NFL Trade Rumors: Every NFL Team's Best Bargaining Chip

Could the Dallas Cowboys put Tony Romo and the entire city of Dallas out of their misery by trading quarterback Tony Romo to give him a fresh start somewhere else?  Will the Seattle Seahawks finally complete the long-rumored trade of Aaron Curry? There is roughly two weeks left for NFL teams to complete a trade before the league reaches the trade deadline of Oct. 18.

Two weeks can sometimes feel like it takes forever when you are having a losing season, but for teams that are humming like the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, it can go by way too fast.

There are specific trade scenarios that we will address that make tremendous sense to either alleviate a crowded scenario at a specific position on the roster, or in some cases, we will make a recommendation that a trade is actually useful for the betterment of a team from the view of addition by subtraction.

Whatever the case, we will discuss who is the best trade chips for each team, and if there are no chips that are obvious, we will try to make a case for what each team should try to pull off by the trade deadline.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals let veteran wide receiver Steve Breaston walk away to sign a free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs due to the emergence of Andre Roberts.

The Chiefs liked the upside of Roberts, as he offered a potential strong target opposite of Larry Fitzgerald. Then, when the Cardinals were able to execute the trade to acquire Kevin Kolb, it seemed certain that Roberts' value and statistics would take off in his second year in the league.

Well, after four weeks in the books of the 2011 season, Roberts has caught just nine passes so far on the season. He wasn't even thrown to one time in the game against the New York Giants.

There might be some teams out there that have been hard hit by injuries to their receivers that might see the potential value of Roberts and are willing to give up something of value to acquire him.

Atlanta Falcons

After four weeks, the Atlanta Falcons are just one loss away from reaching their entire season total from the 2010 season, when they went 13-3 to post the best regular season record in the NFC last year.

2011 is a different story, though. The Falcons are 2-2 coming into their Week 5 contest against the Green Bay Packers, so there is a very strong chance that the Falcons could be looking at 2-3 after this game.

If the Falcons drop the game to Green Bay, and the defense collapses and Cam Newton can lead his Carolina Panthers team to upset the Falcons in Week 6 to send them to a 2-4 record, then I would recommend their best trading chip would be to trade away tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Gonzalez just came off of a seven-catch game this past week, so he is still a top performer and has maintained his value.

Gonzalez doesn't have that much time left, so the Falcons should seriously look at trading him to a contender that has a realistic shot at the Super Bowl. Gonzalez came to the Falcons wanting to have a chance to win a ring, and if they start out 2-4, they probably won't be in the mix. A team that is in the playoff hunt could easily implement Gonzalez in to their red zone offense, where he is always a threat to score.

Remember, Falcons fans, the article is looking to identify the best current trading chip, so if it isn't Gonzalez, then who else would it be?

Baltimore Ravens

Domonique Foxworth might have made sense to insert here as the Baltimore Ravens best trade chip, but when the team placed him on IR, that plan quickly went out the window.

So, who then is the Ravens' best trade chip? Lee Evans has been inactive due to the ankle sprain and is counted on to come back to his starting job after the bye week.

Without any other real obvious choices, I nominate linebacker Sergio Kindle. It seems that Kindle just hasn't been able to get off to a reasonable start to his NFL career in Baltimore. From his fractured skull that limited his rookie season, to being inactive for the first three games of the 2011 season, there might be some teams that need help at linebacker that also had Kindle ranked high on their draft boards.

Kindle was a second-round draft pick in 2010, so the Ravens might realize something of value if they made him available for trade.

Buffalo Bills

After 20 games into his NFL career, C.J. Spiller has one rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown and one kick return touchdown. It is safe to say that the Buffalo Bills were expecting to see much more production from their 2010 first-round draft pick.

In 2011, Spiller is showing signs of improvement. During the first four games, Spiller has 13 rushes for 94 yards, good for a whopping 7.2 yards per carry. The Bills abandoned the running game in the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday, and as a result, Spiller only saw four touches for the entire game.

