The dynamic in the NFL is changing. There use to be almost no trades, at least involving big name players, and now they seem to be happening every other week. Sam Bradford, Haloti Ngata, Kiko Alonso, Jimmy Graham, Kenny Stills, Mike Wallace, LeSean McCoy, and Nick Foles have all been traded this offseason. That’s a lot of big names in one offseason. There’s a strong possibility we see even more trades as we get closer to the draft as teams may realize they’re not going to be able to land the player they want at the position they want and need to fill a hole on their roster another way.
Sam Bradford of the Philadelphia Eagles is someone I’d be looking at to get traded before the draft. The Eagles could very well be looking to stockpile draft picks if Chip Kelly is serious about trading up to get quarterback Marcus Mariota in the draft. The Browns have already offered the 19th overall pick for Bradford and the Eagles turned it down, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Kelly was just holding out for a better deal and ended up pulling the trigger on the trade with the Browns if a better option doesn’t present itself closer to the draft. Bradford’s teammate, Evan Mathis, is another one that might get traded. It was reported that Mathis was placed on the trading block, but Kelly came out earlier this week and said that Mathis was not actually put on the trading block. Instead, Kelly informed Mathis’ agent that he is free to seek a trade. In the same breath Kelly said he would like Mathis to return next season (this part is probably a lie because why would you allow someone you want to stay on your team to seek a trade?). If you look at Kelly’s track record in the short time he’s had complete control over football operations, it’s safe to say that every player on the Eagles’ roster has a better than average chance of being traded before the draft.
San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is another player who might get traded before the draft and still have a major impact on how the draft plays out this season. Rivers’ contract ends after this upcoming season and he has said he will most likely play out the remainder of his contract instead of signing an extension this offseason. If the Chargers think Rivers might not come back after next season, there’s a strong possibility they try getting something in return for him instead of just letting him walk for free. They would also need to start looking for his replacement. How could the Chargers kill two birds with one stone? By trading Philip Rivers to the Tennessee Titans for the second overall pick in the draft and using that pick to draft Marcus Mariota. After all, the Chargers do have a private workout scheduled with Mariota on April 15th.
Another quarterback that might be traded before the draft is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. The Saints came into this offseason with a an absolute dumpster fire of a cap space situation. With some trades and cuts they’ve managed to get themselves under the cap. However, they still don’t have enough to sign the rookies they’ll eventually be bringing in after the draft. Brees’ cap number this season is $26.4 million and it’s $27.4 million in 2016. If they could trade him and get that number off the books that would allow them to do so much this year and next year. Head coach Sean Payton has come out and said that Brees isn’t going anywhere, but with a contract like there you can never say never.
One last quarterback to keep an eye on before the draft is Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon. The Buccaneers have the first pick in the draft this year and will almost certainly take either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. Glennon doesn’t fit what they’re trying to do in Tampa and is basically useless to the team. Look for them to try and move him to at least get some extra draft picks. They can just as easily bring in a veteran quarterback to fill the backup quarterback void that would be left in Glennon’s absence.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is a name you keep hearing being floated out there. It’s become very apparent that Peterson no longer wants to play for the Vikings and the Vikings would probably prefer he play somewhere else as well. However, the Vikings have all the power right now and they’re certainly not going to just cut Peterson and get nothing in return. A team like the Arizona Cardinals would be willing to give up a lot to bring Peterson in. If they can make the deal sweet enough for the Vikings, don’t be surprised if Peterson is playing in Arizona next season.
It was reported a little while ago that Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Michael Bennett wanted a new contract and wanted to be traded, to the Falcons apparently. Shortly after this was reported it was reported that he didn’t, in fact, want a trade or a new contract. The most likely explanation for this would be that it got out that he did actually want a trade but either the Seahawks or Bennett’s agent convinced him this was a bad way to go about it so he back tracked. However, he knows Dan Quinn (the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and former defensive coordinator of the Seahawks) very well and Atlanta could certainly rework his contract so it’s more suitable for Bennett. But if Bennett’s first priority is winning another Super Bowl, smart money says he stays in Seattle.
The way things have been going this offseason there’s a good chance half of the Eagles’ roster is traded by the time the draft gets here. With the way all the teams have been making trades lately you could actually say the same thing for almost any team. I’m sure there will be plenty of trades on draft day itself, but there could be much bigger names traded before the draft takes place.