.
The best way to create more potential trades and help teams like the Colts make better long-term decisions is to advance the NFL trade deadline.
