10 NFL Players Who Could Get Traded Before the Deadline

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This one is a bit complicated. AJ Green is almost always hurt lately, and the Bengals finally have a fun, young quarterback for him to play with. At the same time, this is a team that’s at least two years away from being a real contender in an absolutely loaded division. Joe Burrow looks like he might be the real deal, but Green looks absolutely checked out in Cincy. Maybe it’s best for all parties to move on from what’s been a long, successful partnership. 

Potential Destinations: Green Bay, New England

Green would be a great fit in both places and kick the offense into a different gear. We also know that both the Packers and Patriots are usually very aggressive when it comes to going after talented players. 

The Falcons really never recovered from blowing a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl, and now it’s probably time to actually blow things up. The franchise just dismissed head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff after an 0-5 start and it’s hard to see things getting any better anytime soon. Matt Ryan looks like his days as an elite quarterback are in the rearview mirror, and the franchise is looking at a full-on rebuild. The biggest asset Atlanta currently has is Julio Jones, and he could be worth a lot if he’s healthy. 

Potential Destinations: Green Bay, New England

How fun would it be to see Jones with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay? So much has been made about how Rodgers has only thrown two touchdown passes in his career to first-round draft picks and Jones would not only change that quickly, but might form the best 1-2 receiving tandem in the league with Davante Adams, too. As for New England, the Patriots might not be the same machine that they have been forever, but the thing that certainly hasn’t changed is that they’re underwhelming at the receiver position. Giving Cam Newton a legit weapon on the outside could make the Patriots a legitimate threat to win the AFC East, even after Tom Brady bolted for Tampa Bay. 

The Jets are so much of a dumpster fire that they decided just to cut Le’Veon Bell on Tuesday night as we already mentioned, but they’re also so much of a mess that Adam Schefter is already reporting about teams calling the Jets about a Sam Darnold trade. Sam Darnold was supposed to be the guy to take the Jets back to the promised land, but instead, Adam Gase – who surely has to be on his way out as head coach – destroyed any chance of that happening. The Jets are going to be bad enough to draft the quarterback of their choosing next spring, meaning that the door could be all but closed on Darnold. He may not have as many people salivating over his talent as he did when coming out of USC, but he’s still worth a shot. 

Potential Destinations: Washington, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Chicago, San Francisco

This list could have even been longer than it is, and it’s the longest list of anyone we’re mentioning as a trade candidate. The one thing with Darnold here, is that it’s a play for the future and not this season. It’s difficult for anyone to plug right in and play in the NFL after being traded, but it’s nearly impossible at this position. Washington just benched Dwayne Haskins (more on him soon) but might not be bad enough to win the Trevor Lawrence Sweepstakes. Pittsburgh and Indianapolis both have older quarterbacks and will need to move on from them eventually. Maybe Darnold isn’t even ready to replace Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers next year, but down the road he could be the face of the franchise. The Bears are in a similar situation as Washington, having realized that Mitch Trubisky isn’t the guy moving forward, and it’s really hard to think right now that the 49ers didn’t make a mistake on Jimmy Garoppolo, too. 

Washington isn’t nearly the dumpster fire that the Jets are, but they’ve seen enough from Dwayne Haskins already to know that he’s not going to be the guy for them moving forward. With a new regime taking over in Washington, it felt like this was almost inevitable for Haskins, but few expected the decision to be made this quickly. We’re only a couple of years removed from Haskins being a top-20 pick in the draft. There’s still reason for hope for Haskins. If Washington doesn’t think that he’s a franchise quarterback, some other franchise might. 

Potential Destinations: Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, San Francisco

This list is pretty similar to that of Darnold, and with good reason. All it takes is one team to believe in Haskins and pull the trigger on him. If he had the proper situation to grow and learn, his chance of success is only going to increase. Of the spots that we’ve picked out for him, Pittsburgh might be the one that makes the most sense. 

We’ve already touched upon how bad the other New York team is a couple of times, but the Giants are almost just as bad. They won’t go winless this year, but it’s clear that they’re not going to win very many games, and there are legitimate concerns that Daniel Jones may not belong in the NFL. It’s time for the Giants to move on from guys that could net them assets for the future, because it’s hard to see them being anything resembling good for the rest of this year or even next season. 

Potential Destinations: Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans

Jabrill Peppers has been pretty solid overall for the Giants since he was traded there from Cleveland in the Odell Beckham Jr. trade. While the Browns obviously got the better player, Peppers has been a plus for the New York defense. He only has one year left on his contract currently, and while he won’t be able to attract a first-round pick, he could net a lesser draft pick in return. Cleveland, Dallas, and New Orleans all either have massive holes in the secondary, or are just plain bad in the back four. A reunion with the Browns certainly would be fun now that they’re good. 

The Vikings have tried really hard to be good this season. Their 1-4 record may not tell the story to the true talent of the team, but the old adage says that you are what your record is, and that says the Vikings aren’t good. They’re much closer to rebuilding than they would like to be, but it looks like that’s what’s in the cards. They’re not bad enough to tank for Trevor Lawrence, but they’re not a playoff team, either. Being in the middle is the worst place to be, but even then the Vikings are closer to bad than good now. 

