Predicting Next Wave of NFL Stars to Request a Trade

There can be no worse feeling for an NFL general manager than when a star player walks into their office and demands a trade, whether it's due to financial reasons or because they are tired of losing.

Sometimes, those demands can be mollified—usually by financial means. Edge-rusher Myles Garrett wanted out of Cleveland last year right up until he got $40 million a season from the Browns.

But after setting the single-season sack record in a five win mess of a season, he is now in Los Angeles with the Rams—and given he had a full no-trade clause, he was obviously fine with that.

There aren't many star players banging the drum to be dealt right now, but training camp hasn't even started yet. As we move into the season, that will change.

And when players make waves about getting new digs, it's going to be big news.

Edge Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders

AP Photo/Maria Lysaker

We might as well start with the guy who was already traded this offseason—well, almost.

The megadeal that would have sent Las Vegas edge-rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens was nixed by a failed physical, prompting questions about how such a blockbuster deal fell apart so late in the process.

Crosby insisted to reporters there were no hard feelings toward the Raiders about nearly being sent packing:

"It's water under the bridge. It's a long time ago. A lot of things I learned about what's going on and what this league can bring. A lot of adversity, a lot of different things you can't really anticipate. But I've been through a lot in my life. It's nothing to me. I'm here and I want to be here and I'm excited to be here. I've got a lot of work to do. Everyone knows my love and appreciation for this organization. That never will change. (The trade is) part of the business. There are lot of other things that don't need to be discussed, but ultimately I'm exactly where I want to be."

Of course, just because Crosby said there are no hard feelings doesn't mean there aren't any. He will turn 29 in August and knows the Raiders are at least a year or two away from contending.

There are multiple contenders who could use the services of an elite edge-rusher who just logged 10 sacks and 28 tackles for loss in an injury-shortened 2025 campaign. And Crosby is easily the most valuable trade chip Las Vegas has.

Crosby may not be publicly demanding a trade yet, but he wouldn't be annoyed if he wound up in, say, San Francisco. And that demand may yet come, especially if the Raiders struggle in 2026.

WR George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys

AP Photo/Jerome Miron

The George Pickens situation in Dallas is another that appears quiet at first glance.

After shattering career highs across the board with the Dallas Cowboys last year, he received the franchise tag from the team.

Dallas quickly shut down extension talks as well, sending a clear message to the fifth-year pro—if last year was a "prove it" season, 2026 is a "prove it again" campaign.

While addressing the media, Pickens said all is well in Dallas and he doesn't mind being the only player in the NFL this year playing under the tag.

"What's important to me is winning," he said. "Like I said from the beginning, I always wanna bring a Super Bowl to a group of guys that never had that feeling. That's really the most important part to me."

However, this is a situation that could deteriorate quickly, given how volatile Pickens' previous team relationships have been.

We've already seen Pickens' tenure with one team end unhappily. What happens if the Cowboys are slow out of the gate in 2026, or if his target share doesn't translate into the kind of production that positions him for a massive payday in 2027?

And if Dallas elects to tag him again next year, that would mean another season in which his compensation lags behind other top wideouts. Under that kind of pressure, it's easy to imagine him reconsidering how long he wants to stay in Dallas.

There's no way you can do a piece like this without including Pickens, given how quickly his situations can become focal points inside a locker room.

S Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Veteran safety Budda Baker has been the foundation of the Arizona Cardinals defense for years. He was just named to the NFL's Top 100 Players list for the seventh consecutive season.

However, the 30-year-old appears increasingly frustrated with the situation in Arizona.

As Dan Bickley reported for Arizona Sports, Baker took to social media recently to express his displeasure over the contract impasse between the team and quarterback Jacoby Brissett—and he's not the only player to publicly suggest the Cardinals are lowballing players, echoing the broader criticism Bickley outlined:

"Recently, (Trey) McBride told a national podcast that he, too, felt lowballed by the team during recent contract negotiations. That's depressing. And by digging in against Brissett over a number that Baker called 'below the bare minimum,' the Cardinals are reinforcing dangerous stereotypes and long-held complaints against the organization. They have been battered by national observers and analysts in recent months, and they are giving more fuel to the belief that nothing really changes in Arizona. Except for the losing."

