NFL Trade Rumors: Analyzing Buzz on Robert Griffin III, Joe Thomas and More

The NFL trade deadline is generally uneventful, as teams rarely make significant changes in the middle of the regular season. But with a number of marquee stars potentially available ahead of the Nov. 3 cutoff date, at least one or two moves could change the landscape of the league.

Even if the deadline comes and goes without any significant trades, discussing possible moves is always a lot of fun.

You want to play fantasy general manager and put Calvin Johnson on the New England Patriots? Sure, why not? Imagine how good Tom Brady would be this year with Johnson as his top wideout; it almost wouldn't be fair to the rest of the league.

The three players below wouldn't provide quite as big of an impact on new teams, but they would send ripples throughout the NFL all the same in the event they changed addresses in the next two days.

Robert Griffin III

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Robert Griffin III is stuck in an NFL version of purgatory. The Washington Redskins clearly have no intentions of playing him this year, and a confluence of factors is preventing any potential trade suitors from rescuing him before the deadline.

The Washington Post's Liz Clarke and Mark Maske reported Griffin has "minimal" value in the trade market, and they spoke to an anonymous front office executive who is extremely skeptical any deal would be feasible, saying: 

"

You're in the season. He's not a guy that would be ready to jump in and play well for you even if you have a need [at quarterback]. He has been benched. He has had injuries. He has an unfavorable contract going forward. I don't see how anyone looks at him and says trading something significant for him right now would be a good idea.

"

In August, Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman reported a fifth- or sixth-round pick was all Washington received at the time in terms of trade offers for Griffin. And that was before Griffin rotted away on the bench for roughly two months.

The other issue for RG3 is that unless the Redskins cut him in the offseason, it seems unlikely a team would be willing to take on the nearly $16.2 million he is owed in 2016.

Assuming Kirk Cousins stays healthy, Griffin will have gone a year without playing competitive football, and he wasn't very good the last time he suited up for Washington, throwing for 1,694 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions in 2014.

Griffin deserves a fresh start. While the RG3 circa 2012 is gone forever, he is still capable of contributing to a new team.

But with everything at play, you can understand why nobody views a trade for RG3 feasible at the moment.

Joe Thomas

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

The Cleveland Browns are on their way to an eighth straight losing season. They're not going to win this year, and looking ahead to next year, significant changes need to be made in order for a winning record to be within reach.

According to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Browns have thrown around the idea of dealing Joe Thomas this year, which would undoubtedly hurt in the short term but possibly help in the long term:

Thomas would be an attractive trade chip if Cleveland makes him available for the right price. The 30-year-old has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight years in the league, and he's a five-time first-team All-Pro.

B/R's Matt Miller threw out one team that would benefit greatly from the addition of Thomas:

A couple of draft picks—at least one of which being a first-rounder—wouldn't be a bad return for the Browns. In that sense, trading Thomas isn't a crazy idea.

The problem is whether Cleveland's front office could turn additional draft picks into anything of value, especially equal value to a player as good as Thomas.

Although the Browns fleeced the Indianapolis Colts in the Trent Richardson trade, they turned around and used the Colts' pick as a means to draft Johnny Manziel. And Cleveland has whiffed on numerous first-round picks, including Manziel, Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Barkevious Mingo and Phil Taylor.

The perceived level of dysfunction that hovers around the Browns starts at the top. As long as Jimmy Haslam is the owner, you have to wonder whether the Browns can organically build a winning team.

With that in mind, holding on to Thomas is the better decision for the Browns right now. They might as well stick with a proven commodity—who also happens to be one of the best left tackles in the league—rather than gamble on draft picks.

Brian Cushing

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Brian Cushing's trip to the Pro Bowl feels like a lifetime ago. Major injuries in both 2012 and 2013 stunted Cushing's progress on the field, and he has never gotten his career back on track.

As a result, it comes as little surprise that the Houston Texans are looking to trade Cushing, per CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora. Even less surprising, the Texans are struggling to find any takers, with La Canfora citing Cushing's "rapidly declining performance" as a major roadblock.

Things have gotten so bad for Cushing, Rodney Harrison accused him of coasting for a few plays in Houston's Week 7 defeat to the Miami Dolphins, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. Cushing actually agreed with the assertion—to a certain extent.

"I know one play in particular he's talking about," he said on Oct. 29, per McClain. "I could have played a lot harder. I thought [Jarvis Landry] was out of bounds, or I would have run harder to the ball. Knowing what I know now, obviously, I would have gone after the play a lot harder."

The 28-year-old is signed through 2019, and his cap hit ranges from a little over $9 million to $9.7 million between now and then. That wouldn't be a hefty price for the 2009 or 2011 version of Cushing. Like Griffin, though, Cushing is never going to be that player again, even if he's getting paid like it.

Should the Texans want to rid themselves of Cushing, they'll have to eat a lot of dead money to do so.