Potential Destinations: Cleveland, Dallas, New Orleans

The three teams listed for Peppers also apply for Harris, but Harris would be the better, more expensive fit for each of them. He is a free agent after this year after being franchised by Minnesota last offseason. Harris is better against the pass than Peppers is, and had six interceptions last season to tie for the NFL lead. The price on Harris could be pretty high, but there’s no doubt he would come in and be the best safety in Cleveland and Dallas, and could be a great sidekick to Malcolm Jenkins in New Orleans if that move were made. 

The Football Team has a pretty strong defensive line with rookie Chase Young and second-year defensive end Montez Sweat taking center stage. In fact, it’s probably the most talented position group in Washington and certainly one to be excited about for the future. Ryan Kerrigan has been part of the Washington defense since he was drafted in 2011, but it might be time for the four-time Pro Bowl selection to contribute elsewhere. Kerrigan’s contract expires after this season, and it’s hard to imagine Washington opting to re-sign him. 

Potential Destinations: New Orleans, Arizona, Buffalo, Las Vegas, San Francisco

Kerrigan’s production this season hasn’t been great, outside of the Week 1 win over Philadelphia. He did have a pair of sacks in that game and a fumble recovery. Putting him in a new situation certainly could mean that his production sparks back up. The Saints have a mess of a defense that can’t stop the pass, partly because they don’t get to the quarterback nearly enough. Arizona actually is seventh in the NFL in sacks, but is 26th in pressure rate on quarterbacks. Buffalo has an awesome defense for the most part, but it does feel like they’re missing a rusher off the edge, hurrying less than 5% off opponents throws (entering Tuesday night when they were decimated by the Titans). The Raiders are even worse than the Cardinals in pressure rate and only have seven total sacks on the season. San Francisco has actually been near the top of the league in pressuring opposing quarterbacks, but with Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas done for the year, it’s fair to question just how sustainable that is. 

A somewhat forgotten storyline from this offseason was when David Njoku requested a trade away from the Cleveland Browns. After the Browns signed Austin Hooper during free agency and drafted Harrison Bryant, there suddenly was a surplus at that spot. While Njoku has produced during his limited time on the field this season, it’s fair to wonder whether or not the Browns should still think about moving on from him, especially considering they have already exercised his 2021 option for $6 million, which is a lot to pay a guy that could be the team’s third tight end. 

Potential Destinations: Green Bay, Arizona, Tampa Bay

The versatility of Njoku as a receiver as well as a tight end boosts his value a bit here. We’ve already mentioned the Packers as needing more weapons for Aaron Rodgers on the outside, and while Njoku isn’t Julio Jones, he’s a viable threat in the intermediate passing game as well as the red zone. The Cardinals run a pretty wide-open offense that would be a great fit for a tight end with Njoku’s skill set, and they get very limited production from their tight ends now. In Tampa Bay, OJ Howard is done for the year with an Achilles injury, and Rob Gronkowski looks more like a random big guy wearing No. 87 than he does Rob Gronkowski.

It’s not that the Bears are bad and they should trade Robinson. While their 4-1 record is a bit suspect, this move should be made due to Robinson’s contract situation and where the Bears are at with their quarterback situation. Robinson wants to be taken care of with a new contract, and it’s hard to blame him. It’s also fun to think about what he would be able to do with a real quarterback throwing him that ball. And after spending the first six-plus seasons catching passes from Blake Bortles and Mitch Trubisky, it’s time to set Robinson free. 

Potential Destinations: New England, Carolina, Cincinnati

We’ve already touched on the need that the Patriots have for help at the receiver position, but Robinson and Cam Newton would be a real treat if they could develop chemistry. In Carolina, the Panthers are a surprising 3-2 on the season despite missing Christian McCaffrey for the last three games. Getting a bit more offensive firepower could help to turn that team from a fun story to a real playoff contender in the NFC South. As for Cincinnati, it’s a bit odd to see them trading AJ Green earlier in this column and then trading for Allen Robinson here, but with the need for a new contract, pairing up Robinson with Joe Burrow wouldn’t just be fun this year, but it could be a great connection for the next five years. 

This might be the least surprising name on this list. Zach Ertz and the Eagles have been trending towards a breakup after the team broke off contract talks with the star TE before the season started. Ertz was upset with the move at the time and with the Eagles struggles so far this sesaon, nobody would be shocked if the team tried to move him in the coming weeks. While you can't pin the Eagles' struggles on Ertz, something is going on this season with him and Carson Wentz because Ertz only has 19 catches for 139 yards and a single touchdown. Those numbers are way down from Ertz's career averages. 

Potential Destinations: New England, Arizona, Green Bay 

These are essentially the same teams as the David Njoku slide, but we added the New England Patriots, becuase they've long been looking for a TE upgrade after Rob Gronkowski retired a few years back.