The 2020 NFL draft may prove the tipping point for teams interested in spinning a trade. It’s one thing to consider a trade when a team is offering draft picks. But it’s another thing entirely when teams know which draft prospect, exactly, they might actually get in exchange for the veteran. So perhaps, with that in mind, NFL teams will complete the trades they’ve been mulling for the past few months.
This year, there are a handful of stars potentially on the move. We actually saw one pre-draft trade already, with the New England Patriots moving tight end Rob Gronkowski to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Surely, more trades are coming. Here’s a look at six players who could be a part of the upcoming deals.
Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Jaguars
He has made his trade demands loud and clear. Those demands are so loud and so clear, however, that Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan seems to be having trouble trading Ngakoue. (They had a public fight on Twitter.)
Ngakoue is a solid talent at defensive end, with 17.5 sacks over the last two seasons. But because his relationship with the team is a mess, the Jaguars are unlikely to get much in return for him.
Trent Williams, OT, Redskins
Another superstar. Another broken relationship with his team.
Williams held out for all of 2019 in hopes Washington would trade him. The team did not. But perhaps NFL teams will finally make offers worthy of the Redskins’ consideration. The impressive draft class of tackles, however, should complicate Williams’ value.
Joe Thuney, OG, Patriots
When the Patriots tagged him, they put themselves in a financial bind. Basically, they couldn’t afford Thuney on the franchise tag. But they seemed to intend to do one of two things: either extend his contract or trade him. Neither thing has happened yet, and because the Patriots’ talks with Thuney aren’t looking promising, according to ESPN, a trade seems like a likely outcome.
O.J. Howard, TE, Buccaneers
Somehow, Gronk went to Tampa and neither Cameron Brate nor Howard ended up in New England. That means the Bucs are probably shopping both of them, with Howard trade talks dominating the news cycle.
Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Browns
It wouldn’t be a listicle about superstar trades without Beckham. The Browns have said they’re not accepting trade offers on their top wideout, but we’ve heard that refrain before about stars, right before they get moved. Beckham doesn’t seem to be a good fit with quarterback Baker Mayfield. Maybe coach Kevin Stefanski can help make it work. Maybe he’d be OK with moving on.
Andy Dalton, QB, Bengals
Teams would be smart to wait until Cincinnati releases Dalton, which would free them up to sign him at a discounted rate. The Bengals are going to pretend like they want to keep him on the roster, but that feels unlikely, considering the frugal franchise won’t want to waste $17.5 million on a quarterback they’re not going to play, especially when cutting him creates zero dollars in dead cap space.
If a quarter-back needy team is in love with Dalton, then perhaps he’ll be on the move. That said, I don’t see a match. The Patriots don’t have the cap space to fit Dalton. The Chargers and Raiders seem content with the veterans on the roster. And the Jaguars are happy to ride with Gardner Minshew — it would be silly to swap Nick Foles’ for Dalton’s. But draft day comes with surprises. You never know.
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