The two-week countdown to the NFL's Nov. 1 trade deadline is officially on and roster movement is all but promised.
Over the final 10 days before last year's deadline, 10 teams consummated a total of nine deals. Most of the moves involved back-end roster players or marginal starters over late-round picks, but one big splash got everyone's attention: the Los Angeles Rams shipping two Day 2 picks to the Denver Broncos for the rights to Von Miller, a Super Bowl catalyst.
"Teams are seeing that you can have success if you play the market right," an executive for an NFC team said. "The appetite will be there. We are becoming a better trade deadline league."
During that span, the Broncos led the league with four deals completed. Will general manager George Paton stay aggressive to help Denver's struggling offense?
Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is always lurking, armed with quality offensive line depth that teams covet. Roseman listens to every possible deal and already has an extra first-round pick in next year's NFL draft. Will he impose his front-office will? And don't forget about Rams general manager Les Snead, who has a fun letter to place in front of "Them Picks."
The Carolina Panthers are in a clear reset window at 1-5, and general manager Scott Fitterer's phone will be buzzing. He already has traded away disgruntled wideout Robbie Anderson.
Plus, there are always a few teams that aren't as good as they thought and could move off key players as a result. The Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals, sitting at 2-4, come to mind.
To preview the action over the next two weeks, here's a notebook stocked with what I'm hearing on potential deals across the league.
All eyes on the Panthers
What the Carolina Panthers do over the next two weeks will be closely watched leaguewide. The Panthers entered the week with nine draft picks over the next two years. They just added future sixth- and seventh-rounders as part of a deal with Arizona for Anderson, whom the team had tried to trade for a while now.