A "dizzying flurry of trades" yesterday that included deals for TE Jimmy Graham, QB Sam Bradford and DT Haloti Ngata "refashioned pro football's landscape," according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. As the NFL's new year began and free agents "were officially allowed to test the market, it was a different kind of 'Let's Make a Deal' that stole the spotlight" (L.A. TIMES, 3/11). USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell wrote while much of the anticipation "was attached to the official start of free agency," it was a "trade fest that came on the heels of the three-day 'legal tampering' negotiating window that removed some of the free agency suspense" (USA TODAY, 3/11). In Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik writes the "frenzy of player movement" was "truly remarkable in that so many big-name players were involved" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/11). In Phoenix, Bob McManaman writes there were "so many moves that it nearly killed the Internet" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/11). The AP's Barry Wilner wrote "monster deals" sending Graham to the Seahawks and Bradford to the Eagles "stole the spotlight from free agent signings" (AP, 3/10). ESPN’s Trey Wingo said, “We thought this was going to be about free agent signings. ... Instead it’s tradeapalooza” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 3/10). SNY’s Jonas Schwartz: "The bottom line is the NFL truly has become a 12-month sport all the way around, turning the calendar every which way. It used to never be this way. Spring Training? No one’s worried about it. March Madness and hoops? No one’s worried about it. Soccer? Come on. It’s all about football” (“Daily News Live,” SNY, 3/10). THE MMQB's Peter King writes, "The league is concerned, but not fuming, over the leaked deals prior to the start of free agency. I don’t think you’ll see much more than an angry finger-wag at GMs over it at the league meetings in two weeks" (MMQB.SI.com, 3/11).
NEW WAY OF OPERATING: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Kevin Clark writes "everything changed" yesterday, as teams "quickly changed the notion of how business is done in the sport and, in short, pulled off the craziest cluster of trades in modern NFL history." There are a "few reasons this is happening." The rising salary cap "is making it so that teams don't have to worry about taking on large contracts." There also is the "increasing mastery of the salary cap by NFL teams," as they can "basically structure any contract to fit under the cap." All of this has "provided teams with maximum cap flexibility, allowing them to execute trades solely on the ability and fit of the involved players" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/11). ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert noted the salary cap over the past two years "has risen" by $20M, making surplus cap space "easier to find." Teams also have "found other ways to limit proration in long deals." Seifert: "Long story short, trades are much less prohibitive now from a salary-cap perspective" (ESPN.com, 3/10).
