29 Notable Trade Candidates To Watch In 2025

With the NFL Scouting Combine this week, the NFL offseason is up and running. The next time things will slow down is after the draft in May, and between then and now we’ll have free agency and more than likely a blockbuster trade or two.

You come here for trade rumors and there’s been plenty of that in recent weeks. Back in the fall, we looked at a dozen potential big-name trade candidates and four of those have been making headlines recently:

• Browns DE Myles Garrett hit his breaking point with all the losing in Cleveland and went public with his demand to be traded. Garrett’s the type of player every team in the league will have a conversation about acquiring but some make more sense than others.
• The Rams and QB Matthew Stafford are navigating a tricky situation, as the veteran wants a well-deserved raise but Los Angeles is justifiably leery of committing $50 million a year to a 37-year-old quarterback. There’s a real chance this ends with Stafford playing elsewhere, perhaps for the Giants, Steelers or Raiders. Meanwhile the Rams’ options to replace Stafford aren’t inspiring.
• The 49ers have openly placed WR Deebo Samuel on the trade block, while the Rams have done the same with WR Cooper Kupp. There’s more on what landing spots make sense for Kupp and there’s a fair amount of overlap for teams who could be interested in Samuel, though the two are very different players.

But there are plenty more players to watch. There were a dozen trades completed before the NFL Draft last year. In 2023, that number was 14. A lot more players are available than just the few who have been listed so far.

Here’s a quick look around the NFL at some of the most notable names who could be on the move in the next several weeks. They’re organized by position, so we’ll start on offense and work through to defense.

Raiders QB Gardner Minshew

The Raiders could cut Minshew and save over $6 million in cap space this offseason. With Aidan O’Connell on a rookie contract for two more years and Las Vegas likely to add to the position — either through free agency, the draft or a trade (Stafford?) — it’s hard to find room for Minshew in 2025, even though he already has a little over $3 million of his salary guaranteed.

However, the Raiders also might be able to find a trade market for Minshew. Backup quarterback has become an increasingly important position, and Minshew’s credentials in that department are well-established. If he’s willing to accept a pay cut to his guaranteed number, that would make him more attractive to a new team, and also increase the cap relief for the Raiders who are on the hook for the guarantees otherwise, whether he’s on the roster or not.

Las Vegas might need to hold Minshew through free agency and the draft and get into the summer before a real...