If the Bills aren't willing to give Spiller 10-12 touches a game, they might be better off trading Spiller to a team that sees the explosive potential in him and is willing to part with something of value to acquire him. Right now, Spiller is firmly stuck behind Fred Jackson in the Bills backfield and seem to be content to use Spiller as more of a decoy than as an actual weapon.

Carolina Panthers

With every passing week, rookie sensation quarterback Cam Newton is proving that he is the real deal. Passing for 400 plus yards seems to be a piece of cake for Newton, so is there some element of the Panthers team that is now expendable as a result?

Coming in to the season, it was believed that the Panthers could take some pressure off of Newton's rookie year by handing the ball off to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. But the running game has taken a back seat to Newton and his favorite receiver, Steve Smith.

With the Panthers' suddenly viable passing attack, the need to keep two running backs like Williams and Stewart becomes less of a priority. The Panthers turn to Newton to be their goal line back, as he is more than capable of scoring inside the red zone by keeping the ball and using his athleticism to score.

So based on the above, I would choose Williams as the best trade chip for the Panthers. They might have to agree to rework his contract in order to trade him, but he is the player that would probably bring back the most value.

Chicago Bears

Lance Briggs is not a happy camper in Chicago. Just 30 years old, Briggs still has plenty of football left in him, but he wants to be paid like the top-tier performer that he is, and he demands a new contract. He has already put in a formal trade request to the Bears organization.

The Chicago Bears are in a tough spot because at 2-2, they are looking up at two undefeated teams in the NFC North in the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. Each week, quarterback Jay Cutler is taking his life into his own hands when he steps behind the woeful Bears' offensive line.

The Bears should seriously consider shopping Briggs around to the rest of the league and see what kind of offensive linemen (of strong value) they could acquire in return. I am sure that if they were able to pull off a trade, it would make Jay Cutler very happy.

Cincinnati Bengals

Maybe Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown is able to change his thought process about his stance towards Carson Palmer. Brown has been stuck in the past, always going back to the "Carson Palmer has to stick to his word", about living up to the terms of the contract that he signed years ago. I refer to the Jethro Tull song "Living in the Past" as a great way to describe Brown's mindset.

After watching rookie quarterback Andy Dalton out-duel Ryan Fitzpatrick last Sunday, maybe it is possible that Brown realizes that the Bengals are now set at quarterback, and they can actually trade Palmer to get some good value back in return. That would require some forward-thinking on Brown's part, and we are not convinced that the old codger is capable of that.

The Bengals are displaying great passion on defense and are clearly headed in the right direction. They could use a few more pieces, but letting Palmer sit out the season doesn't seem to be doing anybody any good.

Cleveland Browns

Is Cleveland Browns tight end Evan Moore officially in the Browns' "dawg house?" Does Colt McCoy not like to throw to him? What is going on with Moore and the Browns game plans this year?

Those are some of the questions that will be explored during the Browns' upcoming bye week in Week 5. With the trade deadline just two weeks away, this might be the ideal time for the Browns to shop Moore around the league, because there is a very good chance that other teams in the league would be prepared to use him more than the Browns are.

In the past three games, Moore has caught one pass, two passes and then one pass again. He is getting more and more frustrated with each passing game over the lack of production that is coming his way. Moore is young (just 26 years old), so it is not like he is the downward side of his career. The Browns just don't throw to him very much.

We are confident that there are teams out there that would be willing to trade the Browns a draft pick or something of value to acquire him.

Dallas Cowboys

Is there any more controversial figure in Dallas sports right now than quarterback Tony Romo? From hero to goat, and then back to hero, and then back to goat, Romo has seen more ups and downs lately than the New York Stock Exchange.

From bickering with his center over snapping the ball based on the defense calling out cadences, to throwing away huge leads at a home game, Romo seems to be as disruptive a force as he is essential to the Cowboys immediate success.

