Sometimes, NFL rule changes close large loopholes. On other occasions, the rules address a problem that really hasn’t been a problem.
Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that the NFL’s Competition Committee has proposed that playoff teams not be permitted to sign players released by non-playoff teams.
The issue rarely arises. During the 2020 playoffs, the Ravens released running back Mark Ingram and quarterback Robert Griffin III after Baltimore was eliminated from the postseason. Neither was claimed on waivers, making them eligible to be signed by any of the remaining playoff teams.
But no one signed either of them. In fact, I can’t think of a single time that a non-playoff team cut a player who was then signed by a playoff team. Which of course makes me more convinced it has happened, and that I’m forgetting who it was and when it occurred.
That said, it doesn’t seem to be a major problem. So why bother? If the NFL is thinking about closing loopholes, how about the one that lets a player facing a suspension deliberately take a low salary and minimize the money he’ll lose during the games he misses?
