NFL 1000: Teams Who Most Need to Make a Trade

It used to be that September and October trades were a rarity in the NFL, but that trend has changed in recent years. Just this season, we’ve already seen the Seahawks trade receiver Jermaine Kearse and a second-round pick to the Jets for defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson, a move that has proven positive for both teams. The Colts traded receiver Phillip Dorsett to the Patriots for quarterback Jacoby Brissett, and so far, it looks like one of the rare trades that won’t go in New England’s favor. 

And on Tuesday, the Cardinals traded a conditional draft pick for future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. It’s a move that makes sense for both teams—Arizona’s run game is bankrupt without the injured David Johnson, and the Saints already have a locker room full of running backs; not to mention that Peterson was never going to be a scheme fit in Sean Payton’s offense.

The 2017 NFL trade deadline comes on October 31 at 4:00 p.m. EST. Before then, here are a few suggested moves that could provide salary cap relief and rebuilding space to some franchises that are out of the playoff equation, and give more competitive teams a player that might put them over the top. Other teams may look at trades to build their futures at the game’s most important position; our list of trades starts with just such a move.

49ers: Trade for Colts QB Andrew Luck

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It sounds like sheer lunacy for the Colts to rid themselves of Luck after they signed him to a five-year, $123 million deal in 2016, but when you parse it out, it makes sense. After five years of underperforming general manager Ryan Grigson, Indy has a new GM in Chris Ballard who wants to rebuild through the draft and put the finishing touches on the franchise turnaround in free agency. No matter how Ballard wants to do it, he deserves the kind of cap flexibility that will allow him to do what he does. The Colts have decent cap space with Luck on the roster, but as his contract escalates, he'll be a $24.4 million cap hit in 2018, a $27.5 million cap hit in 2019 and a $28.4 million hit in 2020.

When he's healthy, Luck has played as well with as little around him as any quarterback of his era, but it's time to rebuild. Brissett can be a reasonable placeholder while that happens, and Ballard could likely extort at least one high first-round pick for Luck if not more.

Meanwhile, Kyle Shanahan will have thought he woke up in quarterback heaven. The San Francisco 49ers are in the throes of their own rebuild in the wake of the departure of a poor former general manager (Trent Baalke), and Luck's combination of mobility, arm strength and accuracy makes him a perfect fit for what Shanahan wants to do offensively. And with Luck's game intelligence, there'll be no problem with Shanahan's dizzying array of pre-snap moves and formations.

Luck may be in the middle of a lost season because of the way the previous Colts administration handled his shoulder injury, and a trade seems like the right kind of fresh start for all involved.

Seahawks: Trade for Browns LT Joe Thomas

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Joe Thomas is one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history. He hasn't missed a single snap since he came into the league in 2007 as the No. 3 overall pick, and he's performed at an All-Pro level throughout his career despite playing through injuries and the dire performances of those around him. The Cleveland Browns last had a winning season in Thomas' rookie year, and they last won more than three games in a season in 2014. Under current head coach Hue Jackson, they're 1-20.

It's time for this to end. Thomas deserves a team committed to roster development, and few teams fit that profile in this decade better than the Seahawks...except for one obvious Achilles heel. Under assistant head coach and offensive line capo Tom Cable, the team has tried everything from career retreads to converted defensive linemen in order to assemble a front five that can put forth credible performances. Nothing has worked, and you could argue that over the last three seasons, it's cost the team a Super Bowl or two.

Trading for Thomas wouldn't fix everything, but it would certainly shore up Russell Wilson's blind side, a spot Cable has been singularly bad at addressing. This season, Rees Odhiambo has been the team's primary left tackle after former basketball player and project lineman George Fant suffered a torn ACL. Odhiambo, a third-round pick out of Boise State in 2016, has given up more total pressures than all but one offensive tackle (Breno Giacomini of the Houston Texans) this season. Thirty pressures in 208 pass-blocking snaps adds up to a ton of pain for Wilson, and the team has already worked out former Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins tackle Branden Albert to try to stop the damage.

Thomas would be a far better option—he's allowed just six total pressures in 231 pass-blocking snaps this season, which is singularly impressive because rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer is taking sacks at a high rate as he learns to read NFL defenses. Some teams might be put off by Thomas' age (32) or contract situation (his cap hit is $11.5 million this season and $10 million in 2010), but the Seahawks are good enough at nearly every other position to quit fooling around with bargain-basement guys along their line.