The Dallas crowd will be all over him for every interception from here on out, so if it appears that Romo is in a "can't win situation," then that is where I am headed with this slide. He will have to be perfect from here on out, and for anyone that has followed Romo's career, one thing he is not is perfect.

Therefore, in the best interest of the Cowboys organization, it seems like the best path is to make some calls around the league and see what the team can acquire by trading Romo away. Let him have a fresh start somewhere else. Let Jon Kitna finish out the year and get high draft pick that can be a building block for the future, because what the Cowboys have in place right now isn't working.

Denver Broncos

I had read early in the season that Tim Tebow was the highest selling jersey in the NFL. Now that we are four weeks into the new season and Tebow continues to excel at holding a clipboard on the sidelines, I wonder if he is still selling the most jerseys.

Wherever he is ranked, one thing is clear. He needs to be traded away from the Denver Broncos. With rookie quarterbacks like Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and Blaine Gabbert getting the opportunity to start on Sundays, Tebow is simply wasting away in Denver.

They might as well trade him away to a team that would offer some value in return for him. The Broncos are 1-3 and tied for the basement of the AFC West. They aren't going to be a playoff team this year, so why not get a high draft pick or a player of value in return for Tebow? He surely isn't doing the team much good watching every game in his baseball cap.

Of course, there is the flip-side to this equation. The Broncos could determine that Kyle Orton is expendable, trade him and then turn over the offense to Tebow to see what he can do. One thing is certain, and that is the Broncos have too many quarterbacks. They need to study the Andy Reid playbook of how to trade quarterbacks off and getting the most value for them in return.

Detroit Lions

After putting together an impressive eight-game regular season winning streak, the Detroit Lions are riding as high as any team in the NFL right now. The Lions are the source of celebration in the city of Detroit, so trying to nominate any Lions player to be traded away from this team seems like a cruel thing to do. But, we have a mission to complete, so on we go. 

After catching six passes last Sunday, it is clear that the Lions' go-to tight end is Brandon Pettigrew. That means that Tony Scheffler is now expendable. Scheffler was just thrown to once in the Week 4 game and has only caught three passes for the entire season.

With so little production coming his way, the Lions could trade Scheffler to a team in need of a serviceable tight end and get some value back for him.

Green Bay Packers

The longer you watch James Starks carry the ball, the easier it is to project him as the Green Bay Packers' starting running back. Starks has continued to impress in his sophomore campaign, as he came up with over 100 net yards in the Week 4 victory over the Denver Broncos.

For the season, Starks is averaging 4.66 yards per carry, which is clearly more than an acceptable average for a starting running back in the NFL.

Ryan Grant still has value and has playoff experience, which many teams would value. He is not that old at just 28 years old, so he still has years left in his body to play.

As complete a team as the Packers are right now, the only other thought I had was that the Packers could trade Johnny Jolly, Jr. to the CFL.

Ship him out of the country for three boxes of "Say No to Drugs" pamphlets to distribute to local Green Bay schools. Jolly just keeps getting in hot water with his drug problems, and the team just might want to sever ties with him so that he is no longer a distraction or potential bad influence. That would be a trade that would fall under the category of addition by subtraction.

Houston Texans

We have to wonder how hard the Houston Texans tried to shop Steve Slaton around to the rest of the NFL. No sooner did the Texans release Slaton, when the Miami Dolphins swooped in and picked Slaton up. He was the perfect player to use as the best trade chip on the Texans roster.

But since the Texans decided it was more prudent to release him, then we have to do some digging to come up with their best trade chip.

It took awhile for Arian Foster to get healthy, but his hamstring problems appear to be behind him for now. If that is true, then the player that would appear to have the most trade value would be Ben Tate. Now, I realize that the Texans want to have some added depth behind Foster, just to make sure that he doesn't break down again, and Tate is great insurance for them to have. But then again, is there a better trade chip right now on the Texans outside of Tate?

