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The NFL and NFL Player's Association have agreed to rule changes for the upcoming NFL season, after months of negotiation. The league approved changes to the trade deadline and injured reserve some time ago, but the Player's Association had some hangups with the final details. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Twitter, the two sides have come to an agreement on changes as of Thursday, however.
For the trade deadline, the NFL has moved it from Week 6 to the Tuesday following Week 8. Hopefully, this will increase trade activity, and Joel Thorman of SB Nation tells us why it just might:
The problem with having it early is that most teams still believe they have a shot in Week 6 and are therefore unwilling to part with star players. By moving it back two weeks we could see more action.
The NFL has never been a league with blockbuster trades happening each year, but this might just be enough to convince some of the under-achieving teams to send some of their star players elsewhere prior to the pushed-back deadline.
In regards to injured reserve, the NFL has added a rule that allows teams the ability to remove one player from injured reserve if they were placed on it after 4:00 p.m. ET on Sept. 4. In other words, teams have a shot at getting their star players back without having them take up a roster spot while injured, so that's definitely good news.