Yes, they'd need to free up cap space to make this happen, but there's a way to get that done...

Packers: Trade for Seahawks TE Jimmy Graham

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The Seahawks traded starting center Max Unger and a first-round pick to the Saints for Jimmy Graham and a fourth-round pick in 2015, and they still haven't figured out how to use Graham. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell took a Lamborghini and asked it to tow a truck in a cul-de-sac—it was the mandate of Seattle's coaching staff that Graham learn to block and be a complete tight end.

That's not what Graham is. What he was with New Orleans was a big receiver who primarily deployed from the formation and won one-on-one matchups against aggressive defenders with his size and the agility born from his days as a basketball player. He led the NFL with 16 receiving touchdowns in 2013 but has amassed just nine touchdowns with the Seahawks. He's one of the league's best red-zone targets, but Seattle rarely uses him there.

Clearly, this is a case where the intentions of general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll ran afoul of the guy designing the offensive game plans, and it's been long enough to know things aren't going to change. Graham's in the last year of a four-year, $40 million contract, and it's hard to imagine he'd want to come back or the Seahawks would want him back.

Aaron Rodgers is always in need of receivers who can beat coverages without running advanced routes. It's required in the Green Bay Packers offense as a result of head coach Mike McCarthy's regressive route concepts. The Packers already have a blocking tight end in Martellus Bennett, but Bennett ranks near the bottom among tight ends in Football Outsiders' receiving metrics at the position. Graham is down there too, but a new situation in which he's treated like the matchup nightmare he is could help turn him around and allow Seattle to run the kind of offense they really want to.

Given Graham's contract situation, a conditional mid-round pick (and maybe any offensive lineman who can block) might do the trick.

Jaguars: Trade for Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo

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Right now, the Jacksonville Jaguars have the best secondary in the NFL, and it isn't particularly close. Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye are shutting receivers down at a ridiculous rate—Ramsey has allowed an opponents' passer rating of 26.5, and Bouye's opponents' rating is 36.9. Safeties Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson are playing at a high level, and the rest of the Jaguars defense is doing the same. Linebacker Telvin Smith is one of the league's most underrated players, and the pass-rushing combination of Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue is making life miserable for enemy quarterbacks.

The offensive line is doing well in the run game, primarily because rookie running back Leonard Fournette is showing the kind of power and speed that defines a franchise back.

The only thing that could keep Jacksonville from winning the AFC South and going on a decent playoff run is quarterback Blake Bortles, so it's doing everything possible to hide him. As Kevin Clark of The Ringer pointed out, the Jags' 30-9 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday marked the first time in almost two years an NFL team won without throwing 15 passes. Bortles is not a great quarterback; most of the time, he's not a good quarterback. And asking this defense to maintain its production is unrealistic.

Trading for Garoppolo could solve those problems. Yes, the Patriots would likely demand at least a first-round pick, and Garoppolo is going to want a huge contract, but based on what I saw when he started in 2016 during Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension, he could be worth it. Garoppolo has the arm, mobility and situational awareness to turn the Jacksonville passing game into a strength as opposed to something the running game and defense have to make up for.

Bears: Trade for Raiders WR Amari Cooper

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It's taken a long time, but the Chicago Bears may have their first homegrown franchise quarterback since Jim McMahon in the person of 2017 No. 2 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky. The rookie got his first shot as a regular-season starter against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, and he didn't shrink from the spotlight, completing 12 passes in 25 attempts for 128 yards and a touchdown with a late interception that turned the game in the Vikings' favor. Trubisky still has a lot to learn about NFL defenses, but he's already shown the arm to make any throw and the mobility that will allow offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to add to the playbook.

One thing Trubisky doesn't have, however, is a receiver corps that's up to NFL standards. Rookie speedster Tarik Cohen leads the team with 25 catches, and veteran Kendall Wright tops the stat sheet with 200 receiving yards, but the offense is without an alpha receiver who can take on coverages from top cornerbacks.

Meanwhile, in Oakland, 2015 No. 4 overall pick Amari Cooper is struggling. Cooper posted 1,000-yard seasons in his first and second years, but the communication between him and quarterbacks Derek Carr and EJ Manuel has fallen apart. Cooper leads the NFL with seven drops, which is especially distressing because he's done that on just 29 targets. On Sunday against Baltimore, Cooper was targeted just once by Manuel.