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts couldn't have possibly imagined that they would have started out the 2011 season at 0-4, but that is the reality of their current plight. With a number of injuries in the Monday Night Football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they are seeing both the offensive and defensive lines being depleted, and the lack of depth on both have to be a concern going forward.

The 2011 season already appears to be a lost cause, and even though the Colts have been more competitive in the last two games, things could start getting even uglier based on the impact this round of injuries will take on the team.

Regarding trading chips, what is there to trade? Bob Sanders is gone. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis still have some value, as does wide receiver Reggie Wayne or tight end Dallas Clark. But if you trade away one of the core players, who do you replace that guy with? For lack of any obvious choice, I will select Dwight Freeney, but this is quickly turning into one messy situation.

Jacksonville Jaguars

I find it hard to believe that the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't at least try to bring in a draft pick or something for starting quarterback David Garrard, but giving his outright release wound up being there preferred way of parting ways with their quarterback.

The Jaguars have gone from Garrard to Luke McCown to Blaine Gabbert in about one month, so the revolving door at quarterback appears to now be over. But as for the rest of the team, who fits the bill as their best trade chip?

The Jaguars have been without the services of Aaron Kampman for the last 12 games due to his ACL tear, but he appears to be on the verge of returning to the lineup. Without any other obvious choices, why don't the Jaguars put Kampman out there in Week 5 and then take the remaining week of the trade window to see if his perceived value is greater than his actual value?

Kansas City Chiefs

Well, the Kansas City Chiefs finally tallied one under the win column in 2011, but it was against another hapless team, the Minnesota Vikings. Thankfully, the Vikings were on the Chiefs schedule this year, because wins this year might be few and far between.

The Chiefs of course have been decimated by injuries to most of their key players. As such, they have very limited trade chips to cash in, unless some team is interested in acquiring a hurt player. It doesn't help team morale when you see head coach Todd Haley and quarterback Matt Cassel openly yelling at each other on the sidelines, but that is the way this season has been going for the Chiefs.

For lack of any other true trading chips, maybe the best course is to see what Thomas Jones could bring back to the Chiefs in the way of a draft pick or a player that fills a position of need. You expect to have Jamaal Charles back in 2012, and Dexter McCluster is showing some promise, so why not let Jones finish out the year (or his career) that will give him a chance to play for a Super Bowl ring?

Miami Dolphins

There are only four teams in the 2011 season that have yet to win a game, and it's safe to say that all four of those teams are really a mess. The Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts all have different stories and reasons, but all four can basically kiss the 2011 season good-bye.

For the Dolphins, they have been in turmoil ever since the 2010 season ended with the way they have handled head coach Tony Sparano. Now Chad Henne is hurt, and so it goes. What trade chips do the Dolphins actually have that they could even think of cashing in right now?

The Dolphins need draft picks to tear down their mess and start over to rebuild a better product on the field. Brandon Marshall's attitude might improve drastically if he was playing for a winning team. He is enough of a distraction and a big hit on the salary cap that it would make sense to see what the Dolphins could get back by shopping him around the league.

Maybe it would work out for the best if Marshall went to a new city and his wife stayed in Miami.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are another one of those disaster teams of 2011. They open up a lead in the first half, but, despite having a very veteran-laden team, find a way to blow their second-half leads. This has to be very troubling for new head coach Leslie Frazier. Faced with a very tough division, the Vikings season is realistically already over with regards to the playoffs.

So, what direction should the Vikings go in? Do they opt to rebuild and start over? You have Christian Ponder and Adrian Peterson to build the team around. They need draft picks and they need to get younger.

For the best trade chips, I am thinking about either Kevin Williams (31) or Jared Allen (29), as trading one of the defensive line stars would bring back pretty decent value. Williams is one of only three Vikings defenders left on the roster that is at least 31 years old, and his Star Caps suspension issues are now finally behind him. Allen would also be a very good trade chip, as many teams could use his pass rushing skills. For the purposes of this article, I will select Jared Allen. 

