Brand-New Landing Spots for NFL's Top 2023 Trade Targets
The NFL trading market may be cool right now, but with the preseason about to get underway for most of the league this coming week, that could quickly change. With roster depth soon to be tested and injuries sure to mount, teams could find themselves looking for proven veterans to reinforce their lineups.
Given the free-agency pool is nearly barren of established talent, swinging a trade is the best way to get a meaningful piece for the upcoming campaign. Several players stick out as potential trade targets due to their uncertain contract status, redundancy in their current lineup and other factors.
Read on for a look at those players as well as a potential landing spot for each.
Aaron Donald to Philadelphia Eagles
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Philadelphia Eagles receive: DT Aaron Donald
Los Angeles Rams receive: 2024 first-round pick, 2024 second-round pick
The Los Angeles Rams could be trending toward another lost season. While there are still several key veterans lingering from their 2021 Super Bowl run, the club's salary-cap woes led to several key veterans departing via trades and free agency this offseason. The remaining holdovers now look like ripe trade targets for contenders seeking roster reinforcements for a run of their own.
Aaron Donald is arguably the biggest prize left in Los Angeles' lineup. The future Hall of Famer is entering his age-32 campaign and already mulled retirement after winning a ring. It was one of the few pieces of hardware that had eluded the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but Donald eventually opted to return for 2022 and is now gearing up for his 10th season. He's still one of the league's best defensive talents and could net the Rams a king's ransom of draft capital they desperately need.
The Philadelphia Eagles are one team that may not seem like an obvious landing spot for Donald, but they would benefit more than most from acquiring him. Adding a player of his caliber to a defense that already reached the Super Bowl last year could push this group over the top in 2023.
The move might look a tad redundant on paper due to the presence of players like Fletcher Cox and Jordan Davis, but Donald's presence would make this defensive line near-unstoppable. He'd also be the perfect player to bridge the gap between the aging veterans and the team's next wave of defensive line stars like first-round rookie Jalen Carter and 2021 third-rounder Milton Williams.
The Eagles would likely have to send over at least a first-round pick and possibly more to pry Donald away from the only franchise he's ever played for, but the move would be worth it.
Josh Jacobs to New York Jets
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New York Jets receive: RB Josh Jacobs
Las Vegas Raiders receive: 2024 third-round pick
The New York Jets have made some of the flashiest moves of the offseason—including the biggest splash by far in their trade for Aaron Rodgers—but they may not be finished adding stars just yet. Gang Green could continue building a superteam by trading for one of the best running backs in the league in Josh Jacobs.
Despite being the NFL's reigning rushing champion, Jacobs failed to earn a long-term contract extension from the Las Vegas Raiders. His current employer instead opted to hit the back with a franchise tag, a decision that hasn't sat well with Jacobs. The 25-year-old has yet to sign the offer and is currently holding out of training camp.
With the deadline for a long-term deal having long passed and nothing but a one-year contract left to work toward, it's possible that the situation between Jacobs—who could sit out the entire season if he doesn't want to take the $10.1 million tag on the table—and the Raiders completely breaks down. There's a chance that Vegas opts to rescind the franchise tag entirely, remarkably letting him hit free agency following a year in which he recorded 1,653 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 340 totes.
Rather than let that happen, the Raiders should be willing to get something in return for the star rusher. The Jets—who have the best odds of any rival franchise to land Jacobs in Bookies.com odds—aren't loaded with draft assets, but they do have a third-rounder available in 2024. Offering that to Las Vegas could be enough to get a deal done given the current circumstances.
Jacobs would instantly elevate New York's backfield to one of the league's deepest. The back would augment incumbent starter Breece Hall, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear midway through a breakout rookie campaign. His presence would allow Gang Green to ease Hall back into the lineup and reduce the workload for both star backs. Given the small championship window that is open for the Jets right now, giving up a third-rounder for this type of luxury would be well worth it.
Trey Lance to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers receive: QB Trey Lance
San Francisco 49ers receive: 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick
The San Francisco 49ers have an opportunity to finish clearing their quarterback logjam before the 2023 season gets underway. The team already parted ways with a longtime starter by letting Jimmy Garoppolo walk in free agency and should next work on trading one of the two young passers left on the roster. While the team invested heavily into moving up the board and acquiring Trey Lance at No. 3 overall in 2021, he should be the one San Francisco looks to deal after Brock Purdy proved to be the right man for the job last season.
Lance has been a polarizing prospect since coming into the league. He saw sporadic action as a rookie backup, flashing some promise while also looking raw and unpolished. After entering the 2022 campaign as San Francisco's starter, he fared poorly in the opener before suffering a season-ending ankle injury the following week. While Lance could still turn his career around, the Niners would be wise to build around Purdy after he proved he can be a winner in the NFL.
A rebuilding franchise like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be an ideal place for Lance to rehabilitate his career and try to deliver on his potential. The Bucs have little to lose by bringing in a high-upside young passer like Lance after Tom Brady retired without an heir apparent on the roster this spring.
