Latest Buzz on Possible Josh Gordon Trade, Colin Kaepernick and More

Week 3 of the NFL preseason is now in the books. However, teams will be staying active this week as they continue to trim their rosters down heading into the regular season.

A lot of the league news right now has to do with the roster cuts of fringe NFL players, but let’s examine two potential trade situations and another unique circumstance that could result in a high-profile quarterback getting released.

Josh Gordon

The Cleveland Browns aren’t actively looking to deal troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon. Head of football operations Sashi Brown said last Thursday said that the team is "not looking to trade Josh," according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot.

But that doesn’t mean Cleveland wouldn’t bite if the right offer presented itself. ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio said the team is willing to part with him in exchange for a second-round pick. For a guy who hasn’t played in nearly two years and has a history of struggling to follow league and team policies, that’s a steep price.

Jason Behnken/Associated Press

Gordon’s talent is up there with the very best wideouts in the league. In 2013, at the age of 22, he had 87 catches for 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 games with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden as his main quarterbacks. That prorates to 99 catches, 1,881 yards and 10 touchdowns over a full state of games.

Gordon saw his first NFL action in nearly two years in a preseason contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday and didn’t disappoint. The 25-year-old had two catches for 87 yards and a touchdown on just two targets.

While there's still a lot more time for Gordon to have an excellent career, Cleveland might be requiring a little bit too much for him at the moment. Other teams will probably remain wary of sending back that much until Gordon proves he can be consistent on the field again and stay out of trouble off of it.

Colin Kaepernick

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has understandably become the NFL's biggest lightning rod for criticism after refusing to stand for the national anthem prior to Friday’s 49ers-Green Bay Packers preseason contest.

Now, the 49ers are reportedly looking to get rid of Kaepernick, but not for political reasons.

Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, via ProFootballTalk’s Michael David Smith, said San Francisco is worried about Kaepernick’s decline as a player. The 28-year-old signal-caller has now seen both his QBR and quarterback rating drop every season since 2012.

Midway through the 2015 campaign, he lost his starting spot to Blaine Gabbert and then went on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that required surgery. He also had problems with his right thumb and left knee that required procedures in the offseason.

With all of those injuries piled onto his declining play, it makes sense for San Francisco to unload Kaepernick even just for football reasons.

However, there are obviously serious consequences to cutting a player with an $11.9 million guaranteed salary for 2016. The Niners will have to decide in the coming days whether getting rid of Kaep is worth having so much dead cap room.

Britton Colquitt

Speaking of money problems (although much smaller-scale ones), 9News' Mike Klis said the cash-strapped Denver Broncos are attempting to trade punter Britton Colquitt and the one year and $3.25 million remaining on his contract. Colquitt has tailed off since his best years in 2011 and 2012, and Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller ranked him just the 24th punter in the league after last season.

Meanwhile, Denver selected punter Riley Dixon in the seventh round of April’s draft, and he’s done well in preseason action, booting 13 kicks for 567 yards and a 43.6 average. He’s due to make just above $530,000 in 2016, so he’s the smart choice for the starter if he can produce at comparable levels to Colquitt.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Klis mentioned that the Broncos have tried to convince their veteran punter to take a pay cut for next season, but if they are unsuccessful, Dixon definitely seems like their best option.

As far as where Colquitt could go, Klis said he has received interest from the Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. All four teams' punters finished in the bottom of the league in net punting average in 2015, per ESPN.com, and could use a boost from the Colquitt that showed up in the playoffs last winter (42.7 net yards per punt).