New England Patriots

As much as the New England Patriots live and die on the right arm of Tom Brady, they still have some players of value at the running back position.

From BenJarvus Green-Ellis to Danny Woodhead to Stevan Ridley, the Patriots have an assortment of weapons that they can run at you. The player that appears to be emerging in the last few weeks from this trio is Ridley, as the LSU rookie is fitting in very nicely to the Patriots offensive schemes.

As long as Ridley continues to prove to be a dynamic, reliable option, his skills allow Green-Ellis to become a valid trade chip for the Patriots. There are several teams that have seen a drop in their running game this year, and you only have to look to the bottom of the NFL rushing offenses to see who they are.

Green-Ellis has playoff experience and is still very young (26), so there is some upside left. The other option is QB Brian Hoyer, but he really doesn't have as much playing experience as Green-Ellis, which is why he is best trading chip that the Patriots have right now.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints appear to have one of the most crowded backfields in the NFL right now. They have maintained three talented running backs on their roster in Alabama rookie Mark Ingram and veterans Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. Chris Ivory is due to come off of the reserve/PUP list in Week 7, so will somebody have to go to make room for him, or should the Saints just trade Ivory?

In the 2010 season, Ivory had 137 rushes and averaged a very strong 5.2 yards per rush. Most NFL teams would love to have a back that is capable of averaging north of five yards per carry.

If the Saints don't trade a running back, that means that they will be splitting the carries even more than they already are. If that happens, the value for each of the quarter becomes less than it is now. So, since you have the three backs functioning well already, I recommend that the Saints shop Ivory and see what they can get for him.

New York Giants

The New York Giants have been hit hard by injuries this year, and probably nowhere harder than in their secondary. Sometimes you have to deal from a position of strength to address an area of weakness, and for the Giants, when I think of areas of strength, I immediately think of their great depth at defensive line.

Most teams in the NFL are envious of the Giants' pass rush and wish they could get to the quarterback with the regularity that the Giants do. As things stand now, the Giants have four defensive ends that have seen starts this year in Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, Dave Tollefson and Osi Umenyiora.

Umenyiora has been the most vocal of the group when he was demanding a new contract. If the Giants feel that they can still be strong up front with the trio of Tuck, Pierre-Paul and Tollefson, they could shop Umenyiora around the league to see what kind of secondary talent they could get in return.

New York Jets

After being run over by the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan isn't very happy with the way his Jets team has been playing in 2011. Ryan promised a more physical style play and promised that the Jets will return as a "running the ball" type of offense.

There is one problem with that thought process. Shonn Greene is only averaging 3.08 yards per carry and is ranked as only the No. 50 ranked back in the NFL. It is fine for Ryan to want to feature the running game, but if you don't have a feature back that is performing up to what you need him to do, then you are asking for trouble.

The Jets have Joe McKnight sitting there in the wings, waiting for a chance to carry the ball. Ryan needs to make a decision and has two weeks left to figure things out. Either he cuts bait with Greene and gives the ball to the duo of LaDainian Tomlinson and Joe McKnight, or he just makes McKnight the featured back and spells him with L.T.

If I had to pick one trading chip, it would be Greene to see if they can get something for him, and if not, then it would be one of the addition by subtraction type of moves.

Oakland Raiders

When the Oakland Raiders were forced to start rookie Denarius Moore against the Buffalo Bills, they weren't really sure what would happen. Moore had looked great in the preseason games, but had disappeared in the regular season opener. He emerged in the Bills game in a very big way, with 146 yards in only five catches. Moore has only gained 53 yards in his other three games, but his 199 receiving yards leads the team after the first four weeks.

So, if Moore is in fact the Raiders best receiver, there are just too many other receivers on the roster that will limit what each receiver can do with more snaps. From Derek Hagan, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Louis Murphy and Chaz Schilens, there are four guys there, and one of them should be traded away to secure some talent on defense, which is what they really need to address.