It may not cost much to get Lance over to Tampa either. Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd discussed the lack of market surrounding Lance right now, pointing out how it's a troubling sign that 49ers head coach and noted offensive guru Kyle Shanahan hasn't been able to unlock the young quarterback's potential.
Having to accept some late-Day 2 and early-Day 3 capital in exchange for Lance may be humbling for the 49ers' brass, but it's the right move to clear the way for Purdy. For the Bucs, it's well worth the small investment. Lance might end up being the quarterback that Tampa needs to return to prominence, and even if he isn't the team could still end up with a lofty draft pick it can use to acquire one of the blue-chip prospects at the top of the 2024 draft.
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Patrick Queen to Detroit Lions
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Detroit Lions receive: LB Patrick Queen
Baltimore Ravens receive: 2024 second-round pick
The Baltimore Ravens have a conundrum on their hands with regards to the linebacker position. The team made a splashy trade for Roquan Smith last season, using second- and fifth-round picks to acquire the star veteran and subsequently giving him a massive five-year, $100 million contract at the end of the campaign. With Smith locked in for the next half-decade, the Ravens may not have the cap space to keep Patrick Queen—their other elite linebacker—around as well.
Queen has been a fixture in Baltimore's lineup since he was taken in the first round of the 2020 draft. He's started all 50 games since then, racking up 321 tackles, 10 sacks, five fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles and three interceptions in that span. The 23-year-old earned an almost identical PFF grade as Smith in 2022, scoring a 70.0 compared to his counterpart's 70.6. Despite this respectable performance, the Ravens elected not to pick up Queen's fifth-year option.
It wasn't a total shock given the money owed to Smith and the selection of Trenton Simpson, an impressive off-ball linebacker prospect out of Clemson, in the third round of this year's draft. Baltimore seems to envision the Smith-Simpson duo starting for 2024 and beyond, leaving Queen as the odd man out after the season. Rather than let Queen walk in exchange for a compensatory pick in free agency—a plan that could go awry if he suffers an injury or another unforeseen circumstance crops up—the Ravens could opt to move the emerging star now for a guaranteed return.
The Detroit Lions would be an ideal squad for Queen to sign his second NFL contract with. The Lions are on the cusp of contending after an extended period of rebuilding but still need some help at the linebacker spot. While the club did use a first-round pick on Jack Campbell, the aging Alex Anzalone is projected to start alongside the rookie this year. Anzalone will turn 30 next season and only earned a 59.2 PFF grade last year.
Pairing Queen and Campbell together would give the Lions a youthful linebacking corps brimming with upside. With Campbell locked into an affordable rookie deal through at least the 2026 season, Detroit should have no problem extending Queen shortly after trading for him. It's a shrewd move that will greatly assist the team in its quest to return to the playoffs this year and beyond.
Jonathan Taylor to New England Patriots
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New England Patriots get: RB Jonathan Taylor
Indianapolis Colts get: 2024 second-round pick
Jonathan Taylor sent shockwaves around the league when his trade request was made public in late July. The Indianapolis Colts star desires a contract extension and to be paid as one of the NFL's top running backs but thus far the franchise appears content letting him play out the final season of his rookie deal. With owner Jim Irsay confirming the club isn't looking to extend Taylor, it may be wise to deal the 24-year-old before losing him for nothing on the open market next year.
One team that should be supremely interested in Taylor's services is the New England Patriots. They desperately need a spark on offense after they regressed significantly on that side of the ball last year. Veteran Damien Harris signed with the rival Buffalo Bills this offseason, leaving the backfield bereft of notable rushers outside of Rhamondre Stevenson. Taylor—who has racked up 3,841 rushing yards and 802 receiving yards while scoring 36 total touchdowns in his short career—would immediately become New England's featured weapon on offense, providing a true threat out of the backfield to help take the heat off Mac Jones as he looks to get back into Pro Bowl form in his third season.
One issue that could hold up any Taylor trade is Indy's asking price. Irsay has been publicly adamant that he doesn't want to trade his star back. ESPN's Stephen Holder reported that the team would want an early-round draft pick for him if it decided to make him available. ESPN's Jeff Darlington found that the market for Taylor is relatively cool given the back's expiring contract. Since it's unlikely the Colts would get as much as the Carolina Panthers received for Christian McCaffrey last year—the San Francisco 49ers sent over second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks—a premium Day 2 selection might do the trick.
Belichick isn't a stranger to sending over a second-rounder for an exciting running back. The Pats once paid that exact price to bring in Corey Dillon—then 29 years old and heading into his eighth NFL season—despite the back's disappointing 2003 showing with the Cincinnati Bengals. Dillon bounced back in Foxborough, making his fourth Pro Bowl overall and first since 2001 while serving as an instrumental part of a Super Bowl-winning offense.
Taylor is also coming off a lackluster campaign that was marred by injury, but there's no question he has the talent to be one of the NFL's top backs for years to come. He's only a season removed from winning the league's rushing crown in his sophomore year and should have plenty left in the tank. The Patriots' investment of a Round 2 pick and a long-term contract extension for Taylor could shore up their ground attack for the foreseeable future.
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