Players from Last-Place NFL Teams Who Could be Traded: Maxx Crosby, Nick Chubb, Miles Sanders and More
Parsing the rosters of last-place teams with 1 or 2 wins who would be wise to consider trading spare parts (and better players).
They say it’s lonely at the top, but at least there’s success with that loneliness. When you’re alone at the bottom, though, there’s nothing but desolation. No less than five teams are probably already out of the playoff race; it’s going to be a long last 10 weeks for some squads.
Rather than playing out the string with their current rosters, some of those teams at the bottom will look to shed players who aren’t in the long-term plans. It has already started: Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, and DeAndre Hopkins have been traded from teams listed below.
Let’s run through every team that is alone in last place in their division with no hope of making the playoffs. The Bears are 4-2 in the NFC North, so I’m not putting them on the “sell” list. The Rams’ potential inclusion hinged on Thursday night; since they beat the Vikings to move to 3-4, I’ll exclude them as well.
I am using contract information from Spotrac when I talk about remaining salary, and each team’s salary cap table will be linked on the team name at their section.
New England Patriots (1-6)
Likely Trade Targets
- DE Deatrich Wise
- CB Jonathan Jones
Each of these guys is on an expiring contract and over 30 years old. Neither will be a star for any team, but they are both second in snaps played for the Patriots at their respective positions and could provide depth if nothing else.
Everyone could use more pass rushers and cornerbacks, so I could pinpoint 20 different teams to target these guys. Wise has two sacks, and Jones forced a fumble in Week 3.
Most Fun Trade Target
QB Jacoby Brissett
Two weeks of games will be played between now and the trade deadline. Players will get hurt in that time, and some will miss the rest of the season. A team that loses a quarterback could do a lot worse than the veteran Brissett, who has been displaced by rookie Drake Maye.
Brissett is surely valued as a mentor to the young quarterback, but even a sixth- or seventh-round pick would be hard to ignore for a player whose contract is only for one year.
Honorable Mentions
Stevenson is still under contract for up to five seasons including this one, though the next three are really where the commitments sit. His dead cap hit would be less than $10 million, making it easy for the Pats to move on.
The Dallas Cowboys have struggled to find any semblance of a running game and could use a better player; would a third-round pick intrigue New England?
Cleveland Browns (1-6)
Likely Trade Targets
- WR Elijah Moore
The Browns traded for Moore before the 2023 season, and it just hasn’t worked out for the former second-round pick (who’s in the last year of his contract). A lot of receivers are changing teams, and Moore would be a slot option who was highly regarded coming into the league.
Tampa Bay just lost Chris Godwin for the rest of the season, and Mike Evans will be out for at least a month. They could use anyone to soak up targets right away, and Moore could try to replicate some of Godwin’s work after Evans returns.
Most Fun Trade Target
RB Nick Chubb
Deshaun Watson could go here because of the parameters that such a trade would entail, but he just suffered a torn Achilles, and that situation won’t change until the offseason.
Chubb returned last week from an injury of his own, and while he gained just 22 yards, it was good to see Chubb lead the backfield with 11 carries while no one else had more than three. Chubb even scored a touchdown.
His contract expires at the end of this season, and Chubb will turn 29 before the end of the year. Coming off his second major knee injury and nearing 30, are the Browns going to be looking to extend Chubb a new contract?
We don’t know what the 2024 version of Chubb looks like yet. He has played one game in which he received a lot of carries in short yardage, not giving him a chance to really stretch his legs. We need a few games to get a real sense of where he’s at.
A team acquiring Chubb would know they are getting a volatile player who has played like a star in the past but might have a high chance of re-injury. The return in trade would be minimal, though the Browns would likely pick up a lot of his remaining contract, to bump up their draft pick value.
It would be a low-risk proposition if the Chiefs sent a fourth- or fifth-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for picking up most of Chubb’s remaining money. Can’t you just picture Chubb running through open lanes as teams try to avoid getting shredded by Patrick Mahomes?
Honorable Mentions
- DT Maurice Hurst
- DT Quinton Jefferson
- LB Devin Bush
- CB Mike Ford
- S Rodney McLeod
These are all defensive veterans on expiring contracts. They can do more as depth for a team in the playoff hunt than they can on the sputtering Browns.
Tennessee Titans (1-5)
Likely Trade Targets
More defensive veterans on expiring contracts. They can make an impact in the playoff race somewhere else, but they will toil away on the Tennessee roster.
Baker was just acquired from Seattle along with a fourth-round pick for linebacker Ernest Jones IV, who himself was traded to the Titans from the Rams this offseason. Baker has no ties to Tennessee and doesn’t know the system, so they aren’t missing out on as much by flipping him for another draft pick.
Most Fun Trade Target
DL Jeffery Simmons
Simmons is owed $20+ million each of the next three years (with an out after 2025), but he’s a true difference maker who racked up 21.5 sacks over the past three seasons. He has just one sack this year, but you have to imagine he’d get much better looks on a team that was playing from ahead, giving him more pass rushing opportunities.
A team in need of an impact defensive lineman could make one of the biggest splashes possible at the deadline with this one. The Lions lost Aidan Hutchinson for the year, so they’ll come up with in pass rusher discussion, though those two play different styles.
The money would make things tricky for most teams, but the Bears have been active at the deadline the last few years and have a quarterback on a rookie contract, allowing them to spend more over the course of Simmons’ contract.
Chicago has an extra second rounder from Carolina (the last pick of the Bryce Young trade, lol), so they could package a few picks together and make an enticing offer for Simmons. Is two second-round picks fair value? Montez Sweat cost one second rounder a year ago.