The Raiders defense is ranked No. 29, which is also where their rush defense is ranked. As talented as their offense is, they will have a hard time winning shootouts all year if they can't improve the defense. Out of the quartet of receivers we listed, the best trade chip from that group is Heyward-Bey, so that is my choice.

This trade would very much follow the script of what the Bills did when they traded veteran Lee Evans away to the Baltimore Ravens. They got a draft pick for the future and freed up a starting spot for Donald Jones.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles dream team is on the verge of becoming a nightmare. After starting out 1-3, the Eagles had a rough game in Week 4, when they lost Trent Cole, Jason Peters and Antonio Dixon to injuries.

There is no doubt that the Eagles have a load of talent on their roster. It reminds me of the New York Yankees, where they would have an All-Star up and down the lineup, but couldn't make the team mesh to be able to win the World Series. That is how I view the current Eagles team. Tons of talent, but just having trouble putting it all together.

In regards to trade chips, you only have to look at the secondary to see the abundance of All-Pros to see that they have players there that would return great value. I will go with the guy that feels like he should be a starting corner, but isn't. That would be corner Asante Samuel.

The Eagles need help at linebacker, so I am sure that some team out there would be more than happy to surrender a solid linebacker to be able to upgrade their secondary with Samuel.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been looking more ordinary this year, as their losses to the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens would attest. Then there was the narrow win over the hapless Indianapolis Colts, and you know that things are just not the same this year. James Harrison is going to be gone for some time due to his eye injury, and things appear to be going downhill fast.

So, what is the best trading chip that the Steelers could come up with prior to the trade deadline? I don't have a clear cut favorite right now. There does seem to be a glutton of wide receivers on the roster, so perhaps one of either Emmanuel Sanders or Hines Ward could be the trade chip they cash in.

Trying to trade Ward at this stage of his career, which is in decline, wouldn't bring back much of anything, so the choice has to be Emmanuel Sanders, with the thought that teams like his potential going forward. This is just not a great situation for the Steelers right now.

San Diego Chargers

Due to the health issues of San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates and the health of the overall receiving corps with the Chargers, I am not sure that they would be willing to dangle wide receiver Vincent Jackson in the trade market, but in terms of best trade chip? That would be Jackson in my mind.

After a rather pedestrian opening game to the 2011 season, when Jackson just caught two passes for 31 yards, he has been on fire ever since. In the last three weeks, Jackson has caught 18 passes for 343 yards. That is an average of 19 yards per catch.

What would other teams around the league be willing to give up for a 6'5" wide receiver that is averaging 19 yards per catch over the last three weeks and is averaging 114 yards per game? When you consider that he is still relatively young at just 28 years old, teams would have to give up a small king's ransom to acquire him.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks offense is having trouble running the ball (ranked No. 31) and passing the ball (ranked No. 28). With that being the case, their defense is keeping them in the games that they have had a chance in. If the Seahawks want to improve the offense, they might have to consider parting with one of their better defensive players to get some talent back on offense.

Maybe they want to keep the offense just where it is, and if Andrew Luck happens to fall to them at the NFL Draft in 2012, then they will have a better offense as if it were part of the master plan all along.

Regarding the best Seahawks trading chip, that one is fairly public knowledge, as the Seahawks have been actively been shopping linebacker Aaron Curry around to the league. It has been rumored that the Carolina Panthers have expressed interest in Curry, especially since they have lost two starting linebackers to injuries for the rest of the year. That is the Seahawks' best trade chip to cash in.

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers surprised a lot of NFL experts with their win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4. Under coach Jim Harbaugh, the offense appears to be clicking. Quarterback Alex Smith has Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter to hand the ball off and receiving targets in Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan to throw the ball to.

If you didn't see Braylon Edwards' name in there, that is because they are able to win without him. Edwards was inactive for the Philadelphia game. So far, Edwards has amassed four catches for 48 yards on the season, averaging 12 yards per catch and one catch per game.

