Whereas the NBA and MLB have trade deadlines that more often than not include one or two major headlines, the NFL trade deadline rarely produces more than a peep in the news cycle. ESPN's Andrew Brandt, once an NFL executive, delved into why that's the case.

As a sport, football is more about schemes and pieces that fit into the puzzle as a whole, Brandt says. Not only is it hard to find players that fit each team, but it's difficult to make drastic changes in the midseason. Forcing even talented players into a new scheme where the knowledge and understanding of a playbook is essential is difficult without practice time.

From a front office's standpoint, trading players in the middle of the NFL season is often a sign that a team simply wants a player off of their roster. Do they have an attitude problem? Are they a distraction?

Finally, there are the financial problems with NFL deals, Brandt writes. Contracts that are traded still go toward the former team's salary cap in the following season.