Honorable Mentions
These two are holding down the right guard/backup interior spots, again in the last year of their contracts. A team needing reinforcements on the interior of the offensive line could find depth here, likely at a low cost.
Tennessee has invested a lot in their offensive line, so they might not be interested in spending more on Radunz. He’s already moved from tackle to guard and probably doesn’t have a lot more upside.
Las Vegas Raiders (2-5)
The Raiders are a little different because they have a ton of veteran starters/role players on expiring contracts who could be traded. Here’s an incomplete list of upcoming free agents who have been heavily involved:
- RB Alexander Mattison
- TE Harrison Bryant
- G Cody Whitehair
- G Andrus Peat
- DT John Jenkins
- DT Adam Butler
- DE K'Lavon Chaisson
- LB Robert Spillane
- LB Divine Deablo
- CB Nate Hobbs
- S Tre'von Moehrig
Any or all of those guys could be traded, as their futures with the team are uncertain. The Raiders need to reset and let a lot of free agents walk, so there shouldn’t be much hesitation if anyone is willing to give up some value.
Vegas has two young guards they drafted within the last few years (Dylan Parham and Jackson Powers-Johnson) leaving Whitehair and Peat and veterans taking up space on expiring contracts. Every team needs offensive line help, and these veterans can help someone, especially Peat who has experience at left tackle.
Spillane has played 100% of LV’s defensive snaps; Moehrig is close. They might be guys the Raiders view as pillars of the defense, but again, this is a situation that needs a lot of change.
The Raiders could clean up on mid- to late-round picks if they went on a fire sale, a la the Tampa Bay Rays.
Most Fun Trade Target
DE Maxx Crosby
I could have done the same thing with Myles Garrett in Cleveland, but let’s lay out the argument here. Vegas’ best player is under contract for two more years after this one at around $28 and $25 million per year, but it’s likely any trade would come with a new contract either now or in the offseason.
While the money is a hurdle here again for many teams, the trade price would also turn off most franchises before getting that far. I mentioned the Bears, and I wonder what the Raiders would say to Chicago’s first- and second-round picks and Carolina’s second rounder this year. They might have to throw in some mid-round fluff or swaps, but that sounds like a good starting point.
New York Giants (2-5)
Likely Trade Targets
- WR Darius Slayton
- DE/LB Azeez Ojulari
Two guys here who have younger players on the roster at their positions, possibly squeezing them out of the future after their contracts expire this offseason.
Malik Nabers has been the superstar that was promised, and former first rounder Wan'Dale Robinson has finally found consistency, leading the teams in targets and receptions. Slayton will make around $4 million over the rest of the season, so New York could probably pick up some of his salary for a better pick.
Ojulari was pushed to the third pass rusher role when the team traded for Brian Burns this offseason to pair with Kayvon Thibodeaux. When Thibodeaux hit IR a few weeks back, Ojulari began getting starter snaps. Thibs will miss at least the next two games, so the team might be more likely to hold onto their pass rushers unless someone overwhelms them with an offer.
Most Fun Trade Target
OT Evan Neal
Neal was drafted seventh overall in 2022 to form a lockdown set of offensive tackles with 2020 first rounder Andrew Thomas. Thomas has held up his end (until going down for the season recently), but Neal was eventually benched and hasn’t played any snaps in most of this year’s games.
Even when Thomas got hurt, Neal stayed on the bench while Joshua Ezeudu took over the blindside. It seems pretty clear that Neal isn’t in the plans in any capacity right now.
He was highly regarded coming out of college, seen as a possible franchise left tackle, so there’s reason for a team to think they could get something out of him. Maybe getting a chance at his natural left tackle would spark something, or perhaps a move inside to guard.
A team who might be out of the race but needs a young option to try at left tackle could probably get Neal for very little draft capital, though his salary is nearly $8 million next year due to his draft status.
Honorable Mentions
A couple guys here who have been playing backup snaps and have just one-year contracts. Their depth is valuable, but each would be available for a trade if a team inquired.
Carolina Panthers (1-6)
Likely Trade Targets
- RB Miles Sanders
- RB Chuba Hubbard
- WR Diontae Johnson
- DE Jadeveon Clowney
- CB Jaycee Horn
- CB Michael Jackson
- S Xavier Woods
- S Nick Scott
Anyone who isn’t nailed down, right? Hubbard and Johnson might seem like potential building blocks, but they’re both in the last year of their contract with young players behind them. They would have to eat a lot of money on Sanders’ contract to move him, but there’s no place for him in Carolina unless Hubbard is traded.
While Clowney’s contract runs through next season, it’s easy for the acquiring team to get out after this one, though they might just want to keep him if he has a good second half. The four defensive backs have played by far the most snaps on the team in the secondary and all have expiring contracts aside from Horn.
Speaking of Horn, he is a former top-10 pick who has been ravaged by injuries, appearing in just 43% of possible games in his first three seasons. He has been healthy this season, so maybe they will try to get something for him before he goes down again. There will be a team who sees his first-round pedigree and would take a shot for a mid- to low-round pick.
Most Fun Trade Target
QB Bryce Young
Who else would it be? Carolina won’t trade him; Andy Dalton is currently out with an injury, and though it’s considered minor, there’s not much quarterback depth in Carolina. This looks more like an offseason move if it happens.
There’s no way the Panthers will get back acceptable value, but that might just be a pill they have to swallow. Kenny Pickett went for a pick swap and a few seventh rounders this offseason; after what Young has shown, Carolina can’t expect much more.
Young won’t be the driving force behind any team’s resurgence this season, so a trade would be to a team that wants to get the jump on snatching him up to see if there’s any way to rebuild him into a competent quarterback.
Honorable Mentions
I already listed everybody up top. Anybody could go from this team, and it wouldn’t be a surprise.
