It's the season for trades and trade rumors, coinciding with the annual cutdown to 53-man rosters.
We've already seen several trades go down in August, with the Eagles making two of those. Are more swaps brewing? Activity has been up in recent years. Some players -- including Jameis Winston -- have been deemed off-limits. But others remain twisting in the wind, with the 2025 regular season fast approaching.
Yet, this offseason stands above other recent ones, sheerly because of the big-name players who still remain at odds over contracts with their current teams -- Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin. Personally, I feel McLaurin is unlikely enough to be traded that I didn't include him below, but if any of them are dealt, it would be a rare massive summer blockbuster.
Will these standoffs or other roster crunches lead to any more preseason trade activity? Any big names on the chopping block at cutdowns? Let's dig into some notable players who could be on the move soon, ordered roughly by position group below.
TRADE CANDIDATES
Joe Flacco won the Week 1 starting job, and Pickett currently is listed as the backup. That certainly could be how it goes to start the season, and it wouldn't shock anyone if the Browns kept four QBs. Injuries to Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders have complicated the entire operation and projection. But if the Browns feel good about the health of Gabriel and Sanders, and Pickett suffers no setbacks in his recovery from the hamstring injury that short-circuited his pursuit of the top gig in Cleveland, it could open up a spot for Pickett to be moved. Keeping him around would only slow the development of their two 2025 draft picks.
It has been awfully quiet on the Cousins front lately, to the point where the most likely course of action feels like the Falcons not trading him and just keeping him as the backup. Most of the starting jobs around the NFL have dried up. The one spot to monitor might be the Rams, with Matthew Stafford and his balky back. Stafford is practicing again, but if that issue begins to trend in the wrong direction, Cousins could be an option in Los Angeles. The connection ex-Rams staffers Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson have with Sean McVay would presumably make it an easier trade to do, if the need arises.
Robinson sat out the second preseason game, and Dan Quinn admitted that there are "a lot of moving parts this time of year" when discussing the absence, which coincided with Robinson's name being mentioned as a trade possibility. It's certainly something to monitor. The emergence of seventh-round pick Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt apparently has changed the backfield outlook, and 2023 sixth-rounder Chris Rodriguez Jr. also has shown some fight.
We've seen some RB trades in recent years (Cam Akers, Khalil Herbert, Jordan Mason), and Robinson might welcome a new opportunity entering the final year of his rookie contract. Otherwise, the Commanders could be forced to just cut Robinson, whose absence from practice Wednesday did nothing to counter the signs pointing to his eventual exit.
Signing Thielen in 2023 as a shepherd for incoming rookie Bryce Young was an inspired move, with Thielen reviving his career as the Panthers' top receiving option. But Carolina has also insulated the position heavily the past two years, and Thielen is celebrating his 35th birthday this week. With young receivers such as Tetairoa McMillan, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker and Jimmy Horn Jr. in need of touches, do the Panthers still need Thielen? A reunion with Minnesota is one possibility; the Vikings are exploring trade options at wide receiver amid the injuries they've suffered at the position.
Neal is trying to revive his career by working at guard, a position he hasn't played since his freshman year at Alabama, but time is running out for him to reemerge as a starter with the Giants. They might not be in a hurry to ditch a former top-10 pick with possible untapped reserves, but if they can get something in return for him, they might listen. Perhaps he's about to unlock his talent by switching inside, but will it happen in New York or elsewhere?
A 2024 third-round pick, Carter found himself playing far deeper into the last preseason game against the Bears than either of the Bills' two rookie defensive tackles, T.J. Sanders or Deone Walker. That might be an indication of a lower spot on Buffalo's depth chart for Carter, even with Larry Ogunjobi (who doesn't appear guaranteed to make this team, for what it's worth) set to miss the first six weeks of the season with a suspension. If the Bills could get something in return for Carter, perhaps from a DL-needy team such as the 49ers, they might be willing to loosen up the logjam at the position a bit.
After what has transpired this offseason, how could Hendrickson not make the list? He and the Bengals have apparently been at loggerheads for months, in spite of the fact that both sides have been on the same page on two big contract demands, per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero: time and money. No trade feels imminent, per Pelissero, but the Bengals are fielding calls, and several teams appear to be monitoring the situation closely.