That losing has to be wearing on Baker as well. He has been playing in the desert since 2017 and has appeared in exactly one postseason game—a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Given the current state of the Cardinals' roster, it's hard to see him getting back to the playoffs anytime soon, as Arizona could plausibly be in the mix for one of the league's worst records in 2026.

Baker isn't set to hit free agency until his age-32 season. The reality is that if he wants to win, it's going to have to be somewhere else.

WR Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

AP Photo/Jason Behnken

Speaking of losing, how about those New York Jets?

Garrett Wilson is entering his fifth season with the team and second after signing a four-year, $130 million contract extension. Over that four-year span, the Jets have posted a 22-46 record and finished no higher than third in the AFC East.

Amid last year's 3-14 faceplant, New York had something of a veteran fire sale, dealing defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner.

At the time, Wilson acknowledged that watching the Jets tear down the roster was a tough pill to swallow:

"My emotions, like that side of it, I hate it, I hate it, you know what I'm saying? I play football. I play with my brothers. I get to know my brothers. I hate it, but I'm paid to play football. No one cares if I hate it. Go catch the ball. You know what I'm saying? That's how I see it. I truly believe you train every day because you're as replaceable as hell. That's the way I see it."

Now, to be fair, Wilson has said all the right things about rebounding from an injury-marred 2025 season, telling reporters: "I've got a different standard that I just want to get back to, and that's the mission." New York has also shown no interest in dealing its best offensive player.

However, the Jets are likely to struggle again this year, and it would not be a huge surprise if Wilson decides he is not interested in waiting to see whether they can finally identify a long-term answer at quarterback in 2027, given the franchise's uneven history at the position.

CB Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

From the moment the Cleveland Browns traded star edge-rusher Myles Garrett, there were rumblings that the veteran purge would continue—and Denzel Ward's name came up a lot.

For his part, Ward told reporters after Garrett was traded that he had no desire to be dealt—but he also said that if it were to happen, so be it:

"I could get traded, but I don't look too much into that stuff. It's the nature of the game. Say I do get traded, for me, wherever I'm at that's where I'm supposed to be. So, if I'm here, I'm supposed to be here. If I go to a different team, that's where I'm supposed to be. But I love playing for the Cleveland Browns. I want to be here. I'm grateful wherever I'm at, whatever opportunity I get to go play football, that's what I do."

Ward's feelings about getting dealt could change, though, because extended losing tends to wear on a player. The Browns appear headed for a difficult 2026, and a prolonged rebuild into 2027 would test the patience of any veteran who's used to winning.

Ward is an elite player at a premium position who was recently named the league's seventh-best cornerback in a poll of NFL executives at ESPN. But at 29, his prime seasons are limited. If the Browns take several years to get back into true contention, there's a real chance he will be nearing the latter stages of his prime by the time they are ready to make a serious run.

As the Browns move through another difficult season, Ward may well decide Garrett was on the right track in believing that a better future lay with a team that wins more consistently.

RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

AP Photo/Ben VanHouten

The 2025 season was a dream that turned into a nightmare for the Indianapolis Colts. After starting the season 8-2, they lost their starting quarterback to a torn Achilles and didn't win another game the rest of the year.

That didn't stop running back Jonathan Taylor from having an excellent season, though. He led the league with 323 carries and 18 rushing touchdowns and ranked third in the NFL with 1,585 yards.

Taylor is entering the final year of his contract, and Garrett Podell of CBS Sports noted that if Indy starts slow, he could be looking to start his next contract with a different team:

"A running back's prime is finite, and Taylor remains at the top of his game after producing the third-most rushing yards (1,585) and the most rushing touchdowns (18) in the NFL in 2025. If Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (Achilles) and wide receiver Alec Pierce (ankle) can't get healthy in a hurry, the 27-year-old three-time Pro Bowl back may start looking around for a new home."

Taylor has more than 1,500 career carries on his body, and he'll turn 28 next January—an age at which many running backs begin to decline.

Those 1,500-plus carries have taken him to the playoffs only once, and he could decide that if he's going to absorb that kind of punishment, it should at least be for a team with a realistic chance to contend.