NFL Players Who Should Be on the Trade Block in 2021

Given the NBA-ish vibes the NFL has given off over the past few years, no trade idea should be out of the realm of possibility.

Look at the past few months, which featured one of the league's best offensive tackles (Orlando Brown Jr.) and possibly its best wideout (Julio Jones) getting dealt to new teams. Add in speculation about Aaron Rodgers and plenty of other big names, and it somehow feels like trade season is just getting started.

Wildly enough, there are still plenty of big-name players who should be on the block and traded this summer, if not before the deadline during the regular season. Cap reasons, odd fits with new staffs and/or new players, and simply the end of relationships (like Jones wanting to leave a rebuilder for a contender) are big reasons certain veterans should be on the trade block.

These are the top players who should be on the block in 2021.

Gardner Minshew II, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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It feels like a matter of time before the Jacksonville Jaguars move quarterback Gardner Minshew II.

Minshew, after all, is a younger player with upside at the most important position, but also unnecessary after new head coach Urban Meyer understandably used the top pick in the draft on Trevor Lawrence.

A sixth-round pick in 2019, Minshew showed enough as a rookie over 14 games to get in nine games as a sophomore. Minshew has completed 62.9 percent of his passes with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in two seasons. He's only 25 and he might have plenty of upside if he's surrounded by more talent on a better team.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Minshew would like the idea of starting somewhere else, too. Jacksonville could easily accommodate a trade request, get back a late-round pick to fuel the long-term rebuild and find a reliable veteran who can mentor Lawrence, instead.

Stephon Gilmore, CB, New England Patriots

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Notable New England Patriots veterans tend to pop up on lists like this because Bill Belichick has a reputation for cutting ties before a player's salary doesn't match his play anymore.

Stephon Gilmore could be next. At the trade deadline last year, ESPN's Dianna Russini reported other teams were thinking along the same lines and calling the Patriots about him.

And why not? Gilmore, who turns 31 in September, is the team's top cap charge ($16.2 million) and the team only has $15 million free. In free agency, the team even added corner Jalen Mills to the tune of $24 million over four years.

Granted, Mills isn't the biggest factor here, but it's clear the Patriots are remaking the roster. Gilmore doesn't have many years left of netting the team a big return via trade either. He posted a 61.0 Pro Football Focus grade in 2020 before suffering a season-ending quad injury late in the season.

With this potentially being the last chance the Patriots have at getting good value via trade, Gilmore should be on the block.

Jordan Hicks, Arizona Cardinals

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The Arizona Cardinals have a bit of a self-inflicted wound when it comes to their seemingly inevitable parting with linebacker Jordan Hicks.

Arizona drafted linebacker Zaven Collins in the first round this year, effectively tabbing Hicks' replacement. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport then reported the team gave the veteran permission to seek a trade.

Getting much of anything in return for Hicks won't be easy though. Going into his age-29 season, he only mustered a 50.4 PFF grade last year over 92 percent of his defense's snaps. He does have a cheaper cap hit ($6 million) after taking a pay cut and is effectively a one-year rental, but other teams might be patient with the understanding Hicks will hit free agency eventually.

Which is a long way of saying the Cardinals should take whatever they can get for Hicks after backing into this corner, keeping him on the market for as long as it takes.

Anthony Miller, WR, Chicago Bears

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

It seems the relationship between the Chicago Bears and wideout Anthony Miller has already run its course.

Miller was floated in trade talks around the time of the draft, according to Rapoport, likely signaling that the team has already reached a conclusion on the 2018 second-round pick's upside.

Maybe that's an unfair assessment on Chicago's part given the its consistently poor quarterback situation. But after scoring seven times as a rookie, Miller has scored just four more times over two seasons and has yet to even breach the 700-yard mark.

From Chicago's perspective, it might be better to get something in return for Miller now as opposed to flirting with an eventual contract dispute, never mind he might not fit what they want to do offensively with either Andy Dalton or Justin Fields. And for the receiving team, there's still the allure he can become so much more in a better passing attack.

Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

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The New Orleans Saints recently appeared to throw a bucket of cold water on any Michael Thomas trade speculation by restructuring his contract in a way that saves the team cap space in 2021.

But maybe the Saints should still consider dangling Thomas anyway.

This isn't so much about the Saints escaping a terrible salary cap situation (though it certainly couldn't hurt with the team having just $6 million cap space) as it is reading the room and thinking about the long term.

On paper right now, there's no guarantee Jameis Winston and/or Taysom Hill can even come close to filling Drew Brees' cleats. And if they can't, the team isn't winning a ton of games and will end up drafting a quarterback relatively high, kickstarting a massive rebuild after the end of an era.

Thomas, who just turned 28, has an out built into his contract after 2021 and three years under contract after that. A year ago, nagging injuries limited him to seven games and zero touchdowns, and onlookers such as The Athletic's Larry Holder have already written about how Winston's inaccuracy on slant routes could be a big problem for Thomas.

If nothing else, the Saints should keep Thomas on the block in hope of a monster offer. It's probably not what the majority of Saints fans want to see right after losing Brees, but it might benefit the team most over the long term.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Morry Gash/Associated Press

The Green Bay Packers seem unwilling to part with franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers, which is about as reasonable as it gets.

But Rodgers might just end up forcing their hand anyway. He did, after all, skip mandatory OTAs, leaving 2020 first-rounder Jordan Love to take first-team reps while the team worked out free agent Jake Dolegala.

The why behind Rodgers' dissatisfaction with the Packers isn't too hard to figure out. Love's arrival as a first-round pick in the 2020 draft sparked speculation, as expected. But the veteran responded by completing 70.7 percent of his passes with 4,299 yards and 48 touchdowns, good for an MVP award.

That made things awkward, as has the team-building in general. Wasting a second-round pick on running back A. J. Dillon in 2020, only to pay up to re-sign Aaron Jones while letting a key offensive lineman like Corey Linsley get away, was odd.

It's still easy to envision a scenario where Rodgers eventually returns and plays at an elite level again. But watching Love—an unquestionable downgrade—work with the first team over the summer is sure to cause some anxiety in the Green Bay front office.

If nothing else, the Packers should toss Rodgers on the block. They could do it just to appease him, but also to make sure a godfather-type offer doesn't emerge. It's never ideal to lose a player of his caliber, but watching a Carson Palmer situation unfold (a franchise passer outright refusing to play again) might classify as even worse.