NFL Trade Rumors: 5 Players Who Could Be Looking for a New Team

With only one more week of preseason football, the new NFL season is finally getting ready to begin on September 11th.

All the players, owners, as well as the fans, are ready for the return of play after the lockout almost ended the season entirely.

However, for some teams, there are players that have no plans of returning anytime soon to the field until they get what they want, whether it be a trade, contract extension, or to even be cut.

As much as they would love to return to the game that they love, it won't happen until the player as well as the front office can find some common ground, which is much harder than it looks.

Some of the players, like Chris Johnson, want more money because they believe they excelled above and beyond their salary in the previous season.

Other players like Carson Palmer just do not want to play for their team anymore.

Whatever the issue is, do not plan on seeing these five players on the field come Week 1.

1) Carson Palmer

At the end of last season as the Cincinnati Bengals had yet another unimpressive season, it was plain and simple for quarterback Carson Palmer: either trade me or I'll retire.

Palmer stated that he had no plans of ever stepping into Paul Brown Stadium again—well at least ever again in a Bengals uniform.

A lot of people thought the 31-year-old quarterback was bluffing, including Bengals owner Mike Brown.

However, Palmer had no plans of returning to Cincinnati, as he informed everyone that he had saved plenty of money throughout his career, $80 million to be exact, to be able to afford to call it quits.

When a player like Palmer is disgruntled with his team, he usually asks for a trade and it is granted. The two part ways, agreeing that it did not work out and wishing each other the best.

This was not the case with Palmer and Brown, as Brown refused to trade the QB because he did not want to reward Palmer for violating his contract, which still has four years left on it.

"Carson signed a contract. He made a commitment. He gave his word," Brown said to ESPN.com. "We relied on his word. We relied on his commitment. We expected him to perform here. He's going to walk away from his commitment. We aren't going to reward him for doing it."

At a time when a lot of NFL teams could use a quarterback of Palmer's caliber, Brown has told every possible trade partner that there was no deal.

Brown believes that Palmer will stick to his word and will not return to the NFL, at least for this season, which is why the team selected TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in the draft to lead the team under center.

Even though Brown and Bengals could get some much needed help in trading Palmer, it seems very unlikely either side will budge.

2) Chris Johnson

The player looking for the biggest pay raise this offseason has to be Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson.

After Johnson was drafted in 2008 out of East Carolina, CJ2K signed a five-year deal with the Titans worth $12 million dollars, with $7 million guaranteed.

Since being drafted, Johnson has been the leading rusher in the NFL with 4,598 yards, which includes his 2009 season, when he became one of only six rushers to ever gain over 2,000 yards in a season.

Johnson is due to make $1.065 million this season but is currently holding out, saying that he deserves more money, which he clearly does when looking at his stats.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, the second leading rusher since 2008, signed a five-year deal worth $40.5 million when he was drafted, just to put it in perspective.

The Titans are willing to make Johnson the highest paid running back in the league, offering to pay him $10 million per year, but Johnson wants more, somewhere around $13.5 million annually with $35 million guaranteed.

Johnson and the Titans' front office have been meeting over the offseason but have not made much progress, possibly meaning Johnson may not be in uniform when the Titans take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Even though Johnson has stated that the two sides are not seeing eye-to-eye, according to NFL.com, the Titans have stated that they have no plans of trading Johnson, and if he requested it, the request would be denied.

I am not saying that Johnson won't be in a Titans uniform this season or the next, but if he and the Titans front office can't come to a compromise, his days in Tennessee could be numbered.

3) Lance Briggs

In 2007, the Chicago Bears decided to use the franchise tag on linebacker Lance Briggs.

Briggs was upset that he was not in the Bears' future plans and stated that he had played his last down as a Chicago Bear.

However, in 2008, he signed a six-year extension for $36 million dollars. Briggs has played well since signing the extension, averaging over 100 tackles a year in the three seasons.

