7 Moves We Wish Would Have Happened in 2023 NFL Offseason
The 2023 NFL offseason has been full of intrigue and drama, but it's always the shots you don't take in life that leave you wondering.
The history of the league is littered with what if scenarios that are fun to think about. What if Paul Brown had named Bill Walsh his successor with the Cincinnati Bengals? What if the Atlanta Falcons had kept Brett Favre instead of trading him to the Green Bay Packers?
Once upon a time, there was a rumored Aaron Rodgers-for-Randy Moss trade that the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders mulled over.
As it turns out, Packers drama surrounding Rodgers predates the early 2020s.
While none of those alternate realities came to fruition, they are still fun to think about. Here are seven moves that would have been really interesting if they materialized. Who knows? There's still time for a few of them to become reality.
Buffalo Bills Trade for RB Dalvin Cook
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The Minnesota Vikings have quietly made some moves that would make life without Dalvin Cook a little easier amid rumors he could be traded this offseason.
They re-signed Alexander Mattison to a two-year, $7 million contract and then drafted DeWayne McBride in the seventh round with Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler already on the roster.
Trading Cook would save the Vikings $7.9 million against the cap. A post-June 1 release would save $9 million, but the greatest savings would come from a post-June 1 trade, which would be $11 million, per Spotrac.
A trade to the Bills would make sense. The Bills let Devin Singletary walk and look to feature Cook's brother, James Cook, in the backfield with free-agent acquisition Damien Harris. The former Patriots back is a fine pickup but doesn't have nearly the star power or explosiveness of Dalvin Cook.
Cook is starting to get in the running back aging danger zone at 27 years old, but he still has juice left. Last season he posted 1,468 scrimmage yards and scored 10 touchdowns.
The Bills have to continue to find ways to take some of the burden off Josh Allen. Watching the older Cook join his brother to chase a Super Bowl ring in Buffalo would have been a fun subplot to the 2023 season.
This is one that still has a shot at happening given the financial ramifications of doing the move after June 1.
Carolina Panthers Sign WR Jakobi Meyers
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The Carolina Panthers traded away DJ Moore and picks to move from No. 9 in the draft to No. 1 and take Bryce Young. It's a heavy cost to get a quarterback who will need all the help he can get to have success early in his career.
The Panthers have made heavy investment in the offensive line recently. They have a solid line to protect him that was largely built over the last three offseasons. Taylor Moton is the only projected starter who was on the team in 2020.
The receiver group has been completely shuffled since then, but it's hard to argue that the oft-injured DJ Chark Jr. and unproven options like Laviska Shenault Jr. and Terrace Marshall Jr. are ready to help Young develop.
The biggest move the Panthers made in this department was signing Adam Thielen to a three-year, $25 million contract. It's not an easy move to love. He's 32 years old, has had waning production and the contract has void years into 2027.
Instead, it would have been nice to see the Panthers make a move for Jakobi Meyers in free agency. Like Thielen, he is a solid slot receiver, and he led the New England Patriots in receiving in each of the last three seasons.
Meyers signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Raiders where he will reunite with head coach Josh McDaniels, but he has some overlap with slot specialist Hunter Renfrow and target magnet Davante Adams.
Meyers was only slightly more expensive and would have been a better veteran security blanket than Thielen.
Cincinnati Bengals Sign CB Jamel Dean
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Eli Apple remains unsigned after starting 15 games for the Cincinnati Bengals last season.
The Bengals—with extensions on the horizon for Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase—appear to be opting for the cheaper, younger route to replace him. 2022 second-round pick Cam Taylor-Britt could step into the lineup, and the team drafted DJ Turner II in this year's second round.
It's probably the more responsible way to build the roster, but it's fun to imagine what this secondary would have looked like with Chidobe Awuzie joining forces with Jamel Dean at cornerback.
Dean ultimately re-signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a four-year, $52 million contract. That would have been pricey for the Bengals, but Dean is a massive upgrade over Apple.
Dean surrendered just 36 receptions on 65 targets and a passer rating of 86.0. In 2021, those numbers were even better, surrendering a passer rating of 50.0 on 66 targets.
By contrast, Apple gave up a passer rating of 96.9 on 79 targets last year.
The Bengals figure to continue to be one of the top teams in the AFC. We are set up to get several more battles between the Cincinnati defense and the explosive offenses in Kansas City and Buffalo.
Dean would have only added to the intrigue of those postseason matchups.
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Kansas City Chiefs Trade for WR DeAndre Hopkins
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Throughout the offseason, it really looked like five-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins would be traded away from the Arizona Cardinals.
