The NFL trade deadline is less than two weeks away. It really began before the season, when we already saw a flurry of transactional activity and barely two weeks have gone by since then without a trade of some consequence. Welcome to the NFL, a total departure from when I began covering this league over 20 years and the idea of trades not based around the draft or during the draft was pretty foreign.
Then there were days when you’d hear that only some positions could really be swapped in season — but quarterbacks and centers and middle linebackers would need to long to adjust — and common perception was thinking too big in the middle of a season was a stretch. Juice not worth the squeeze. Now we’re seeing teams trade a second-round pick for a struggling guard who they desperately need to move back to center ASAP, and they’re doing it while the guy is in concussion protocol.
So the climate is ripe for moves and this year it helps that there are no shortage of sellers or potential sellers; basically a quarter of the league wouldn’t have to be begged too hard to listen intently on moving some salary for an aging player. The balance of power in 2026 could still very much be swung pending where a few of the names on FanSided’s Zach Rotman’s trade deadline big board end up (spoiler alert, several of them won’t be dealt), and there is no shortage of interest.
But we start with the big name that was already dealt to the Bears, Jeffery Simmons.
Jeffery Simmons has already been traded to the Bears
There was interest in him over the summer and it was more than just idle chatter. When he landed his contract extension, frankly, I was surprised. But it’s absolutely a tradable contract — but it’s also the same thing at the combine. I believed it would have to be a ridiculous offer — like a QB type trade — to get them motivated to make it now. I wasn’t sure that market existed, but the Bears came in offering two firsts and a fourth for Simmons, and that was a deal too sweet for Tennessee to pass up.
RB Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are the biggest wheeler-dealers in the NFL right now; “they’ll consider pretty much anything,” one GM told me. Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner were always the most likely to go, but they won’t be the last. Some of the reporting out there points to Taylor being in a different bucket of sorts. Eh, given the way this sport tamps down running spending, and given their shelf life, I think they’re just playing hard to get. Somebody gives them a two and maybe a little something else, man, based on the vibes I’m getting out of Indy, I think they do it.
EDGE Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers
Surprised this hasn’t happened already. The hang-up here is the $10M he got paid up front. This franchise can be cheap, and they’re on the hook for a big nut here, including the base salary. Paid him far more for the six losses at this point than the acquiring team would have to pay him the rest of the year. But because he is so cheap from a cap/cash standpoint, anyone could absorb it. Might end up going to a team no one is linking him to.
EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu, Los Angeles Chargers
Why do this? What’s the motivation? Young, cheap, high upside. Justin Herbert should be on here before him. That’s not a stretch at all, and I believe he’s gone in 2027; would just take the right team going all out of him now instead of February. So you can take a pass rusher in the first round this spring who is 18 months younger than him?
DT Vita Vea, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFC South came back to them. Baker Mayfield came back to them. “I don’t think they’re going to be in this thing (as a seller) like I did a few weeks ago,” the GM said. They just signed him to end a contract stalemate; he isn’t impacting games to the degree he was earlier in his career, but they know him best. My gut says he stays.
WR Stefon Diggs, Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels needs somebody to throw the ball to who can make plays for him. I asked a few execs I know about what they think he’d fetch … Is it worth it to make life more difficult for Daniels now for a fifth? Man, I don’t know.
CB Riq Woolen, Philadelphia Eagles
There aren’t a ton of corners on this market. Howie Roseman is in a very different spot at the deadline than he’s been in a long time. I could see it. Honestly, not much the Eagles did could surprise me at this point. They have been eyeing a new start in many ways with a new QB in 2027 for quite some time, and the idea of one last run with the old group is basically out the window. The Lions do probably make some sense.
DT Daron Payne, Washington Commanders
Seems about like that time. They are going to have to keep rebuilding at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. Do they eat a little salary to try to get more for him? Green Bay has experienced some DL injuries. Hmm.
EDGE Josh Sweat, Arizona Cardinals
Might end up being the last of the edge guys dealt, could see it right at the deadline, seeing what goes down with Mack and maybe even Maxx Crosby first. This has seemed like a no-brainer to people I talk to in the league since, like, July. Don’t discount the Cardinals making 3-4 more trades. Dallas makes so much sense, and always has.
WR Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
Eventually, you probably just have to move on, right? Addition by subtraction? I could see them maybe getting a player — who has also failed to ascend as expected, like Thomas, rather than a future draft picks.
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