NFL Trade Speculation: 5 Teams One Trade Away from a Super Bowl Run
It’s never a bad time to start speculating about potential trades in the NFL. Sure, the draft is the main focus at this point, and of course everything regarding the lockout is going to be a definite hindrance on trade talk.
That being said, I am pretty sure that eventually the NFL is going to get back into the swing of things, so fans and the teams themselves should be keeping their eyes on the future.
Speaking of the future, every team starts off with the goal of winning the Super Bowl. It’s never an easy task but any good team knows that there is a variety of moves and chances that they need to take in order to get there.
With that in mind here are five teams that I believe could be one trade away from the Super Bowl:
5. Arizona Cardinals
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The Cardinals situation at quarterback right now is not very funny, and if they can’t address the needs in the draft, or don’t want to, than they are going to have to turn to a trade for a solution.
People forget that the Cardinals were a playoff team just two years ago, but they have no hope of a return if they don’t have a quarterback..
Larry Fitzgerald has to be priority number one in Arizona and if they don’t find somebody who can get him the ball, they might as well say goodbye to him.
If they can get somebody to run the show though, I believe that they still have some good pieces and talented players on the roster. They could really be put in a position to surprise a lot of people and make a run.
Trade For: Kevin Kolb
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Kevin Kolb has shown that he can be a starting quarterback in the NFL and I am pretty sure that the Eagles would part ways with him if they are proposed the right deal.
Kolb has good fundamentals and a great arm. He is also a good field leader, which the Cardinals could use at the moment.
I guarantee you he doesn’t want to play a second fiddle just in case option for the Eagles, so he would welcome the opportunity to be “the guy” for Arizona.
They say that every man has his price. The same can be said for NFL teams.
4. New York Jets
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Rex Ryan has come out and all but guaranteed that the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl, so it makes it imperative that they make the necessary moves to accomplish that goal.
They have been a step away two years in a row now so they obviously need just a little bit to get over the hump.
Offensively they seem to be set and defensively they are one of the best in the league.
They will most likely be losing Kris Jenkins so the defensive line is going to take a hit. They might need to move players around and try to snag somebody to make up for the difference.
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Trade For: Johnny Jolly
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The Green Bay Packers are not normally a team that is going to get involved in a lot of trades, but in this case I think that they would have no problem unloading Jolly.
He has had a bevy of off-field issues, but the fact remains that he is still a very talented player. He has fallen out of favor in Green Bay, but they also have great depth on the defensive line so they don’t necessarily need him.
I’m not sure how long Jason Taylor is going to be the answer for the Jets, so bringing Jolly in could really be a big boost of the edge. It would allow them to potentially address the interior line through the draft.
3. Baltimore Ravens
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The Ravens defense has always been their calling card and I do think that they are only a player away from making a run at the Super Bowl.
The offense seems to be settled for once and they have a plethora of play-makers that can get it done. Defensively the Ravens are still an extremely intimidating team, but there has been a small drop off in the past year or so.
Looking at their defense, I think that they need to find themselves a game-changing player on the defensive line. Their linebackers and defensive backfield are as good as they come, so adding that world class player in the middle would put the defense on a whole different level.
Trade For: Albert Haynesworth
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This may seem unconventional to the point that it wouldn’t work, but I guarantee you that there is a method to the madness.
Haynesworth has done everything that he can to get himself out of Washington, and at this point I’m pretty sure that they would trade him for a box of packing peanuts and a fruit roll-up.
The fact remains that he is still a highly skilled player though, and I think that he still has all the intangibles to be a game-changer.
The knock on this trade would be that Haynesworth doesn’t want to go anywhere that would run the 3-4 defense, but the Ravens defense is so fluid that this is not the case, even though on paper you would classify it as a 3-4.
The Ravens defensive schemes flow between a 3-4 and a 4-3 during any series and in a sense that’s what makes them so good. They have extremely talented players that are constantly moving around, so it’s hard for an offense to really pinpoint where the attack is coming from.
Haynesworth would fit in very well with the group of players and he would bring a game changing talent to the front line.
2. Chicago Bears
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The Bears made it all the way to the NFC Championship last season but fell short to the Green Bay Packers.
You could make a case that the quarterback position was most to blame for the downfall, but when you break it down, it was really the protection that led to Jay Cutler getting knocked out of the game.
Cutler is a good quarterback but he is not effective when he doesn’t have time to sling it around. The Bears are really going to want to focus on protecting him, especially on the blind side.
Trade For: Jared Gaither
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Gaither is in the last year of his contract with the Baltimore Ravens, where they have switched him over to right tackle in favor of Michael Oher at left. They have said that they will listen to potential trade offers for him.
Gaither is an extremely fundamental blocker and would be a huge improvement and asset for the Bears on the left side of the line.
He could be considered to be a Top Five tackle in the NFL and he would be worth at the very least a second and third round pick.
The Bears have the picks to work with though, so it might just become worth it in an attempt to make a run at the Super Bowl.
1. San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers have had some major quarterback concerns as of late. It’s ironic considering that the organization has boasted arguably two of the best to play the position.
As a team they are just a few pieces away from making a run though. When you consider that they are in what looks to be the weakest division in football, the chances of that run increase exponentially.
The defense looks poised to be one of the best in the league, and with a strong defensive draft they could get even better.
Offensively the Niners field a roster that is full of talent, but there has been nobody that has been able to rein all that talent in and make it work.
The 49ers need a quarterback.
Trade For: Donovan McNabb
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The Washington Redskins are looking to part ways with McNabb and this is the perfect time to get a quarterback that still has value for little in return.
I don’t expect that the Redskins will want anything more than a draft pick for McNabb, and the 49ers can easily expend a late round draft pick for the guy.
In my opinion he still has four to five good years of football left in him. In a worst-case scenario you draft him for your immediate need at quarterback and then find a replacement in an upcoming drafts.
At this moment though, he could be a key acquisition that would put San Francisco over the top and into the Super Bowl.
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AKonSports
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