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As NFL trade deadline nears, Russell Wilson, Tyreek Hill among 10 players to evaluate
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- As NFL trade deadline nears, Russell Wilson, Tyreek Hill among 10 players to evaluate
As summer gives way to autumn, it's already apparent who's falling into the pit of NFL irrelevance. Yet even in the depths of football purgatory there is opportunity – for spiraling teams and players looking to escape it.
The league's trade deadline is drawing nearer, set to expire at 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 4, the day after Week 9 of the regular-season schedule concludes. But recent history – namely an expanding salary cap plus a collection of more aggressive general managers perhaps not as wed to draft capital as their predecessors – have shown that significant deals are now likely to go down much earlier than deadline day. Wideouts Davante Adams and Amari Cooper , for example, were dealt three weeks ahead of the 2024 cutoff. Three years ago, Christian McCaffrey was shipped from Carolina to San Francisco nearly two weeks before the deadline.
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"I'm always looking," Bills GM Brandon Beane said last year after acquiring Cooper, also noting the advantage of giving an incoming player more time to adapt to his new surroundings and schematics.
"Any time you can add a player … I'm always going to monitor that."
Minor swaps are already occurring, the New York Jets acquiring CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. from the Titans earlier this week.
And while it's not yet October and much can happen in the next three weeks, six weeks, etc., let's take Beane's advice and do some monitoring. Here are 10 players (sort of) NFL teams would be wise to watch as circumstances continue to unfold in the coming days and weeks:
QB Kirk Cousins , Atlanta Falcons
Acquiring him would be a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency situation. It would also require ample cap room from potential suitors given Cousins would be owed the prorated version of the $27.5 million he's owed in base salary this season. He recently turned 37 but is also now two years removed from Achilles surgery. The conditions would certainly be specific – especially since Cousins' no-trade clause permits him to kill any deal – but if a team like the Lions , Rams or Seahawks suddenly found itself with a long-term need behind center and lacking sufficient confidence that in-house backups could persevere for an extended period …
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Team to watch – TBD:There's a reason Cousins hasn't been moved. Yet. But this is the NFL, and an unexpectedly desperate situation can arise at any time.
DE/OLB Leonard Floyd , Falcons
The veteran pass rusher signed a one-year, $10 million contract in March – meaning he's eminently available. Following free agency, Atlanta spent a pair of first-round picks on edge players Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. And while there's certainly value in having them learn from a 10th-year veteran with 67½ career sacks, there could also be incentive for GM Terry Fontenot to move Floyd, 33, given the Falcons' ammunition for the 2026 draft has already been depleted by this year's acquisition of Pearce.
Team to watch – 49ers : They just lost DE Nick Bosa to a torn ACL and re-obtaining Floyd, who had 8½ sacks for the Niners in 2024, would make sense.
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DE Trey Hendrickson , Cincinnati Bengals
He had an eventful summer , briefly holding out from training camp amid protracted negotiations with the team to agree on the raise both Hendrickson and the Bengals acknowledged he deserved after leading the NFL with 35 sacks over the 2023 and '24 seasons. Still, even though Hendrickson could now make up to $30 million in 2025, he's nevertheless scheduled to walk in 2026. Clearly the Bengals didn't pay him to trade him and have historically not been inclined to make splashy in-season moves. But Cincinnati, which did deal QB Carson Palmer during the 2011 campaign, also didn't know two weeks ago that it would likely be without injured QB Joe Burrow for most of , if not the remainder of, the 2025 season. And if the Bengals D is going to continue looking as bad as it did last Sunday in Minnesota , why not move on from Hendrickson, 30, at a time when his production could still warrant a nice return given he'll very likely be on the move in a few months anyway.
Team to watch – Eagles:They were linked to Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons earlier this year and could certainly use a veteran pass rusher after losing Super Bowl 59 hero Josh Sweat in free agency. Also, OLB Nolan Smith just landed on IR.
WR Tyreek Hill , Miami Dolphins
He said all the right things after last week's loss dropped the Fins to 0-3 at a time when matters around the team seem quite fraught. Hill, voted the top player in the NFL in a survey of his peers just a year ago, quit on Miami in the 2024 regular-season finale, was stripped of his captaincy this summer, has been publicly critiqued by QB Tua Tagovailoa and accused of domestic abuse by his estranged wife. Despite all that, he remains the rare game breaker who can make a good team great. And with his base salary scheduled to balloon to nearly $30 million in 2026, the final year of his contract, the Dolphins can't afford to wait much longer if they intend to get something for him.
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Team to watch – Chiefs :Maybe a reunion with his original NFL team would be farfetched after Hill was shipped out of K.C. three years ago. But perhaps no club is better equipped to leverage his talent and manage his mood than the perennial AFC champs – who might need to execute another bold move to retain that "perennial" status.
