NFL and NFLPA push trade deadline to Week 8, add flexibility to injured reserve rule

The National Football League and the NFL Players Association have agreed to push the trade deadline from Week 6 to Week 8, according to tweets from ESPN's Adam Schefter and a report from Joel Thorman of SBNation.com.

As Thorman explains, the logic behind pushing the trade deadline back is perhaps to encourage more transactions; teams believe they still have a chance in Week 6 but reality usually sinks in by Week 8 and therefore there could be more movement by teams positioning for the following season.

The two sides have also agreed to implement a new injured reserve rule, which aims to give teams more flexibility in designating players to the injured reserve list. Previously, once a player was on the list, he was ineligible to play for the rest of the season. Under the new rule effective next season, one player per season can come off the list to play again if he is healthy, according to Schefter:

Only players with a "major injury" who are placed on Reserve/Injured after 4:00 p.m., New York time, on Tuesday, September 4, or thereafter during the season, will be eligible to be reactivated at a later time.