The Browns have already swung two deals sending away veteran players, and more could be coming.
The Saints have a number of pieces they could move on from, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll actually do so.
The Ravens and Bengals look unlikely to sell anytime soon, but things could change if their seasons can’t get back on track.
Forget the adage about deadlines spurring action. With nearly a month left until the NFL’s cutoff for in-season exchanges, the annual swap meet is already in full swing.
The trade deadline – which this year falls on Nov. 4 – was once largely an ornamental event on the league’s calendar. But the action has ramped up considerably in recent years, with teams being far more amenable to reshaping their rosters and financial futures on the fly.
After a couple of minor deals in the immediate aftermath of Week 1 – the Jacksonville Jaguars trading running back Tank Bigsby to the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots trading injured wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk to the New Orleans Saints – the low-stakes reshuffling resumed later in the month with another pair of deals. But things ramped up considerably following Week 5, as the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday dove in for an ultrarare intradivision quarterback acquisition in landing Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns. Teams were hardly finished, with the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers exchanging notable defenders in Odafe Oweh and Alohi Gilman later Tuesday before the Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday reshaped their secondaries by moving Greg Newsome II for Tyson Campbell.
And don’t expect things to tail off from there.
There are plenty of roadblocks that keep the NFL’s trade deadline from becoming the full-on free-for-all seen in the NBA and MLB. Salary-cap consequences can often be prohibitive, and teams with embattled leadership might be reticent to embrace a fire sale if it increases the likelihood of coaches or front-office members losing their jobs. Yet franchises no longer keep picks under lock and key, making it easier to engineer deals between outfits on the opposite ends of the competitive spectrum. And the league has greased the skids for more activity by last year pushing the deadline back another week, giving organizations more clarity on how realistic a playoff run actually is.
So who could be the next teams to pull the trigger? The market might hinge on which franchises are actually willing to part with talent capable of tilting the scales this season. With that in mind, here are five NFL teams that should be sellers ahead of the trade deadline – though whether they actually go that route remains to be seen.
Cleveland Browns
They’ve already offloaded Flacco and Newsome, both of whom were on expiring deals and didn’t figure to factor into the team’s plans beyond this fall. Why stop there? Cleveland has 14 rookies on its 53-man roster, and the pivot from Flacco to Dillon Gabriel dispelled any notion of the team prioritizing the rapidly deteriorating season at hand over its future. The Browns have been adding to their war chest of draft picks since April, when they acquired an additional first-rounder for 2026 by moving back in the deal with the Jaguars. But every asset counts for a roster still short on serviceable starters, and it would be good to have additional flexibility for any potential draft trade targeting a quarterback.
Best trade chip: TE David Njoku. There aren’t a ton of viable veterans to be sent away after the Newsome move. But Njoku should be an intriguing option for a team looking to boost its aerial attack or searching for a fill-in at tight end. The former Pro Bowler is no longer the athletic marvel he once was in his prime, but he’s a solid receiving threat capable of elevating the floor for any offense. Cleveland has the chance to sell high as Njoku comes off a season-best six catches and 67 yards against the Minnesota Vikings, though parting with him would deprive Gabriel of the player whom the rookie passer targeted most frequently in his starting debut. But third-rounder Harold Fannin Jr. already looks capable of holding down the lead role, so auctioning off Njoku to the highest bidder should be on the Browns’ to-do list in the coming weeks.
New Orleans Saints
Ever since Sean Payton left town, New Orleans has struggled to come to terms with its inability to reclaim contender status, instead repeatedly doubling down on a suspect roster and payday loan approach to cap maintenance. Derek Carr’s retirement prompted the Saints to face some harsh truths, but the organization still has only taken a few steps in what looks like a long trek back toward respectability. With the 1-4 season already shaping up as a lost cause, an overdue culling of aging veterans could make the reset a little less imposing.
Best trade chip: WR Chris Olave. Alvin Kamara is a fun consideration here given what the all-purpose dynamo could offer a playoff threat, but the five-time Pro Bowler has been outspoken about his desire to finish his career in New Orleans. A more seamless move might be splitting with Olave, who has nearly $15.5 million in guaranteed salary due next year after the Saints exercised his fifth-year option this past spring. Figuring out a price point could be tricky given the commitment involved with a player who suffered at least four documented concussions in the previous three seasons. But Olave – or maybe fellow speedy receiver Rashid Shaheed – could better tap into his considerable deep speed in a different operation, and New Orleans might have a difficult time convincing itself he’s a foundational piece worthy of an extension in a booming receiver market.
Tennessee Titans
Brian Callahan waved off any notion of a mass talent purge – to the degree there are even enough alluring players to conduct one – after the Titans sent cornerback Jarvis Brownlee to the Jets last month. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss the idea, though. Agita abounds in Nashville, where Callahan’s crew can’t seem to shake the myriad mistakes that have plagued his brief tenure. Tennessee’s hodgepodge of a roster is the product of a years-long lack of vision at the top rungs of the organization. First-year general manager Mike Borgonzi has a chance to finally set things straight, and that likely entails moving on from some of the splashy acquisitions that haven’t panned out.
Best trade chip: DT Jeffery Simmons. Sending away the franchise’s lone elite performer would be a seismic decision, and Tennessee has given no indication it’s prepared to go that far. If he were made available, however, there would probably be a mad rush for an interior disruptor currently operating at a Defensive Player of the Year level. Financial factors likely prohibit sending away wide receiver Calvin Ridley or cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, but Borgonzi might like to try to wipe the slate as clean as possible given his admission in the offseason of how widespread the Titans’ roster needs are. Running back Tony Pollard could be a steady if unspectacular addition for a team needing to punch up its ground game, while Arden Key should be attractive for teams wanting more in the pass rush without breaking the bank.
Cincinnati Bengals
A team clawing to stay alive in the wake of Joe Burrow being sidelined until at least December might seem like an odd candidate for this list. If Flacco can’t turn things around, however, Cincinnati has to consider walking away from an all-in year. Market-setting investments in Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase – as well as the sizable extension for Tee Higgins – necessitate rounding out much of the rest of the roster with capable starters on rookie contracts, and Cincinnati has mostly missed the mark on that mission in recent years. Time to load up again and take more shots at building up the defense and offensive line.
Best trade chip: DE Trey Hendrickson. A split in the spring is all but assured after Hendrickson didn’t manage to secure any long-term summer security in his standoff with the team. While Cincinnati should have a high compensatory pick coming its way one year after the reigning NFL sack king walks, dealing him now would give the Bengals a chance to begin that reloading process a good bit earlier. Might be tough for Cincinnati to instigate a separation, but maximizing the potential return here could be a crucial step for the organization.
Baltimore Ravens
Like the rival Bengals, the Ravens don’t look ready to give up the fight despite finding themselves in a substantial early-season hole. Yet if they can’t get to .500 by the trade deadline and the Pittsburgh Steelers begin running away with the AFC North, Baltimore should embrace a small-scale sell-off, even if such a scenario seems unlikely. Cap space has to be a front-of-mind consideration for a team with so much high-end talent to satisfy, so the Ravens might need to adopt an unfamiliar outlook after so frequently positioning themselves as buyers at the deadline.
Best trade chip: TE Mark Andrews. Teams shouldn’t bother inquiring about any of the truly top-tier players, as the Ravens won’t ship off anyone critical to the franchise’s operations for the foreseeable future. But Andrews looks expendable given Isaiah Likely’s presence and the veteran’s waning relevance to the offense. A change of scenery could do the three-time Pro Bowler good as he tries to demonstrate his value ahead of an expected trip to free agency.
