Trade candidates at the NFL's 2024 deadline

The Browns are unlikely to consider moving both of their two most experienced O-linemen, but as this season drifts well off track, each is north of 30 (Bitonio 33, Conklin 30) playing for a team going nowhere. Bitonio, Cleveland’s left guard, is the club’s longest-tenured player; he dates back to the Ray Farmer GM regime and was part of the Johnny Manziel draft. He is signed through 2025 and is attached to a veteran-minimum base salary due to cap manipulation. Conklin, signed through 2026, has two ACL tears and a patella tendon rupture on his NFL medical sheet. The Browns, who played without Conklin for almost all of last season, may look to cash out while he is healthy. 

Bourne would appear likely to leave Foxborough soon, but he does not want to. Despite re-signing on a three-year, $19.5 million deal in March, no guaranteed money is on that pact beyond 2024. Bourne is back from an October 2023 ACL tear but was on track to be a healthy scratch before the team suddenly needed him in its Week 7 London game. The 49ers discussed Bourne with the Pats during the sides’ Brandon Aiyuk trade talks this summer. With the defending NFC champions banged up at the position, Bourne could step in due to his experience in Kyle Shanahan’s system. On a rebuilding New England team, Bourne — at 29 — does not fit. If he is not dealt now, 2025 trade rumors will emerge.

It is a long shot the Browns would move Chubb considering his popularity and the journey he traversed to make it back. Chubb, whose comeback helped (to a degree) obscure the Deshaun Watson optics, is one of the most popular players the Browns have rostered since they rebooted in 1999. He did, however, take a steep pay cut this offseason and is in a contract year. At 28 and with two ACL tears on his medical sheet, Chubb also would not fetch too much. But if the Browns do not plan on re-signing the accomplished running back in 2025, would a regime that did not draft him be OK moving him to a contender now?

Clowney is a South Carolina native who chose to return to his home region in free agency, receiving a multiyear deal for the first time since his 2014 rookie contract. But the Panthers are early in a long overhaul — one that might be extended by the team’s about-face on Bryce Young. Do they want to keep a $10 million-per-year journeyman in his age-31 season? Clowney is an above-average player who, despite not living up to his No. 1 draft slot, has produced against the run and pass. The 11-year vet will be mentioned as an offseason trade candidate if he is not dealt by this coming deadline. 

Mark Davis essentially told teams not to ask about Crosby, who said this offseason he wanted to be a Raider for life. Though, more recent comments from the Pro Bowl edge rusher appear to pry the door open on a departure. Crosby, who led the NFL in tackles for loss in 2022 and ’23 and paces the league again early this season, is leery about being tied to a rebuild. The sixth-year defender is signed through the 2026 season, but the Raiders will likely need to adjust his contract further — after already doing so this offseason — due to his play on the current deal. Las Vegas also could stock up for a QB pursuit with the first-rounder it could acquire for Crosby.

The Bears are in the thick of the playoff race, residing in a historically competitive NFC North. But they have minimized Herbert’s role considerably. The former sixth-round pick was drafted before GM Ryan Poles’ arrival but helped the team lead the NFL in rushing during the 2022 season (with 731 rushing yards, at a whopping 5.7 per carry). But Herbert does not factor into this year’s Chicago run game, as D’Andre Swift and 2023 draftee Roschon Johnson lead the way. The contract-year back could help another team more than he is helping the Bears. 

Interest is probably coming in on Hobbs, who drew an offer from the 49ers at the 2023 trade deadline. Drafted during the Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock regime’s run, Hobbs is in a contract year attached to only fifth-round money. A proven slot cornerback who has experience on the outside as well, Hobbs would naturally appeal to teams in need at an important position. As the Raiders reload under GM Tom Telesco, they will need to weigh the return from a Hobbs free agency departure (a 2026 compensatory pick) against offers that come in now. The team could look to re-sign Hobbs, but he is moving close to the open market. 

The Panthers acquired Johnson to help accelerate Bryce Young’s development, but this Carolina regime bailed on Young two games into the season. Although an Andy Dalton thumb injury has Young back in the saddle, the former No. 1 pick’s Charlotte future is cloudy. Johnson’s Steelers-constructed contract expires at season’s end, and he will command at least upper-middle-class wide receiver money as a free agent. The Panthers had not started extension talks with Johnson, and teams are monitoring this situation. For his drop issues, Johnson is one of the NFL’s best space creators. At 28, he would draw a notable trade return for a rebuilding team.

