Most trades are likely to happen by Wednesday or Thursday

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The NFL’s 2020 trade arrives on the Tuesday after Week Eight. It’s currently believed that most trades that happen will happen before then.

As one league source explained it to PFT, most remaining trades (if any) likely will occur by Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

The distinction comes from the COVID-19 protocols. If a player is acquired on the November 3 deadline, he won’t be able to play until Week 10. If a trade is completed on Thursday, October 29, the player could practice the following Wednesday, and then play in the Week Nine game.

For the teams having Week Nine byes (Bengals, Browns, Eagles, Rams), acquiring new players before November 3 won’t matter. Also, for the teams that play on Thursday, November 5 (Packers at 49ers), it will make plenty of sense to get any trades done by Tuesday, October 27, at the very latest.

Regardless, the COVID-19 rules will for many teams move the trade deadline from the real deadline to an earlier date, in order to ensure that teams will get the benefit of the new player for Week Nine.