play1:44Should the Jets steer clear of Kyler Murray?The “Get Up” crew discusses whether Kyler Murray is too risky of an option for the New York Jets.
play1:49Greeny: It’s a win-win for Raiders to trade Maxx CrosbyMike Greenberg and the “Get Up” crew weigh in on whether it’s time for the Raiders to trade Maxx Crosby.
play1:21Will A.J. Brown still be with the Eagles next season?Jeff Saturday and Dan Graziano debate whether A.J. Brown will still be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles next season.
Is it time for Maxx Crosby and Raiders to part ways? (2:19)Dan Graziano, Bart Scott and Mike Tannenbaum discuss the best course of action for Maxx Crosby and the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason. (2:19)
Should the Jets steer clear of Kyler Murray?The “Get Up” crew discusses whether Kyler Murray is too risky of an option for the New York Jets.
The “Get Up” crew discusses whether Kyler Murray is too risky of an option for the New York Jets.
Greeny: It’s a win-win for Raiders to trade Maxx CrosbyMike Greenberg and the “Get Up” crew weigh in on whether it’s time for the Raiders to trade Maxx Crosby.
Mike Greenberg and the “Get Up” crew weigh in on whether it’s time for the Raiders to trade Maxx Crosby.
Will A.J. Brown still be with the Eagles next season?Jeff Saturday and Dan Graziano debate whether A.J. Brown will still be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles next season.
Jeff Saturday and Dan Graziano debate whether A.J. Brown will still be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles next season.
Colts save on the cap, Panthers jump-start their offense
Deals can form in moments if teams have existing relationships, but more often, trades take time to put together. Front offices want to negotiate with multiple suitors for the best offer. General managers weigh their chances of improving their rosters in free agency before going with alternatives via trades, which involves talking with agents and getting a sense of whether they’re likely to land a player. It’s a lengthy process.
We’re less than a month from the start of the new NFL league year in early March, when we usually see the juiciest trades. Today, I’ll put together 11 trade proposals that might make sense for both sides. You shouldn’t be surprised — the only thing I love more than a real trade is a mock one.
Though it would be fun to put together some massive offer for Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson, I’ve tried to focus on players who will be subject to trade discussions in the weeks to come. In some cases, that includes veterans who are either soon-to-be free agents or potential cap casualties. I’ll try to lay out the argument for why a player is likely to be a trade target, what I believe is a fair return and where he could land.
I’ve tried to use historical returns to form the expected trade value, but as we’ve seen from the deals for players such as DeAndre Hopkins and Quinnen Williams in the past few years, outliers still happen. And obviously, most of these deals will involve draft capital. Let’s get started.
Jump to a trade involving … Kyler Murray | Mac Jones | Tanner McKee A.J. Brown | DJ Moore | Brian Thomas Jr. Michael Pittman Jr. | Walker Little Maxx Crosby | Kayvon Thibodeaux Kenny Clark | Trent McDuffie | Riley Moss
Crosby has resisted trade overtures in the past with the hopes of being part of a Raiders turnaround, but after the star edge rusher was held out late in the season as Las Vegas attempted to (successfully) land the first pick, something seemed to turn. Crosby hasn’t publicly requested a trade, and the Raiders moved on from coach Pete Carroll after the season, but there’s certainly some smoke here.
His three-year, $106.5 million extension was structured to make a trade before the 2026 season financially palatable. The deal doesn’t have a signing bonus, so the Raiders would be on the hook for only $5.1 million in dead money if they traded him. His new team would be on the hook for $60.6 million between 2026 and 2027, with the option to pay an additional $53.9 million in non-guaranteed money between 2028 and 2029.
Poles probably has to clear out some cash and cap to get a deal done. Enter Moore, whose four-year extension starts next season. The Bears have already paid Moore a $20 million signing bonus as part of that deal, $23.5 million of Moore’s 2026 deal is already guaranteed, and $15.5 million of his 2027 compensation locks in if he is on the roster in mid-March. Any team acquiring Moore would essentially be signing to pay him $49 million over the next two years.
Greeny: It’s a win-win for Raiders to trade Maxx Crosby
Coach Liam Coen and GM James Gladstone enjoyed a successful first season in Jacksonville, but there’s plenty of work to be done this offseason. Rebuilding Trevor Lawrence’s line was important for the first-time head coach and general manager. The new regime inherited Little at left tackle from former GM Trent Baalke, who signed Little to a three-year, $40.5 million extension in December 2024 after just a handful of starts on the blind side.