How this ends up is anyone's guess, but the Bengals seem to be placing a very high price tag on their four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher. They might be willing to play chicken and hope Hendrickson blinks first in this contract standoff, but coming off a poor season defensively, with so many questions still on that side of the ball, that would be a dangerous game in which to partake.
Similarly, Parsons has been a hot preseason topic following his trade request. And as with Hendrickson, the rumors have swirled heavily, but so far to little end. Parsons, who is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract, turned 26 years old during an offseason in which Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt earned contracts worth $40 million-plus per season, so the superstar is in line to make major money.
Several teams would likely pay the price -- and perhaps even come close to meeting Dallas' theoretical trade demands. The problem? The Cowboys aren't acting like a team on the verge of dealing Parsons. If there's a team to watch for, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport suggested, it might be the Packers, who have money to spend and a need for another difference-maker on defense.
Last year, Bishop was quite the find -- an undrafted free agent who played all 17 games, started six and plucked four INTs (including two vs. current teammate Aaron Rodgers). At worst, it appeared Bishop had a nice future in Pittsburgh. But the Steelers signed Darius Slay and Brandin Echols and traded for Jalen Ramsey this offseason, pushing Bishop to the margins. With multiple players already capable of playing the nickel, Bishop might be expendable. DB coach Teryl Austin recently said Bishop needed to "fight and work to get some splash to get in the picture." It wouldn't be stunning if the Steelers floated him in a trade.
CUT CANDIDATES
Right now, it feels like Hooker is on the outside looking in as the Lions approach cutdown day. He’s 16-of-29 passing for 117 yards with two interceptions and two fumbles lost in three preseason games. Compare those to the numbers of Kyle Allen: 30-of-39 passing, 335 yards, four TDs, two INTs.
The Lions could keep three QBs, but how long does the team keep investing in the 2023 third-rounder? The light just hasn’t come on yet for Hooker, who was passed over for playing time (for Teddy Bridgewater) in the playoff loss to Washington and who might not be fully trusted as the season-long backup to this point.
To Bourne’s credit, he’s found his name in past iterations of this column and still managed to keep hanging around. This year, however, the run might be ending. The Patriots might not love their current WR depth chart, but I suspect they might be more apt to giving an untested receiver (Ja’Lynn Polk or Javon Baker) a chance over Bourne. I wouldn’t rule out a return to San Francisco if Bourne is cut, depending on its WR health cutdowns.
By nearly all measures, Patrick was a success story for the Lions in 2024, returning from two straight seasons missed because of injury to play 16 games (nine starts) and catch 33 passes for 394 yards and three TDs. But Patrick appears to have fallen behind on this year's depth chart, with rookie Isaac TeSlaa’s emergence helping push Patrick down.
If the Lions are comfortable with their experience level at the position, they could cut ties with Patrick. I could see a team such as the Jets seeking a reliable veteran receiver like Patrick, who’s also a quality blocker.
Strange was a curious first-round selection in 2022, viewed primarily as a developmental Day 2 prospect then, and his NFL journey has been rife with setbacks, injuries and struggles. The Patriots have tried him at guard and center, and Strange really hasn’t stuck at either spot. And it’s not as if the offensive line is completely sorted out either. It just feels like Strange is in need of a fresh start.
The former third-round pick just hasn’t found his footing on defense in the NFL after a few promising moments as a rookie. He’s been relegated to more special teams duty than defense the past few seasons, playing fewer than a quarter of the defensive snaps in total. Rookie Jack Kiser also played well in last week's preseason game, potentially foreshadowing the end of Muma's road in Jacksonville.
This is not so much an indictment of Mathis as a player; rather, he just seems to have fallen behind some talented DBs in a loaded secondary. He started 17 games in 2022 and 2023 combined, but saw his workload dialed back significantly last season. Pat Surtain II, Jahdae Barron, Ja’Quan McMillian, Riley Moss and Kris Abrams-Draine appear to be ahead of Mathis, and the Broncos could save more than $3 million by cutting him if they feel they don't need his experience and special teams value.