RB Alvin Kamara , New Orleans Saints
Historically speaking, the Saints haven't been inclined to throw in the towel. But if there were ever a year to do it – especially after GM Mickey Loomis exported CB Marshon Lattimore a year ago ... Kamara is one of the best players in franchise history. He's also a 30-year-old back who's rarely sniffed a Super Bowl and won't do so in New Orleans this year or next, after which his contract expires. And despite his age, Kamara's playing style has never been one that's exposed him to the level of abuse most traditional runners endure. Used judiciously, he can be a major asset in every phase of an offense. And it seems like his situation lends itself to beneficial divorce proceedings for both parties.
Team to watch – Cardinals: Arizona appears positioned to vie for a playoff berth. But that became a more difficult objective in the aftermath of RB James Conner 's season-ending ankle injury. Kamara could immediately step into what was already a backfield-by-committee and would nicely complement second-year banger Trey Benson and seems well suited to play effectively off of multi-dimensional QB Kyler Murray .
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WR Jakobi Meyers , Las Vegas Raiders
He's in the final year of his contract. He asked for a trade last month. He established personal bests with 87 grabs for 1,027 yards in 2024 – pretty much a perfect complementary receiver. Shouldn't be much of a holdup here unless the Silver and Black need further proof they're on the road to nowhere in 2025.
Team to watch – Steelers :They're already in go-for-it mode yet are getting little production from the wideout position beyond DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III. And, yes, the Steelers prefer to roll with multiple tight ends. But some additional offensive variance couldn't hurt, and it might be wise to have another dynamic pass catcher for those inevitable scenarios when Aaron Rodgers and Co. have to make up a sizable deficit without the luxury of time.
TE David Njoku , Cleveland Browns
He's 29, in the final year of his contract (base salary of $1.3 million) yet can still be an impact player in the right situation. But Njoku is losing opportunities to rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. with a team that could go full-on rebuild and/or reassess at any time.
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Team to watch – Buccaneers:Njoku had one of his best seasons in 2018 with then-Browns rookie QB Baker Mayfield. Why not reunite them and bring an added element to a Tampa Bay offense that can't seem to keep its pass catchers healthy?
DT Jeffery Simmons , Tennessee Titans
Game-wrecking interior defensive linemen are among the most valuable commodities in the NFL – and why the Titans signed Simmons to a four-year, $94 million extension two years ago. He's under contract through 2027 but – right now anyway – it doesn't appear like Tennessee will be in position to seriously contend by then. Yet rookie GM Mike Borgonzi could definitely expedite his reboot by dealing a 28-year-old player who still has prime years left and could fetch a nice return.
Team to watch – Lions: Detroit again appeared Super Bowl-caliber during Monday night's win at Baltimore . But injuries and depth deficiencies on defense cost the Lions dearly in 2024, to say nothing of the fact that DE Aidan Hutchinson is likely to draw more and more double teams as the year goes on. What an inside-out combo he and Simmons would be if united.
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QB Kenny Pickett or Aidan O'Connell , Las Vegas Raiders
After failing to post for the Browns' four-way quarterback battle in training camp, Pickett was traded in August – for the third time in fewer than 18 months – to backstop Geno Smith following O'Connell's preseason wrist injury. Yet O'Connell is expected to be healthy before the deadline, and there's little reason to have two veterans unlikely to claim the QB1 reins on merit holding clipboards – tablets, I mean tablets – behind Smith.
Team to watch – Packers: Malik Willis carried the Pack in a pinch without Jordan Love last year, but he was hardly asked to operate the offense at a similar level. Maybe he's up to the task now … and maybe Green Bay would be wise to look at a more experienced fallback if, say, Love were to be lost for a six-week stretch.
RANKING NFL BACKUP QB SITUATIONS: Which teams are in trouble as injuries hit?
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QB Russell Wilson or Jameis Winston , New York Giants
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is pressured by Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa (97) and defensive tackle Kenny Clark (95) at AT&T Stadium.
Rookie Jaxson Dart's time has come in Gotham … which leaves little reason to keep Winston and Wilson, particularly the latter given Wilson is on an expiring deal with an infinitesimal (prorated) base salary of $2 million. At this juncture, it's difficult to see another extended starting opportunity presenting itself to either veteran. But one could be a valuable insurance policy for a playoff-caliber team suddenly in need of an intermediate bridge – which is probably a better outcome than being relegated to answering questions from a 22-year-old football savior who probably only needs one "mentor." And Wilson did show in Week 2 that he can still shine in bursts.
Team to watch – Chargers :Let's say QB Justin Herbert suffers a high-ankle sprain or maybe breaks a finger on his passing hand. Are the Bolts really going to roll with Trey Lance or and/or undrafted rookie DJ Uiagalelei ? Good luck finding a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations that's in a more precarious position if its QB1 goes down.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russell Wilson trade might be good for QB, Giants as deadline nears
