A.J. Brown and 8 NFL Stars Who Could Actually Be Traded

Trades used to be a relative rarity in the NFL, at least compared to leagues such as the NBA and Major League Baseball. But times are changing.

In recent years, trades involving big-name players have become much more commonplace. This year alone, we have seen multiple trades involving notable NFL players, including one for a pair of first-round picks that was rescinded over concerns about a physical.

For better or worse, medical evaluations can change everything in a hurry.

At this year's draft, there will be that much more wheeling and dealing. Most will involve jockeying for position on the board, but there could be trades consummated involving veteran players as well.

Those deals could also extend well into the summer. Last year, the blockbuster trade that sent Micah Parsons to Green Bay from Dallas didn't happen until August 28.

There's no guarantee any of the veteran names here will be traded this year. But if the price is right, there's a reasonable case that moving them could make sense for both the buying and selling teams.

WR A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

AP Photo/Chris Szagola

There hasn't been a player discussed more in trade speculation this offseason than Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown.

Dating back to Brown's social media grousing last year, there has been speculation that he is dissatisfied with his role in Philadelphia and wants a change in scenery.

In what you'll soon notice is a theme with players who could be on the move soon, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie told reporters that the team isn't actively shopping the 28-year-old, who had 78 catches for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025.

"We kept saying A.J.'s an Eagle," Lurie said. "I will just say this: DeVonta (Smith) and A.J., two great receivers and also great teammates. I just want to say that. These two are wonderful to have and great teammates and great receivers. So, he's an Eagle. We'll see what happens down the road."

However, that hasn't stopped the talk, especially with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting the Eagles and Los Angeles Rams were close to a deal for Brown.

Brown is a proven, productive commodity. In seven NFL seasons, he has hit 1,000 yards six times. His price tag would likely be a first-rounder, an additional pick and maybe a player.

However, the three-time Pro Bowler is going to want a new contract—he has no guaranteed money on his current deal after 2026. He would likely want to be dealt to a contender. And if the Eagles deal him before June 1, they will incur a massive $43.5 million dead cap hit.

So if a deal is coming, it probably will not happen until later this summer.

Possible Trade Partners: Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots

Edge Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

The Cleveland Browns restructured the contract of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett recently, and as soon as that happened the rumors started flying.

Garrett wanted to play for a Super Bowl contender, while a rebuilding Browns team was looking to get what it could for a player on the wrong side of his 30th birthday.

Now, the seven-time Pro Bowler has skipped the first set of voluntary workouts, adding fuel to the fire.

New head coach Todd Monken told reporters he would like to have Garrett at the facility, but he also downplayed any reading between the lines where his absence is concerned:

"First of all, as I've said before, this is voluntary for our players to be here. I think if you asked every coach in the NFL, would they like every player to be there? Of course. I think there's certain parts of what we do from a connection standpoint that I think is important to be here, [as well as] from a schematic standpoint. From a work standpoint? Not so much. And it is our job to make it to where the guys want to be here. I mean, not just by the job, but by the development, the camaraderie, being part of a team. And hell, I've been a part of a team since I was five years old—there's nothing like it. I wouldn't miss it, because that's me, that's how I'm wired. But it is voluntary. Myles will be ready. I'm not worried about Myles."

Any trade for Garrett would be a whopper—last year's Micah Parsons deal is probably the starting point in terms of compensation. The Texas A&M product has a no-trade clause, so he would have to sign off on any deal. And a trade before June 1 would blast the Browns for a $40.3 million dead cap hit.

However, it's not hard to imagine teams being interested in a guy who has won DPOY honors in two of the past three years and just broke the single-season sack record.

Potential Trade Partners: San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles

RB De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins

AP Photo/Doug Murray

It has been a fire sale in Miami this offseason.

Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was traded to Denver. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and edge-rusher Bradley Chubb were moved as well, with the latter carrying a record dead-cap hit. And with the Dolphins seemingly tearing the team down to the studs, some have speculated that running back De'Von Achane could also be available.

However, Dolphins general manager Jon Eric-Sullivan told reporters Miami has no intention of dealing the 24-year-old, who had a career-high 1,350 yards on the ground in 2025.

"There is zero effort on my end to move Achane," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he is working on an extension for the 2023 third-rounder, but when voluntary workouts started in Miami, Achane was unsurprisingly absent.

PFT's Mike Florio wrote that while Miami may have received offers for the electrifying young back, none have come close to tempting the team:

"I think when the team says he's not available, what they mean is they're not going to trade him for any of the offers they've received. This is the time of year when offers circulate for many players who ultimately aren't traded. General managers talk constantly, so they've surely seen offers for De'Von Achane, but none have been strong enough. Based on what they've received so far, they're not making a move."

Frankly, the offers that are being projected by some are underwhelming, even with the Texas A&M product about to sign an extension that should average at least $15 million per season.

If a team comes to the Dolphins with a beefier offer, though, Sullivan would likely reconsider his stance on Achane.

Potential Trade Partners: Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos

DT Dexter Lawrence II, New York Giants

AP Photo/Adam Hunger

This may well be the most likely trade in this column to actually happen—at least if New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II gets his way.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the eighth-year veteran and three-time Pro Bowler has requested a trade.

New Giants head coach John Harbaugh wouldn't rule out a trade while talking to reporters, but he said the 28-year-old's request is likely more about a raise or adding guarantees to his contract than a genuine desire to leave New York:

"I think the prospects [of his return] are going to be high because the Giants, speaking for the Giants, we want Dexter here, and I believe Dexter wants to be here, and that's a good formula. But there's business involved. It's a business proposition. We know it's pro football. These things happen every year, pretty much on every team. So not surprised by it. Saw it coming a few weeks back, probably."

