Over the last few seasons, we’ve seen in-season trades become more of the norm. Christian McCaffrey was the silver tuna at last year’s trade deadline and turned the San Francisco 49ers into an even more dyanmic offense than they were before. Kadarius Toney was dealt to the Chiefs from the Giants and went on to help Kansas City win a Super Bowl.
With several veteran players approaching the end of their respective deals and/or playing for teams who won’t be contending for anything more than draft position, these five players could see themselves get dealt before the season’s end.
Arizona Cardinals Safety Budda Baker
This is one many assumed would be done by now. Baker requested a trade in April, and has yet to be dealt. His $16 million cap hit may have something to do with that, but if you are a team like the Jaguars who could use a bump in talent in their secondary (and also have the seventh most cap space in the NFL), why not trade a few draft picks for the star safety? A duo of Baker and Andre Cisco would immediately become one of the best in the league.
The same can be said about the Cowboys. Baker would be an instant upgrade over Donovan Wilson in coverage, while also providing the ability to play up in the box the way Dallas used Wilson in 2022. At the very least, the Cowboys could still rotate Wilson in to be their box safety in different sub-packages and have a solid three-safety rotation with Wilson, Baker, and Jayron Kearse.
Washington Commanders EDGE Chase Young
There have already been murmurs about the former No. 2 overall pick being dealt. With Washington not picking up Young’s option, several teams have been rumored to be interested, including the Steelers and Ravens. However, with Pittsburgh extending Alex Highsmith, the likelihood of them going after Young is slim to none.
That leaves Baltimore, and it would fit their MO like a glove. We’ve seen the Ravens bring in veteran pass rushers and defensive linemen before — Elvis Dumervil, Yanick Ngakoue, Justin Houston, and Calais Campbell — and they have a need at the position. Of course, other teams like the Colts or even the Bears could be in on the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year, but keep your eyes on Baltimore as a potential landing spot should Washington move him during the season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Receiver Mike Evans
The Buccaneers are the walking embodiment of Rob Schnider’s character yelling “We suck again” in The Waterboy. After a nice three-year run of having Tom Brady at the helm, resulting in a Super Bowl win and two trips to the postseason, the Buccaneers find themselves with potentially the worst head coach/quarterback combination in the league with Baker Mayfield and Todd Bowles.
Even in a soft NFC South, the Buccaneers are clearly the worst team in the division and are going to do a lot of losing in 2023. Evans is an unrestricted free agent in 2024, so the Bucs may as well get something for him while they can. Trading him to a team like Kansas City right at the deadline could definitely be on the table, and I apologize in advance to every other NFL team for manifesting it should it take place.
Las Vegas Raiders Receiver Davante Adams
Adams has already shown clear signs of frustration in terms of the direction the Raiders are going as a franchise, so just imagine how annoyed he’ll be when Las Vegas is 2-7 and Jimmy Garoppolo overthrows him twice a game.
The three-time All-Pro can try walking back the things he said as much as he wants to paint a nice picture and save face for the organization, but no one would blame him if he demanded a trade. At age 30, he only has so many years of elite play left in him, and one would think he’d like to spend those years contending for a championship.
Tennessee Titans Running Back Derrick Henry
To be frank, the Titans should have already done this. They aren’t winning the Super Bowl with Henry as is, and they are in denial about being a team that can still contend. Look at the first six weeks of their schedule- at Saints, vs Chargers, at Browns, vs Bengals, at Colts, vs Ravens.
After their game against Baltimore, they have their bye week before hosting Atlanta. If they are sitting at 2-6 and pull the trigger on starting Will Levis, just trade Henry. Send him to a team like Miami or Baltimore for some picks and commit to a rebuild.