Briggs has played well enough that this offseason he has asked the Bears front office to restructure his contract so that he could get more money, even though he still has three years remaining on his contract.

Briggs want the Bears to do for him like they did for Brian Urlacher in 2008, when he received a one-year, $18 million extension.

The reasoning for Briggs asking for the contract was because he was seeing younger, less-proven linebackers, like AJ Hawk, David Harris, and Lawrence Timmons, receive much more expensive deals than the one he had signed in 2008.

Even though the Bears are not focusing on Briggs contract this season, the Arizona Wildcat alum let it be known that his contract situation will not be an distraction this season.

However, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, if Briggs does not get want, he will demand a trade after the upcoming season..

Briggs will turn 31 in November, which is usually around the time when a player's best days are behind them.

Unfortunately for him, the Bears most likely will not give Briggs the money he wants because the team is already paying an aging veteran in Brian Urlacher because of his skill and his role as the face of the Bears' franchise.

If Briggs demands a trade, there are not a lot of teams out there that would pay an aging veteran the kind of money he is looking for.

Last time, Briggs said he would never play for the Bears again, he signed a six-year deal, so I put my money on Briggs sticking with his contract and playing nice.

4) Tim Tebow

Oh how the tides have turned for Tim Tebow since he was drafted 25th overall by the Denver Broncos in 2010.

Then-coach Josh McDaniels wanted Tebow so badly that he gave up three draft picks just to move up in the draft to select him, but the team was already set at quarterback.

When Tebow was selected, the Broncos already had two capable quarterbacks under contract in Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn.

However, McDaniels insisted and whether or not he prospered as an NFL head coach would now rest on the shoulders of the former Florida Gator.

Tebow became one of the most popular players in the league before even taking a snap and his jerseys were flying off the shelf even though he was still the backup.

He got his chance late last season, starting the final three games for the Broncos and throwing for 651 yards and four touchdowns.

Tebow also rushed rushed for 198 yards and averaged a touchdown a game in his three starts.

It was now Tebow's time in Denver, and he would most likely be the starter for the Broncos come next season.

Then, Tebow's protector in McDaniels was fired by the Broncos and former Carolina Panthers coach Jon Fox was hired on.

It was still believed that Tebow would be the starter as the Broncos placed Orton on the trading block and almost sent him to Miami, but the Dolphins were asking for too much in return and the deal fell through.

Now, Orton is the starter, and Tebow has struggled in training camp, so much that he has dropped not only behind Quinn, but behind rookie free agent Adam Weber as well.

Tebow's days in Denver may be over as fast as they started, as the Broncos have considered trading the 24-year-old, but there has not been much interest.

Unfortunately for Tebow, the next option for the Broncos would be to cut him, and he would most likely have to change positions if he wanted to get signed by another team.

5) Osi Umenyiora

The drama between Osi Umenyiora and the New York Giants has been going on for quite some time, and it may be time for the two to part ways.

During the offseason, Umenyiora wanted a pay raise for the final two years of his contract that was worth $7.1 million in base salary or to be traded to a team that would pay him.

The Giants allowed the 29-year-old to test the trade market through his agent but later pulled the opportunity off the table because no team was willing to give a first round pick for Umenyiora, who was seen as an injury risk.

Even though Umenyiora did not get a pay raise or traded, he returned to Giants practice after being cleared by doctors.

However, shortly after returning, Umenyiora let the Giants know that he was going to have arthroscopic knee surgery with only a couple weeks left before the start of the season.

Could the timing of his knee surgery have anything to do with the contract negotiations not going his way?

No one will know, but what the team does know is that now one of their star players will miss the first couple weeks of the season maybe even more.

The negative contract negotiations combined with the sudden knee surgery may be what pushes the Giants over the edge to where they trade the disgruntled defensive end.

As shown by the decision to get knee surgery, it seems Osi Umenyiora is doing what is best for him, as are the Giants in not agreeing to restructure his contract.

Sooner or later, the Giants may lower their offer and sent Umenyiora packing.