A trade wouldn't be especially easy to work out for Lawrence. He has no guarantees left on a contract that pays him $22.5 million a season, so he's going to want a new deal that includes a raise (it's why he asked for a trade to begin with).

There's also the matter of Lawrence's value in a trade. The Giants are going to point to his nine sacks in 2024 and want a Round 1 pick. Trade partners are going to point to his down 2025 numbers and offer significantly less.

Still, the longer Lawrence's impasse with the G-Men continues, the greater the chance New York will legitimately consider moving on.

Potential Trade Partners: Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears

WR Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

AP Photo/John Raoux

AP Photo/John Raoux

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was a force as a rookie, catching 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 scores.

After his numbers dropped significantly in 2025, however, the offseason has featured no shortage of talk that he could be available in a trade, though Jaguars general manager James Gladstone was quick to downplay those rumors:

"I care more for what weight that might put on Brian himself when it's something that's entirely out of his control and unnecessary. So, I think that's where my mind would go, if anything. But when it's fraudulent claims, you just keep your mind on what you can focus on, and you can actually control and try to do what's best for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And ultimately that's not the hardest thing to do when that's the role and where you can try to compartmentalize things."

Trading a wideout who has accomplished what Thomas has and is still on his rookie deal would certainly shake things up in Jacksonville.

However, the 23-year-old did not appear to fit especially well in Liam Coen's offense last season, and the Jags also have Parker Washington, Jakobi Meyers, and Travis Hunter when he isn't saving Metropolis from Lex Luthor.

A Thomas trade is unlikely, in part because Hunter appears headed to a full-time role on defense in 2026. But the Jaguars don't have a first-round pick in 2026 as a result of last year's deal to move up for the Colorado product.

If a wideout-needy team is willing to gamble Thomas can recapture his 2024 form and pony up that first-round pick (plus), the Jaguars would be well-served to at least listen.

Potential Trade Partners: Cleveland Browns, New York Jets

Edge Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

AP Foto/Maria Lysaker

At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek told reporters that the team had no intention of trading star edge-rusher Maxx Crosby:

"Maxx and I have a great relationship. He's in the building every day getting healthy right now. We talk on the phone, we text. So, I have a great relationship with Maxx. Maxx is an elite player, and I've been very upfront from the start when I got here that we're in the business of having really good players on the team and we need a lot more of them. It's hard to build a great team without elite players."

There's just one small problem—Spytek then traded Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens for a pair of first-round picks before the move fell apart due to a failed physical.

Crosby said on his podcast that there are no hard feelings toward the team for the aborted move.

"I wasn't supposed to be in Baltimore, and that's it," he said. "I'm meant to be a Raider. It's through my damn core."

The status of Crosby's surgically repaired knee clouds things here, although this analyst contends that Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta simply got cold feet when he realized the Ravens could get Trey Hendrickson for over $10 million less a season and keep their picks.

Given those clouds, the Raiders might not be able to get those multiple first-rounders from another team. But even a lesser offer (say a Round 1 pick and Round 2 pick) could be worth considering for a Raiders team in the opening stages of a full-on rebuild—especially if that first-rounder comes relatively early.

Potential Trade Partners: Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders

QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Labeling Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy a 'star' may be premature, but the 2024 No. 10 overall pick is a starting quarterback—or at least he was.

Despite the fact that the Vikings signed Kyler Murray in the offseason, Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell insisted that the team hasn't given up on the Michigan product:

"McCarthy is a guy that wants to be great. I know he's going to work tirelessly to do that. I know his teammates have a lot of confidence in what he's going to go to work to improve on this offseason and come back and have a great offseason and be ready to hit the ground running in 2026. But I think a deep and talented quarterback room will only enhance his ability to do that, and I look forward to being a part of that process."

This is a trade that likely would not materialize until later in the summer, once the Vikings have a fuller evaluation of their quarterback room and acknowledge that, despite his flaws, Murray is currently the more proven NFL option than McCarthy.

The point is coming where Minnesota will have two choices: hand McCarthy a clipboard or trade the third-year pro while he still has some value.

Will McCarthy ever be a viable NFL starter? That remains unclear. With at least two years left on his rookie deal, a quarterback-needy team might still consider offering a second-round pick to the Vikings for the 23-year-old, even if that level of investment would be risky and could backfire—as many aggressive QB swings have for struggling franchises.

Potential Trade Partners: Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets

Edge T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers

AP Photo/Terrance Williams

For many Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the notion of trading edge-rusher T.J. Watt is ludicrous.

The Wisconsin product has been to eight Pro Bowls in nine seasons, was named the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, and his 115 career sacks are the most in Steelers history.

However, Watt is also a highly paid 31-year-old coming off an injury-marred season where he posted just seven sacks—tied for the second-fewest of his career.

Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette told 93.7 The Fan that the team should at least try to gauge what it could get for the player (h/t Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot):

"I do think Omar (Khan) will at least throw some feelers out there and see if anyone is interested in T.J., but it's a big ticket. That contract is structured in such a way that it's 42 million each and every year. I can count on one hand the number of teams who are probably willing to do that. And then even if they are, you have to come to terms with what you would want in return for T.J. Would you take a discount and say, OK, I'll just take a second-round pick. Would you do that if you're the Steelers?"

To be clear, moving Watt for anything less than a first-round pick—even with his sizable contract—would be selling low. It is also fair to question whether the current version of the Steelers, even with Aaron Rodgers, profiles as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Add in that the Steelers have an in-house replacement already on the roster in Nick Herbig, and maybe dealing Watt isn't so ludicrous after all.

Potential Trade Partners: Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles