Odell Beckham Jr. Hopes To Sign By End Of November; 49ers In Mix
OBJ watch remains in full effect. As Adam Schefter of ESPN.com writes, free agent wideout Odell Beckham Jr. is hoping to sign with a club by the end of November, and it appears there are five legitimate suitors: the Bills, Chiefs, Cowboys, Giants, and 49ers.
While the first four teams on that list have been mentioned as potential landing spots before, the 49ers are a new entrant in this year’s Beckham sweepstakes. The Niners were reportedly on OBJ’s shortlist of preferred destinations when he was cut by the Browns last November, but they had not been a part of the 2022 rumors. The 5-4 club currently occupies the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoff picture and made a bold move to acquire former Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey prior to the trade deadline. Beckham would further bolster a talented skill-position group that includes McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle.
Recent reporting indicates that the Cowboys have emerged as the frontrunners here, and neither Schefter nor Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports have said anything to contradict that. Indeed, Jones confirms that Beckham is looking to join a high-profile contender that plays in a warm-weather city, and the Cowboys meet all of those criteria. On the other hand, a cold-weather climate is not necessarily a dealbreaker, so Super Bowl favorites like the Bills remain in play. There is also the possibility that a dark horse candidate swoops in at the last minute, while disappointing would-be contenders like the Rams and Packers seem to have fallen out of the race.
Although Schefter reports that Dr. Neal ElAttrache is prepared to clear Beckham for all activities, one of Jones’ sources says the wideout might not be ready for game action until Week 14 or 15. Another executive told Jones that all of the rumors surrounding Beckham are “creating the illusion of a market,” and while it is fair to be skeptical of what Beckham can offer for the remainder of the 2022 season, the reports of widespread interest in his services appear legitimate.
In fact, Schefter’s sources say that Beckham could land a payout in line with those of Bucs WR Chris Godwin and Chargers receiver Mike Williams (albeit on a prorated basis). Godwin and Williams enjoy a $20MM AAV, and assuming the market for Beckham is as robust as it appears, he could earn a $5MM salary for the final quarter of the season. Beckham continues to push for a multi-year pact, and if a team is willing to honor that request, it would be better-equipped to absorb such a salary, which would otherwise be difficult to do at this point in the season.
Regardless of what he makes for the rest of the 2022 campaign, Beckham may need to accept a contract comprised primarily of non-guaranteed money in the future in order to secure a multi-year contract, as Jones observes.
Cardinals Place C Rodney Hudson On IR, Sign K Tristan Vizcaino
The Cardinals have placed center Rodney Hudson on injured reserve, per a team announcement. Hudson has dealt with knee trouble since training camp, and while he played in the first four games of the season, he has been sidelined ever since.
It is fair to wonder whether this is the end of the line for Hudson, who reportedly contemplated retirement this offseason. In 2021, his first season with the Cardinals, he was one of Pro Football Focus’ worst-rated centers after years of high-level performance. Since he became a full-time starter in 2013, his third professional season, he had not registered a PFF grade below 71.0, but that number fell to 60.9 last season.
2021 also saw the typically-durable blocker miss five games due to rib and shoulder injuries, and combined with this year’s knee ailment, his health is clearly an increasing concern. He is under contract through 2023, though the Cardinals’ interior O-line has been hit hard by injury this year, and the club could seek to remake that unit this offseason.
Arizona first turned to Sean Harlow to replace Hudson, and then to former Bengals first-rounder Billy Price. Price never lived up to his draft status in Cincinnati, which is why he was available for the Cards to pluck him off the Raiders’ taxi squad in early October. While it appears he will continue operating at the pivot in the near-term, his performance has not improved. His dismal 38.6 overall grade, underscored by four penalties and four sacks allowed, is the second-worst mark in the league among players with enough snaps to qualify.
In other Cardinals news, the team signed kicker Tristan Vizcaino to the active roster. Matt Prater, who has battled a hip injury this year, will miss Arizona’s Week 10 contest against the Rams. Vizcaino has made nine of his 10 career field goal tries, though he is just 12-for-17 on PATs.
Seahawks Expected To Offer QB Geno Smith Long-Term Deal After Season
The Seahawks are one of the league’s biggest surprises in 2022, as they sit at 6-3 and atop the NFC West standings despite entering the season with all the trappings of a rebuilding outfit. The biggest reason for Seattle’s success, of course, is quarterback Geno Smith, and according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the ‘Hawks are expected to offer Smith a long-term contract after the season (video link).
Last month, we heard that Smith’s play through the first five games of the regular season was changing the narrative that he is nothing more than a bridge option for a club that had been expected to select a signal-caller in the first round of the 2023 draft. Obviously, five games is a small sample size, and Seattle was sporting a 2-3 record at the time. Since then, the team has rattled off four straight wins, and although Smith is no longer the league leader in quarterback rating, his sterling 107.2 mark is third in the NFL behind Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.
Nine games still qualifies as a small sample size, which is presumably why the Seahawks want to hold off on contract talks until after the season is over. Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times hears that “many expect” the team to hit Smith with the franchise tag or transition tag before free agency officially opens in March, because even if he finishes the campaign as strong as he has started it, it will still be difficult to value a 32-year-old breakout passer who just became a full-time starter for the first time since 2014.
Smith has declined to talk about his contract status, saying that those issues will be resolved in due time. He doubtlessly wants the security of a multi-year accord, but the franchise tag (~$31.4MM) or transition tag (~$28MM) would still represent a massive windfall for the West Virginia product, who has earned just over $11MM in his career to date. Plus, the Seahawks — who are presently projected to have $53MM of cap space in 2023 — could absorb the cap hit of a tag, which would also buy them time to see what options the draft holds. Regardless of what happens during the draft at the end of April, Seattle would have until sometime in July to agree to a long-term deal with Smith if the parties are still interested in such an arrangement.
According to Rapoport, the Seahawks are also interested in re-signing backup quarterback Drew Lock, who came to the team in this year’s Russell Wilson trade and who competed with Smith for the starting QB gig over the spring and summer. Lock’s performance as a 21-game starter in Denver was less than impressive, and barring injury to Smith, he will enter free agency without any positive momentum. Nonetheless, he and Smith enjoy a strong relationship, and if there are nothing more than backup opportunities available on the open market, he may be amenable to a return to Seattle.
Trade Deadline Notes: Burns, R. Smith, 49ers
The trade deadline passed on Tuesday, but reports of near-deals and trade talks featuring high-profile players continue to trickle in. Though the NFL trade deadline may never produce the anticipation that the MLB deadline seems to generate, NFL front offices are increasingly amenable to making deals, and this year’s deadline day brought with it 10 trades and 12 players changing teams, both league records. As Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets, that type of activity is wildly popular among fans and therefore good for business, and Yates’ ESPN colleague, Adam Schefter, says multiple clubs have reached out to the league office this week to discuss the possibility of moving future deadlines to later dates.
In 2012, the league pushed the deadline back two weeks, from the Tuesday after Week 6 to the Tuesday after Week 8. Another move could see the deadline moved to sometime after Week 10 or Week 12, which would presumably produce even more trades. The idea is that, the later the deadline, the more clarity teams will have with respect to their status as a playoff contender, which will lead to more trade activity. Schefter hears that the issue will be raised at the general manager committee meetings later this month.
Now for more fallout and other notes from this year’s deadline extravaganza:
- Teams were perhaps most interested in improving their receiving talent at the deadline, as players like Chase Claypool, Calvin Ridley, Kadarius Toney, and T.J. Hockenson changed hands on or before deadline day, and big names like Brandin Cooks, Jerry Jeudy, DeAndre Hopkins, and D.J. Moore generated conversations as well. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the aggression on that front was inspired at least in part by a weak 2023 class of free agent receivers headlined by the likes of Jakobi Meyers, Deonte Harty, Nelson Agholor, Allen Lazard, Mecole Hardman, and JuJu Smith-Schuster. On a related note, Joel Corry of CBS Sports believes that, if the Saints choose to move on from Michael Thomas this offseason, they may find a number of suitors, despite Thomas’ recent injury woes (Twitter link).
- It was indeed the Rams who were willing to trade two first-round picks to the Panthers in exchange for DE Brian Burns, as Jones writes in a separate piece. Confirming prior reports, Jones says Los Angeles offered its 2024 and 2025 first-round selections — the team is without a 2023 first-round pick to due to last year’s Matthew Stafford trade — and he adds that the club also included a 2023 second-round choice in its final proposal. Carolina gave serious consideration to the offer, but it ultimately elected to hold onto Burns, which will increase the player’s leverage in offseason extension talks. Per Jones, Burns is likely to land a deal that far exceeds the $110MM pact that the Dolphins recently authorized for their own deadline acquisition, Bradley Chubb.
- Speaking of the Panthers, we learned earlier today that the club also turned down a first-round pick for Moore. The Panthers’ reticence to trade its young talent (aside from Christian McCaffrey, of course) was on full display at the deadline, and while the decisions to retain Moore and Burns were certainly defensible, every executive with whom Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post spoke was shocked that the club did not pull the trigger on Burns. “I can’t believe they turned [the Rams’ offer] down. Now they almost have to pay him whatever he wants because everyone knows they turned down two [first-round picks] for him,” one GM said. Apparently, cornerback Donte Jackson also drew some trade interest, though another GM said the Panthers were asking too much for him as well.
- The 49ers‘ acquisition of McCaffrey will necessitate some “bean-counting creativity” from GM John Lynch this offseason, as Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle opines. The team’s impending cap crunch, intensified by McCaffrey’s $12MM cap hit for 2023, will make it more difficult for the club to retain QB Jimmy Garoppolo — though that may not have been in the cards anyway — and RT Mike McGlinchey.
- Bears head coach Matt Eberflus acknowledged that one of the reasons his team traded linebacker Roquan Smith is because of Smith’s lack of ball production relative to his peers, particularly the peers who have contracts that Smith wants to top, as Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic writes (subscription required). Compared to fellow 2018 draftee and three-time First Team All-Pro Shaquille Leonard, for instance, Smith has five fewer interceptions (seven), 16 fewer forced fumbles (one), and six fewer fumble recoveries (one) over the course of his career.
- The Lions‘ trade of Hockenson will naturally create more playing time for second-year pro Brock Wright — who is expected to step into the starting TE role — and fifth-round rookie James Mitchell, as Tim Twentyman of the team’s official website notes. Mitchell, who is still strengthening and rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered as a collegian at Virginia Tech in 2021, has played just 21 offensive snaps this season but offers big-play upside at the tight end position.
Cowboys Interested In Odell Beckham Jr., Made Offer For Broncos’ Jerry Jeudy
11:31am: Jay Glazer of FOX Sports says Beckham’s return to full strength will happen closer to the mid-November timeframe that had been floated for some time. Per Glazer, Beckham is expected to be fully cleared within the next week (Twitter link).
08:16am: The Cowboys made an effort to improve their WR corps in advance of Tuesday’s trade deadline, including an attempt to acquire Texans wideout Brandin Cooks. Cooks was not the only receiver Dallas was interested in, and though the deadline has passed, there is still one high-profile pass catcher on the team’s radar, as Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report.
That player, of course, is Odell Beckham Jr., who is a popular name on the NFL rumor mill for the second consecutive November. Last year, it was a midseason divorce with the Browns that led to an OBJ free agent frenzy, which ultimately concluded with the three-time Pro Bowler signing with the Rams. Beckham then tore his ACL in Super Bowl LVI and has been without an employer since his contract with Los Angeles expired.
That is largely because Beckham has not been healthy enough to take the field. Reports have consistently maintained he would be ready to return to game action this month, so we fully expected contending clubs — especially those that did not land a receiver at the deadline — to ramp up their pursuit of Beckham right about now. The Rams have acknowledged since the offseason that they would be interested in a reunion, and that is presumably still the case since LA also missed out on Cooks and has gotten little production from offseason acquisition Allen Robinson. The Bills, Chiefs, Packers, and Vikings are also in the mix, and the Giants could be a factor as well.
Rapoport and Garafolo do note that, contrary to earlier reporting on the matter, Beckham is not expected to be at full strength and under contract until early December. That delay does not appear to be much of a concern, as one of the reasons the Cowboys did not overpay in a trade for a receiver is because the team believed it would have a chance to sign Beckham. Dallas has not yet talked contract with OBJ’s camp but has monitored his recovery closely.
In addition to Cooks, the Cowboys also made an offer for Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, per the NFL.com duo. Denver fielded a number of calls on its former first-rounder, and GM George Paton was said to be holding out for a Round 2 selection. Teams clearly did not meet that asking price, as Jeudy stayed put. Nonetheless, it is clear that the Cowboys, who have posted a 6-2 record despite playing five of their eight games without Dak Prescott, are serious about adding another weapon to Prescott’s arsenal.
According to Rapoport and Garafolo, Beckham wants a multi-year deal. It would be somewhat surprising to see him land such an accord given his recent injury history, though the sheer number of suitors could help him in achieving that goal. On the other hand, if he joins a team for only the remainder of the 2022 campaign and performs as well as he did with the Rams prior to the ACL tear, he will be in line for a much larger payday in the offseason.
Packers Attempted To Acquire Raiders TE Darren Waller At Deadline
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, as well as Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, the Packers attempted to acquire Raiders tight end Darren Waller prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline. We already knew that Green Bay had offered a second-round choice for Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool — whom Pittsburgh ultimately sent to the Bears, as it believed the second-rounder it received from Chicago would be more valuable than the Packers’ selection — and we also learned previously that the team was interested in potential TE upgrades. We now know that Waller was one such TE target.
Waller, 30, signed a three-year, $51MM extension with the Raiders in September, but he is dealing with serious injury issues for the second straight season. The 2020 Pro Bowler was limited to 11 games in 2021, and he is expected to miss his third consecutive game on Sunday as a result of a hamstring ailment. Plus, after catching 10 balls for 129 yards and a score in the first two games of the 2022 campaign, he was limited to six catches for 46 yards in the next two contests. He played just eight snaps in Week 5 before injuring his hamstring.
Still, a healthy Waller is one of the game’s better receiving tight ends, and assuming he gets back to full strength soon, he would have been a nice weapon for a Packers offense that is just outside the bottom-10 in passing yards per game. Part of that disappointing ranking is due to a rash of injury problems that have impacted the club’s pass-catching contingent; Allen Lazard missed Green Bay’s Week 8 loss to the Bills due to a shoulder injury, Randall Cobb is on IR with an ankle injury, Sammy Watkins has missed time with hamstring troubles of his own, and Christian Watson exited the Buffalo game with a concussion. Injecting another player with health concerns into that mix might have been something of a risk, but GM Brian Gutekunst was clearly hoping a bold move might save Green Bay’s season.
Indeed, while Claypool was, according to Schefter, Gutekunst’s “primary focus,” the team also called the Panthers to discuss D.J. Moore, per Rapoport and Pelissero (though Schefter says the Packers were not interested in Texans receiver Brandin Cooks). Carolina, which rebuffed a massive offer for DE Brian Burns, also turned away the Moore inquiries, even though Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports the Packers were willing to deal a first-round pick (via Marcus Mosher of Pro Football Focus on Twitter). Schefter adds that, in an effort to close a Claypool trade, the Packers added a late-round pick to the second-rounder it was prepared to send to the Steelers, but apparently Pittsburgh valued Chicago’s Round 2 choice over Green Bay’s two-pick proposal.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who could be in the midst of his final season, publicly expressed his appreciation for the front office’s efforts. “The compensation for whatever players we were going after just didn’t make sense,” Rodgers said. “So I trust [Gutekunst]. We had some good conversations. We were in on some things. It just didn’t pan out.”
Meanwhile, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes the ESPN and NFL.com reports, which were both published early Sunday morning, were based on leaks from the team designed specifically to appease Rodgers, and that the Green Bay front office did not actually want to make a deal. Regardless of the veracity of that claim, the end result is the same: if the 3-5 Packers are to salvage what could be Rodgers’ last stand, their existing talent will need to get healthy and turn things around in a hurry, as the only receiving help they can add at this point is free agent Odell Beckham Jr.
As an interesting aside, this is the second time this year the Packers and Raiders have discussed Waller, who was part of the talks that culminated in the blockbuster Davante Adams trade in March.
Teams Inquired On Cards’ DeAndre Hopkins
The 3-5 Cardinals are presently in last place in their division and are on the outside of the NFC playoff picture. It is of little surprise, then, that Arizona GM Steve Keim received a “flurry of trade calls” from teams interested in wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). We do not know who placed the calls, but given their reported interest in other receivers, clubs like the Cowboys, Packers, and even the division-rival Rams might have checked in.
The leaguewide desire to add receiving help was on full display at the deadline, as Chase Claypool, Calvin Ridley, Kadarius Toney, and T.J. Hockenson all changed teams, and notable pass catchers like Brandin Cooks and Jerry Jeudy were the subject of trade discussions as well. At present, Hopkins is better than any of those players, and he is under club control through 2024 with no guaranteed money left on his contract, so Keim could have demanded a hefty return if he were interested in swinging a deal.
Hopkins, 30, has been terrific since returning from his six-game PED suspension. In two games this year, he has caught 22 balls for 262 yards and a score, and quarterback Kyler Murray is a noticeably better passer with Hopkins in the lineup. The Cardinals acquired Marquise Brown in a draft-day trade in April in the hopes that he and Hopkins would form a formidable 1-2 punch when Hopkins got back on the field, but Brown is on IR with a foot injury and is not expected back for a few more weeks. Following Brown’s injury, Keim traded for Panthers wideout Robbie Anderson, who has seen just 19 snaps in two games with the Cardinals as he continues to get acclimated to Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense.
When healthy, that offense — which has been without RB James Conner for the last three weeks and which was without WR Rondale Moore for the first three games of the campaign — can be a potent one. And the NFC West is not exactly a powerhouse this year, so rather than deal his top playmaker, Keim stood pat and will now look to see if Hopkins can help his club claw back onto the postseason chase.
However, Rapoport observed that it’s unclear whether Keim was unwilling to trade Hopkins, or if other teams simply didn’t meet his asking price. Hopkins, who is due base salaries of $19.5MM in 2023 and $14.9MM in 2024 — eminently reasonable figures in light of the exploding receiver market — could be on the trade block this offseason. Indeed, while his salaries are manageable, his cap charges on Arizona’s books are significant ($30.8MM in 2023 and $26.2MM in 2024) due to his prorated bonus money.
Saints Unlikely To Trade RB Alvin Kamara; Bills’ Overtures “Rebuffed”
As we are just two days away from the trade deadline, plenty of fans and pundits are looking at the rosters of teams that profile as potential sellers and are speculating as to what notable players on those teams could be on the move. If one looks at record alone, the 2-5 Saints certainly appear to be more likely sellers than buyers.
However, New Orleans is just one game out of first place in the woeful NFC South, and Nick Underhill of New Orleans.Football says that the club is “focused on making the playoffs,” which would seem to preclude any seller-type moves. With respect to recent speculation that RB Alvin Kamara is generating trade interest, Underhill suggests that the Saints are not inclined to trade the five-time Pro Bowler.
That doesn’t mean that teams have not contacted GM Mickey Loomis to check in on Kamara’s availability. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported on Sunday that the Bills called the Saints about a potential Kamara trade, only to be rebuffed (video link). It’s unclear whether New Orleans simply declined to engage in discussions, or if Buffalo’s proposal was not appealing enough.
The Bills were reportedly interested in former Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey before Carolina dealt him to the 49ers, though Buffalo brass did not actually make an offer for CMC. In a piece that was published Sunday morning, NFL.com reporters Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo noted that, in exchange for Kamara, the Saints would want a package on par with the one that the Panthers received from the Niners, which was comprised of San Francisco’s second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-round 2024 selection. The Kamara-related portion of the NFL.com report was subsequently deleted.
Clearly, the Super Bowl contender Bills want to upgrade their RB room, and Kamara would be an attractive fit for any number of clubs. He is playing out the current season on a $1.035MM salary, and he is due reasonable payouts of $9.4MM in 2023 and $10.2MM in 2024. He is scheduled to earn $22.4MM in 2025, but he will be 30 by that point, and his contract is easily escapable at any time between now and then (at least for a team that acquires him via trade). $1MM of his 2023 salary is guaranteed, and other than that, there is no guaranteed money remaining on his deal.