The only Super Bowl-era cog left standing in New England (after center David Andrews’ season-ending injury), Jones is in a contract year. Although the post-Bill Belichick Patriots regime made an interesting effort to re-sign and extend a host of cogs this offseason, Jones was not in that group. Belichick’s former slot corner on the Super Bowl LIII-winning team should draw interest, as he has since logged extensive run as a boundary defender as well. The Pats would likely need to eat some of Jones’ $8 million 2024 salary to move him, and his age (31) will limit a return. But the struggling team will likely listen to offers at this point. 

Harold Landry would generate a much bigger return, but the Titans have their top pass rusher on a good contract. Landry should still profile as a Tennessee building block, and while the Titans gauging interest there would be more interesting, Key is the more logical trade piece. A journeyman signed through 2025, Key is a sidekick pass rusher who has excelled for multiple teams. After a six-sack 2023, Key is off to a sluggish start. But he is 28 and would probably appeal to teams in need of a No. 2 rusher or a rotational cog off the bench. Would a 49ers team in need of the latter role be open to reacquiring him?

The seventh-year receiver offers teams something Amari Cooper and DeAndre Hopkins did not. He is signed through 2025 and on much friendlier terms compared to Davante Adams. Kirk’s four-year, $72 million deal would be appealing to teams who can afford to add, as no guaranteed money remains on it post-2024. Kirk posted his first 1,000-yard season in 2022 and was on track for a second before an injury last season. The slot player remains valuable to Trevor Lawrence, but the Jags have paid Gabe Davis and Evan Engram before drafting Brian Thomas Jr. in Round 1. The soon-to-be 28-year-old target’s long-term status is in question.

Kupp is tied to an injury-decimated Rams team, but its gradual recovery pours cold water on a trade. Kupp’s Week 2 ankle injury marked the latest setback for him, as the former All-Pro slot weapon has struggled to stay on the field since his Super Bowl LVI MVP performance. Now 31, Kupp has remained productive when available and is drawing interest. But the Rams will have a difficult time landing their desired second-round pick, even as they show a willingness to take on salary. Still, for teams that missed out on Amari Cooper, Davante Adams and DeAndre Hopkins, Kupp will appeal. Kupp is signed through 2026 and a trade would call Matthew Stafford’s post-2024 L.A. future into question.

Lattimore came up in trade talks this offseason, and while Dennis Allen continued to shoot them down, he now profiles as a lame duck. GM Mickey Loomis likely does not have Allen in his 2025 plans, and some of the HC’s veteran defensive pieces qualify as trade chips. None more so than Lattimore, a former All-Pro still in his 20s (28). Lattimore was vital to the Saints’ defensive recovery in the late 2010s but has annoyed some in the organization with slower-than-expected injury recoveries in recent years. Lattimore is signed through 2026, and thanks to the restructure-crazed Saints’ latest offering, is tied to a veteran-minimum base salary this year.

This would not necessarily qualify as a tackle surplus, but given the issues teams regularly have at this position, it probably does. The Jaguars drafted Anton Harrison in the 2023 first round but have Robinson and Little in contract years. It would seem Jacksonville needs to decide on one of them, with the other most likely to walk in free agency. Robinson, who cannot realistically be franchise-tagged due to having been tagged twice already, would net more in a trade due to his 91 career starts. But Little (17 starts) is four years younger, at 25. It would seem unwise for the Jags to deal Trevor Lawrence’s starting blindsider, so teams will probably call on Little.

After moving Adams, the Raiders need pass catchers. But it is not like they are developing a quarterback. Meyers also came to Las Vegas during Josh McDaniels’ brief stay in charge, having worked in the former Patriots OC’s system for four years prior to the coach’s 2023 firing. Meyers, 28 next month, is signed through 2025. The former UDFA has been productive and could stand to raise his trade value — for an offseason swap — with a strong finish sans Adams. But the Raiders need to prioritize landing a top QB prospect next year. Moving on from a McDaniels signing seems like a logical way to add at least a later-round pick.. 

Mostert led the NFL in touchdowns last season, thriving at 31 in Mike McDaniel’s system. The speedy running back is now a “young 32” due to being a special-teamer until 2019. Both he and fellow ex-49er Wilson, who will turn 29 this season, would appeal to teams due to their experience in the NFL’s offense of the moment. McDaniel’s Shanahanian system is run by several teams around the league, and the Dolphins drafted De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright over the past two seasons. Moving one of these vets to bump Wright up the depth chart makes sense, even if Tua Tagovailoa’s return offers the team last-ditch hope for this season.

Higher-end offensive linemen are not often moved at the deadline, and the Panthers may devote the second half of their season to another chapter of Bryce Young’s development. Moton would be key to that mission, but he is also an eighth-year player drafted before GM Dan Morgan returned to Charlotte. The starting right tackle for a team that could enter fire-sale mode, Moton is 30 and signed through 2025. He has a manageable 2024 base salary to move and has more than 100 career starts on his resume. Teams will likely call Carolina on Moton, and the rebuilding NFC South club would fetch a notable return due to positional scarcity.