Little should also have some modest trade value because of his age (he turns 27 in April) and experience playing left tackle. Remember that Jaylon Moore, who served as the backup left tackle for the 49ers behind Trent Williams, signed a two-year, $30 million deal with the Chiefs in free agency a year ago. Little would be less expensive and has more experience than Moore.
I’m not sure Little is even an average left tackle, but maybe he settles in at that level on the right side or at guard. The good news is the Browns need starters everywhere. Cam Robinson, Jack Conklin, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Ethan Pocic are all free agents, while tackle Dawand Jones missed most of 2025 because of hamstring and knee injuries and is entering the final year of his deal. Little would step in at one of those many openings for the Browns up front.
Bills get: WR Brian Thomas Jr., 2026 fifth-round pick Jaguars get: WR Keon Coleman, 2026 first-round pick
After the Bills beat the Jaguars in the wild-card round, I laid out an argument for why Jacksonville would consider a trade for Thomas. If the organization is still committed to giving Travis Hunter a two-way role, its wide receiver room would be very crowded. Jakobi Meyers signed an extension after impressing in half a year with the Jags. And Parker Washington was the team’s best wideout down the stretch and into the postseason.
The Jags also don’t have their first-round pick in 2026 after trading it to the Browns as part of the Hunter deal, leaving Gladstone with limited draft capital. Thomas would be their most realistic way to get that missing first-rounder back. Getting the pick back just for the sake of it doesn’t mean much, but if the Jags don’t see Thomas as a focal point of their offense, the best time to make a move would be now.
The Jaguars might stick with Thomas and expect more from him in 2026. Jacksonville could use Hunter as a full-time cornerback and part-time wide receiver in 2026, which would likely mean that Coen would call on Thomas, Washington and Meyers as the team’s top three receivers in 11 personnel. At the same time, though, a part-time role for Hunter might still limit Thomas’ production.
Remember that Hunter missed the final 10 games of the regular season and the playoff loss because of a knee injury. Thomas averaged just 44 receiving yards per game once Hunter went down, a 748-yard pace over a full season (he missed three games because of an ankle injury). Even a handful of snaps per game for Hunter would be more competition than Thomas had during the second half of 2025, and Thomas wasn’t productive over that span.
The Bills, on the other hand, desperately need an “X” receiver who can separate from man coverage and make plays at all three levels. Coleman might have become that player for them, but after ownership bad-mouthed the 2024 second-round pick in a news conference, it’s tough to believe that he has a long-term future in Buffalo.
Thomas would immediately step in as Josh Allen’s No. 1 receiver. For a team that’s $10 million over the projected cap before making adjustments this offseason, Thomas’ contract is a bargain for the next few years. He’ll make $2.1 million in 2026 and $2.8 million in 2027 before a potential fifth-year option in 2028, affording the Bills multiple seasons of cost control. Even if Thomas only settles in somewhere between his 2024 and 2025 form, he would offer significant surplus value.
The Jags could use that first-round pick — No. 26 after this deal — to add cost-controlled talent or go after young talent via trades. They would be taking a flier on Coleman, who is owed only $3.8 million combined over the next two seasons. That’s not a big cost savings over Thomas, but when you factor in the first-round pick, the Jags would be upgrading another position while slotting Coleman in as their WR4.
Panthers get: WR Michael Pittman Jr., 2026 seventh-round pick Colts get: WR Xavier Legette, 2026 fifth-round pick
The Vikings can’t afford to leave J.J. McCarthy an uncontested path to their starting quarterback job again in 2026. He was a disaster for most of the season, and though he put together a better stretch to end 2025, that four-game run came against the Commanders (who were 30th in EPA per play against pass dropbacks), Cowboys (31st), Giants (17th, in a game where McCarthy threw 14 passes) and Packers (21st, McCarthy was facing second- and third-stringers for most of the game).
It’s reasonable to say that McCarthy deserves more time, having started just 10 games during two seasons as a pro. Even if you’re making that argument, though, the Vikings need real competition for him in camp. They also need a backup who can step in to play, given that McCarthy has missed 24 games over his first two years because of knee, concussion, hand and ankle injuries.
If Jones spends just 2025 backing up McCarthy, the 49ers swap only the Day 2 picks. If Jones emerges as the long-term starter in Minnesota, though, the Vikings could send a second-rounder and two third-round picks to the 49ers — a price that Kevin O’Connell would surely be happy to pay for an upgrade at quarterback.