With the Cards going 4-13 last season and firing head coach Kliff Kingsbury, it made sense that Hopkins might be a trade chip to bring back draft capital in an apparent rebuild.
Those rumors seem to have dissipated now. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media said in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that "it seems like [the Cardinals and Hopkins] are moving forward together."
That's great news for the Cardinals, who will be hoping for a quick rebound under new head coach Jonathan Gannon, but it's less fun for fans who would just like to see Hopkins in a great offense.
Kyler Murray tore his ACL in Week 14 last year. He is expected to miss the beginning of the 2023 season. That means Hopkins will be catching passes from Colt McCoy on a team that's likely to struggle to even be in the playoff hunt.
A trade to the Kansas City Chiefs would have afforded him the opportunity to pair up with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. As Hopkins enters his age-31 season, it would be fun to see Reid maximize his talents.
It would have given Hopkins the best chance to return to his All-Pro form.
Los Angeles Chargers Trade for LB Devin White
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With a combination of Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask under center, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should be looking to at least hit a soft reset button on the franchise. The Tom Brady era is over and the cap situation was difficult to manage this offseason.
Despite very few high-dollar acquisitions, the Bucs still have only $1.9 million in salary-cap space.
So when reports came out from Jenna Laine and Adam Schefter of ESPN that Devin White requested a trade, it made a lot of sense. The Bucs might be hesitant to offer him a new contract with a roster that has question marks going forward after an 8-9 record last season.
Had the Bucs decided to act on his trade request, the Los Angeles Chargers would have been one of the best destinations. The Chargers have been a frustrating franchise since drafting Justin Herbert. They are 26-24 over the last three years with just one playoff appearance and no playoff wins to show for it.
Part of it has been a defense that has just not been up to the task of supporting the offense. The Chargers were 21st in scoring defense and 30th in yards allowed per play (5.9).
To be fair, injuries have not been kind to Brandon Staley's squads. They have Derwin James, Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa and J.C. Jackson on the roster, but Bosa and Jackson were both limited to five games last season.
Adding White would give them another star defender in the middle of their defense. If all were to stay healthy, they would have had an All-Pro linebacker who could bring everything together.
Minnesota Vikings Trade for QB Trey Lance
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At this point, we just want to see what Trey Lance can do. Through a series of wild circumstances, Lance has not played in two full back-to-back games since 2019.
That was back when Lance was a redshirt freshman at North Dakota State. The Bison only played one game in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When Lance was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, it was with the idea that he would play behind Jimmy Garoppolo in Year 1 before taking the reins in Year 2.
Then he was injured during the second game of the season and Brock Purdy happened. The 2022 Mr. Irrelevant became relevant pretty quickly when he was pressed into action and went 7-1 as the starter with two playoff wins.
Now general manager John Lynch has indicated that the starting job is Purdy's to lose when he comes back from the elbow injury that he suffered in the NFC Championship Game.
That leaves Lance's path to playing time a bit murky in the Bay. A trade to the Minnesota Vikings would set him up as the heir apparent to Kirk Cousins.
The Minnesota native would get to have a homecoming. The Vikings would have an exciting quarterback prospect with a chance to thrive with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Perhaps this one will still come to fruition when Purdy is healthy enough that Lance becomes more expendable to the Niners.
New England Patriots Trade Away QB Mac Jones; Receive No. 2 Pick
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It was a big offseason for Reddit.
A post on the social media site claiming Will Levis was telling friends and family he would be the No. 1 pick in the draft dramatically shifted his odds on sportsbooks to actually be the first player taken in the draft.
Before that rumor caught fire, there was another post that drew the attention of fans and some media, including a segment on The Pat McAfee Show. A reddit user claiming to have connections to a former director of player personnel for Alabama wrote that the Patriots had the parameters for a trade with the Houston Texans that would send the No. 14 pick, a 2023 fourth-round pick, a 2024 first-round pick and Mac Jones for the No. 2 pick.
This is the kind of "friend of a friend" rumor that is easy to dismiss from the jump, but it does propose an interesting concept that connects with some more substantial buzz that Bill Belichick did shop Jones this offseason, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
A deal that would have sent Jones to Houston and brought back a high draft pick would have been interesting for both franchises.
The Patriots offense took a step back last season. Jones went from going 10-7 as the starter with a QBR of 50.9 as a rookie to a 6-8 record and a QBR of 36.2.
Sending Jones to Houston would have been a fresh start in a quarterback friendly system with Kyle Shanahan disciple Bobby Slowik at offensive coordinator.
For Belichick, it would have been the chance to start over with a blue-chip quarterback prospect in C.J. Stroud.
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