Of course, the expectation is that Kamara will be hit with a six-game suspension due to his pending felony battery charge, and it presently appears as if he will end up serving that ban in 2023. That obviously hurts his trade value, though his on-field performance has been consistent with the elite level he established over his first few years in the league. Despite dealing with a rib injury that has kept him out of two games this season, Kamara managed 77 carries for 351 yards entering Sunday’s matchup with the Raiders. That amounts to a 4.6 YPC rate, which is in line with his career average and represents a nice bounce-back from a disappointing 2021 campaign that saw him post a career-low 3.7 YPC mark.
Bears Not Expected To Trade LB Roquan Smith
There are doubtlessly plenty of teams interested in acquiring Bears LB Roquan Smith in advance of Tuesday’s trade deadline. Smith, though, is the midst of perhaps the best year of his career, and Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times says the team is not expected to deal its 2018 first-rounder.
Smith requested a trade in August, and he issued a statement indicating that the Bears’ front office was not negotiating a contract extension in good faith. Smith has been eligible for a new contract since the end of the 2020 campaign and is playing out the current season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal, which is paying him a $9.7MM salary. However, he was reportedly pushing for an accord with an AAV of at least $20MM, a sum that would exceed the annual averages of First Team All-Pros Shaquille Leonard and Fred Warner. But unlike his fellow 2018 draftees, Smith does not have a Pro Bowl on his resume yet, let alone a First Team All-Pro selection.
Ultimately, Smith ended his training camp “hold-in” and returned to practice. At that time, we learned that Chicago GM Ryan Poles did not even initiate trade talks with other clubs, and teams that might have been interested were scared off by Smith’s contract demands. It was also reported that Smith is generally viewed as a good, but not great, defender.
Given the way he has performed this year, it is unlikely that Smith will be backing off his $20MM/year price, which could again complicate trade talks if Poles is interested in entertaining them. At this point, though, it seems as if the first-year GM views Smith — who profiles as a franchise tag candidate in 2023, despite the inevitable backlash a tag would engender — as a foundational piece that he will not move unless he is overwhelmed by an offer.
Even during his hold-in, Smith enjoyed the respect of his coaches and teammates, and nothing has changed in that regard. On the field, he currently leads the league with 78 total tackles and has added 2.5 sacks and two interceptions (he is one of just two LBs in the league with at least two picks). He has also taken every defensive snap, which is emblematic of the durability he displayed throughout his first four professional seasons.
In the interest of equal time, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics have never been particularly high on Smith. The highest overall score he ever earned from PFF was 67.2 — a solid, if unspectacular, figure — in 2020. In 2021, he was assigned a poor 47.8 mark, and through the first seven games of 2022, his grade sits at 57.9. It is possible that the more analytically-minded front offices are the ones that do not believe Smith’s contract demands are commensurate with his abilities.
Raiders Active In Trade Talks
The 2-4 Raiders believe that they are postseason contenders despite their current record. Per Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review- Journal, the club has been active in trade conversations, and it does not sound as if it is interested in trading for draft picks. Instead, Bonsignore says Las Vegas is seeking players to immediately upgrade its roster.
To be clear, the Raiders are reportedly uninterested in rentals; they want any player they acquire to be under contract through at least 2023, and if they swing a deal for an impending free agent, they would want to feel confident that they can extend that player. Specifically, the team is on the lookout for defensive upgrades, and a quality interior DL is atop the wish list.
That makes sense given that the Silver-and-Black boasts an offense that ranks in the top-10 in yards per game and points per game and a defense that presently resides in the bottom-10 in both categories. The club already parted with one interior defensive lineman when it traded Johnathan Hankins to the Cowboys earlier this week, but Hankins’ role was diminished under the new Josh McDaniels regime, and he clearly was not seen as a player who could help reverse the defense’s fortunes. Likewise, while former first-round pick Clelin Ferrell has lined up inside on occasion, he is a trade candidate himself.
It is possible that the Raiders are interested in Commanders DT Daron Payne, but the latest reporting indicates that Washington does not want to move Payne. The Panthers have also told interested teams that they are not trading DT Derrick Brown, but a player like Lions DL John Cominsky — who was claimed off waivers in May — could be available for a reasonable price.
The D-line, though, is not the only area that could use an upgrade. The Raiders, like many teams, would likely be in the mix for Bears LB Roquan Smith if Chicago should make him available, and a boost to the secondary in the form of a player like Washington’s William Jackson III — who is very much up for grabs — could be a consideration as well.