Perhaps a change of scenery is what Cooper needs; for whatever reason, he's on the outs with the Raiders, and Trubisky could benefit from his presence even if the occasional pass gets dropped. If the Bears want to reap the most out of Trubisky's potential, they've got to start putting a better receiver corps together, and a trade for Cooper might be best for all parties.

Patriots: Trade for Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry

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When Patriots receiver Julian Edelman tore his ACL in late August, a whole lot of the New England passing game went away. Though Tom Brady can still sling the deep ball when his line protects him, he has also become increasingly reliant on Edelman's ability to get open on option routes from the slot. It's a major part of the Patriots passing game, and just putting another guy in the slot doesn't really work—that replacement receiver has to be on the same page with Brady when it comes to how he's supposed to adapt to coverage.

Adjustments after the snap are what make Edelman indispensable to Brady, and without his primary slot target, Brady has gone more for the deep ball by necessity. He's already completed a league-high 14 passes of 20 or more yards after completing just 23 such passes in 2016.

Right now, Chris Hogan is New England's primary slot receiver, and while he does a decent job, he's better cast as an outside deep threat. Danny Amendola can produce from the slot when he's healthy, but he's a different type of receiver. Brady needs a guy who does most of his work inside and knows how to define and take advantage of openings in the short game.

Now that the Dolphins' season has spiraled out of control, receiver Jarvis Landry would seem to be a perfect acquisition. Over the last three-plus seasons, the LSU product has been one of the more prolific pass-catchers in the NFL, making 318 receptions for 3,261 yards and 14 touchdowns. Landry isn't a deep threat, which is why some underrate his value, but when you watch him on tape, it's clear he adjusts well to coverages and understands the subtleties of the slot position. The Patriots are missing a receiver who gets the position to that extent, and with the New England defense in a free fall, the passing game must be at its best if Bill Belichick's team is to defend its Super Bowl title.

Texans: Trade for Colts OLB Jabaal Sheard

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There was a bit of good news and a whole lot of bad news for the Texans in their 42-34 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday night. The good news was that with his second straight bravura performance, rookie Deshaun Watson firmly established himself as the team's franchise quarterback, an entity Houston has been looking for as long as the organization existed. But in addition to the loss that dropped the Texans to 2-3, the defense suffered two major blows—defensive end J.J. Watt suffered a season-ending tibial plateau fracture, and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus will also miss the rest of 2017 with a torn pectoral.

That will put a huge burden on Jadeveon Clowney, who has developed into a player who's effective at end and tackle. Most likely, he'll kick inside more often to try to replace Watt's ability to create pressure between the tackles. But that will leave a gap on the outside with Mercilus' absence, and it's possible Houston will have to look outside its own roster to fill it.

The Texans could try to pry Jabaal Sheard from the AFC South rival Colts. Sheard is playing on a three-year, $25.5 million contract with $12.8 million guaranteed. He's adept as a pass-rusher and against the run, though he's been used primarily as a quarterback disruptor. He's been effective in that capacity, amassing two sacks and 18 quarterback hurries. Sheard can also drop into coverage at times, which would help Houston's short coverage.

Would Indianapolis trade a valuable player to a division rival? That's unknown, but Sheard would be a good fit for a defensive line that's suddenly in need of reinforcements.

Lions: Trade for Bengals RB Jeremy Hill

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Jim Bob Cooter became the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator in 2015. Since then, quarterback Matthew Stafford's completion percentage has been higher than ever, while his passing attempts have gone down. It's been Cooter's mission to cut the randomness from Stafford's game, and he's done that to a degree—Stafford isn't as likely to go off-script as he used to, though he's no longer burdened with a disproportionate responsibility.

This season, the running game has improved in the person of third-year man Ameer Abdullah, who's used his gliding, juking style to bring a new dimension to the Detroit offense. Still, what the Loins don't have is the kind of power back who can sustain drives and transcend a bad offensive line—which, because of injuries, is what Detroit is dealing with now.

It appears the Cincinnati Bengals are tiring of power back Jeremy Hill, and he might be a perfect fit in the Motor City. Cincinnati is transitioning its running game to feature rookie Joe Mixon, which leaves Hill as the odd man out. And while he's not a top-level back, Hill can break tackles in a zone scheme—last season, he caused 23 missed tackles and gained 2.5 yards per carry after contact while toting the ball 222 times for 839 yards and nine touchdowns. Hill can also catch the ball out of the backfield on a limited basis, but his primary value in Detroit would be to add an element of power to a running game that's yet to be defined.