NFL Trade Deadline: Nine Deals We'd Like to See
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Loading... - Elsie Fisher
- 28 Oct 2022
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When it comes to the trade deadline, good general managers are now like the eBay consumer who selects the “buy it now” option instead of waiting for the final moments of the auction. The old adage that deadlines spur action really applies only to contracts in the NFL now (because owners are some combination of stingy, distant and performative). The trade deadline, as it stands, has all but fizzled out.
Robert Quinn (Eagles), James Robinson (Jets), Christian McCaffrey (49ers), Johnathan Hankins (Cowboys) and Robbie Anderson (Cardinals) have already found new homes. If a team really wanted someone, they’ve gone out and acquired them, instead of waiting for an arbitrary time and date (in this case, 4 p.m. ET Tuesday) to tell them when they should.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun (or that you shouldn’t still try a few eBay auctions, because sniping someone with the suggested bid increase at the final second for that Bailey Zappe rookie card is incredibly satisfying). While another blockbuster may shake the league’s very foundation, it’s up to us to come up with the best trades that should have happened. Or still might! Teams can’t believe this, but the advice we offer here is completely and totally free.
In preparation for this exercise, I suggested a Robinson-to-the-Jets trade in our editor-to-writer Slack channel. While my editor, Mitch Goldich, offered a suggestion of Jameis Winston to the Colts the day before Indianapolis benched Matt Ryan for the season. We have time stamps to prove it and everything. I’d take that as an indication that our radar is at least somewhat functional.
But first …
Who should be buying
New York Jets
It all depends on what the Jets want to do here. Their remaining strength of schedule is brutal, and they will need to fortify, as they started to do with the Robinson trade. While it is not easy to play in this offensive line, there are now a lot of teams that have players who can do it. Ultimately, GM Joe Douglas will have to decide whether the unit he has can jell, which would be better than going star-hunting at the position. If he wants to gamble, for example, that the Browns would not pay Jack Conklin next year, it’s worth making a phone call. There is still time before he has to pay his quarterback, and George Fant is a free agent next year. The versatile Justin Pugh is from the Northeast and will be a free agent next year, as will the Panthers’ Cameron Erving, who has played every position under the sun on offense. Read More…