The Giants’ long-term plan at edge rusher is clear. Their trade for Brian Burns paired the former Panthers Pro Bowler with first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. Burns is signed through 2028 at a top-market rate, while Thibodeaux’s rookie deal can run through 2026 via the fifth-year option. The Giants are set at outside linebacker, leaving Ojulari — the player Burns replaced as a starter — in limbo. Drafted in the second round by a previous Giants regime, Ojulari is in a contract year. While currently filling in for an injured Thibodeaux, Ojulari will be back on the bench soon. He is off to a bounce-back start this season and has an eight-sack slate on his resume. 

Neither veteran is starting for the Raiders, who are in the rare position of rostering two 30-something swingmen — especially as a rebuilding team. Both are certainly not necessary given the franchise’s circumstances. A 32-year-old guard with center experience as well, Whitehair would appeal to a team that has encountered interior O-line injuries. Peat, 31, is a former Pro Bowl guard who has played multiple seasons at tackle. The former Saints and Bears starters could certainly generate something in return for a Raiders team renting both blockers, as each is tied to a one-year deal.

Sanders not being moved at the deadline may make him a post-deadline cut, a la an NBA buyout. The Panthers would take on dead money with a trade or cut, but with Dan Morgan not authorizing Sanders’ four-year, $25.4 million deal, he likely would not have a hard time eating the rest of the RB’s guarantees. After a strong 2022 Eagles contract year, the former Super Bowl starter has not panned out with Carolina. The Panthers demoted him for Chuba Hubbard and have second-round rookie Jonathon Brooks debuting soon. Sanders is the odd man out. If the Panthers are to move him, they will need to eat salary and agree to pick-swap terms.

If the Giants keep losing, they will need to consider moving on from a player they have been unable to cut. Slayton led the Giants in receiving four times from 2019-23, posting four 700-plus-yard seasons but zero 800-yard years. With the Dave Gettleman-era draftee more a midrange WR2 than a No. 1, that is more an indictment on the franchise’s post-Odell Beckham Jr. failures at wide receiver. Slayton is in a contract year and angled for a raise that never came this offseason. With the Giants rostering impact rookie Malik Nabers and having Wan’Dale Robinson signed beyond this season, they need to look at trading Daniel Jones’ longest-tenured target. 

Smith became the rare player to openly discuss a trade to a specific team, addressing a potential Lions deal. Detroit is suddenly in need at edge rusher due to Aidan Hutchinson’s injury. Other teams will look into Smith as well. The Browns are not trading Myles Garrett, but role players on defense will be move candidates. Garrett’s top sidekick, Smith has played for four teams — including two in the NFC North — and has produced for each. The 32-year-old edge rusher, who has four sacks this season, would be an interesting rental, as his Browns contract runs through 2025 and features low base salaries thanks to Cleveland using void years to lower his cap hits.

Wilson famously washed out in New York after three erratic seasons. He did more than anyone to sink Robert Saleh with the Jets. Though, this is a former No. 2 overall pick who has a history in a Kyle Shanahan-like system, as he played two seasons under Shanahan disciple Mike LaFleur. Wilson has 33 starts on his resume, and former top picks — as evidenced by the Broncos trading for him — receive a few chances. Bo Nix and Stidham are above Wilson on Denver’s depth chart, creating a surplus situation. A Stidham trade would save the Broncos slightly more money, but Wilson could not beat out the older player for the backup job in camp and would make for a riskier backup this season. 

This would qualify as selling low — remarkably low — but if the Panthers are not seeing it from Young, they can revisit some of the calls that came in upon his September benching. Rumblings about a 2025 trade circulated once Carolina demoted Young for stopgap Andy Dalton, and it would make sense for the Panthers to see if Young can up his trade value a bit with a slightly better second half. For a team to bench a former No. 1 overall pick in September of his second season suggests this partnership is ending. Dalton recovering from his thumb sprain could give Carolina a chance to consider this, though Young will probably finish the season there.

The Saints are in trouble, sinking despite rostering a host of veteran defenders. Young is among them, but he is tied to a one-year contract high on per-game roster bonuses. Young is off to a slow start in terms of sacks, but he is on pace for a career high in QB hits. Generating solid pressure, Young is a former No. 2 overall pick who is just 25. He is also using this as an audition season, having seen former teammate Montez Sweat score a megadeal while he settled for a one-year pact due to injury concerns. Young has a severe knee injury and a 2023 neck ailment on his medical sheet, but he has stayed healthy this season.