Sure, blockbuster trades at the deadline are fun. But have you considered the ham sandwich of deals?
Last years trade deadline was a barn burner. On deadline day alone last year, 12 players were moved in 10 different trades. We got Bradley Chubb to the Dolphins! Roquan Smith to the Ravens! T.J. Hockenson to the Vikings! The Jaguars swung a trade for Calvin Ridley, which was a big deal even though he was suspended all year! And that doesnt even include the biggest trade of last season: Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers, a move that changed the complexion of one of the NFLs best offenses, made all the more exciting by San Franciscos bidding-war win against the Rams.
Theres still time before Tuesdays deadline, but the period leading up to this years trade deadline has felt more snoozy, even by NFL standards. No offense to Kevin Byard, who is a two-time All-Pro, but a 30-year-old safety isnt exactly the stuff the A blocks and column inches are made of. Right now, hes the biggest name to move, from the Titans to the Eagles, while other top targets have been seemingly pulled out of the running to switch teams. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins reportedly tore his Achilles tendon Sunday and will presumably stay put (can you imagine if the Jets had traded for him and this injury happened?), and teams like the Broncos and Titans, who are presumed to be open for business, might be feeling more inclined to hang on to their talent after winning in Week 8.
Instead, one particular brand of deal has ruled this trade deadline season. When teams have exhausted every other avenue, are on the verge of simply cutting a player, and would take just about anything in return, they opt for the most disrespectful trade in sports: the sixth-for-seventh-round pick swap. Or, as I like to call it, the Ham Sandwich. Last year might have been the most exciting trade deadline ever, but this may be the year of the Ham Sandwich.
This time last year, the Bears traded a second-round pick for Chase Claypool. A year later, in the year of the Ham Sandwich? Claypool went to Miami in a sixth-for-seventh 2025 pick swap! And a lot of these trades arent even for picks that come this year!
Van Jefferson went the way of the Sandwich to the Falcons. Mecole Hardman? Ham Sandwiched by the Jets, though at least they had the decency to send him to the contending Chiefs. We got Cam Akers, ick-swapped by the Rams to the Vikings. Then there was Randy Gregory, who was a textbook case, as the Broncos went through all the proper steps: They leaked news that they were thinking of cutting Gregory, they waited for teams to call to see if they could offer a pittance to cut the waiver wire order, and et voil, they got themselves a piping-hot Ham Sammy. At least the 49ers traded for picks that count this year.
I am obsessed with this trade because, while it is asymptotically close to being pointless, teams do it all the time. According to the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, the value of a sixth-round pick minus the value of a seventh-round pick is approximately the cost of a bag of kicking tees. This trade is the NFL equivalent of posting old furniture on Facebook Marketplace for free, as long as someone will come pick it up and take it out of your apartment. Its the transaction equivalent of a take-a-penny, leave-a-penny jar. The community library of player acquisition. I love imagining how general managers haggle over these moves and get worked up about the compensation: OK, well do it, but well need a seventh-rounder and a couple new mouth guards! I bet Howie Roseman gets too into it. Media reports always sugarcoat the Ham Sandwich as a swap of late-round draft picks instead of just saying what it is: literally the smallest amount of compensation they can come up with. Maybe this is why no ones good at scouting quarterbacksevery front office is spending hours wheeling and dealing picks in the 200s that theyll end up using on a kicker theyll cut during training camp. Just release the players you dont want and let them choose where they play next!
Just for fun, imagine that youve made it to the NFL. Maybe youre an undersized fourth receiver or an inside linebacker with plenty of gumption but limitations on passing downs. Youve been fighting for snaps through the first couple of months of the season, and youre called into the office to see the general manager. You sit down. You fidget nervously. You wonder about the one weird photo on the desk. Is that Jordan Peterson? The man behind the desk starts to speak in short, clear sentences.
Weve traded you to the Rams. (In my world, the Rams are in on every trade.) Thank you for your hard work. Well make sure you have all the details. It was simply an offer we couldnt pass up.
You shake hands and leave the room. You start to realize you didnt really ask questions. It all happened too fast. Its OK. L.A. could be fun! And after all, it was simply an offer they couldnt pass up.
Then you open your phone. Theres no push notification from the NFL app or from ESPN. Is it weird youre a little disappointed theres no push notification? Hmm. You look it up: traded with a seventh-rounder in exchange for a sixth in a pick swap. It sinks in. Not the Sandwich! But take heart. This year, youd hardly be the only one.
Link:
An Ode to the Ick Swap, the Most Disrespectful Trade in the NFL - The Ringer