The 49ers seem to be deep enough on offense that they can afford to run Edwards through the trade market and see what comes back, if anything. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

St. Louis Rams

OK, if you picked the St. Louis Rams to win the NFC West division, go ahead and raise your arm. OK, you are forgiven. They fooled a lot of people.

The Rams are averaging only 11.5 points per game on offense in the 2011 version of the NFL. That won't win any games, even in the NFC West. Oh, I forgot about Seattle. Well, it might win one of those games.

Bottom line is the Rams can't pass the ball because Sam Bradford has no time to pass it. If you thought that the Chicago Bears offensive line was bad, you were right; they are. But, the Rams line is even worse than the Bears. The Bears have allowed 15 sacks, while Bradford has been sacked 18 times already.

Not only that, but the Rams have trouble running the ball and and have trouble stopping the run. This team is a mess right now. They could try to trade Sam Bradford with the thought of drafting Andrew Luck, but that seems like one step forward and one step backward. No, let's opt for a wide receiver as a trade chip.

That receiver would be Danario Alexander. He has only caught eight passes out of the 23 times that Sam Bradford has targeted him, but he is averaging an amazing 24.5 yards per catch.

Maybe somebody will see that average and be willing to trade away some major value to the Rams. They need lots of help.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are cruising along at 3-1 and seem to be on pace to equal or better their 10-6 record of 2010. The Buccaneers' ground game is led by LeGarrette Blount, and he racked up over 100 yards on Monday Night Football against the Indianapolis Colts depleted defensive line.

The trading chip that I am interested in is not used that often, but it is not because of lack of skill. Whether it is because the team desires to give ample number of touches to Blount, his backup, Earnest Graham, still exhibits some strong skills.

During the past five seasons, Graham has averaged the following yards per rush; 5.4, 4.0, 4.3, 4.7 and 5.0. While those averages are all very good, consider the past four years of his average yardage per pass catch: 6.6, 7.6, 7.8 and 8.1. His totals are trending up per reception. Because he is basically only getting one to two rushes per game, he has been preserved quite nicely, so don't let the 31 years of age scare you off.

For a team that needs a dual threat to round out their backfield, you could do worse than picking up Earnest Graham at the trade deadline.

Tennessee Titans

After four weeks of the 2011 season, the Tennessee Titans are ranked in the top 10 of passing the ball, stopping the run and stopping the pass. What is most surprising, however, is that the Titans are dead last in running the ball.

You know that will eventually change as an offensive line guru like Mike Munchak will make sure that the linemen start creating better holes for Chris Johnson to do some damage and move the running attack up the charts.

But with Kenny Britt gone for the year, the Titans should explore trading for a talented wide receiver to create a sound balance on offense for the final 12 games. With the defense playing so well, there will have to be a trade chip plucked from the defensive side of the ball to strengthen the offense. For that honor, we will go with corner Jason McCourty, who leads the Titans with two interceptions on the year. 

If Jake Locker were further along in his development, we would have suggested Matt Hasselbeck, because there are a number of teams that would like to have a quarterback of Hasselbeck's skill, including his old team.

Washington Redskins

How many people bought into Washington Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman's preseason claim that the Redskins would win the NFC East. Well, so far, so good for Grossman, as the Redskins are tied with the New York Giants at the quarter-pole mark with a 3-1 record.

The Redskins have a top 10 offense in regards to running the ball, and their defense is top 10 in regards to stopping the run and stopping the pass. The biggest area that would make this team more dynamic is to upgrade their passing attack.

There are some gifted wide receivers out there that should be available, as we have gone through the other 31 teams already. What kind of a bargaining chip do the Redskins have to trade? Well, it seems that Ryan Torain is starting to emerge out of the Washington backfield, which would make Tim Hightower expendable.

If the Redskins put Hightower out there on the trading block, they could probably get a decent wide receiver in return.

So there you have it, our tour of the NFL teams best trade chips is now completed. What do you think?