Sportsnaut
For more than half of the league, Week 18 is the end of their 2025 NFL season with others soon to join them after being quickly eliminated from the playoffs. While a majority of the focus on offseason discussion topics centers on NFL free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, there are also quite a few trade possibilities in 2026.
Let’s dive into our list of the top NFL trade candidates this offseason.
Back in 2023, Sam Darnold spent a year in Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback school and turned just 46 pass attempts across 10 games into a one-year trial run as the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback. He broke out, finishing 10th in NFL MVP voting and earning a Pro Bowl selection, and that turned into a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers learned from that experience, signing Mac Jones to a two-year deal last offseason. Now, the former first-round pick will be coming off a season with a 5-3 record, 69.6 percent completion rate, 2,151 passing yards, and a 97.4 QB rating in 11 games (8 as a starter). Jones, who carries just a $3.98 million cap hit in 2026, will be highly coveted by quarterback-needy teams who need a cheap bridge starter with some upside.
It feels very safe to say that Kyler Murray will not be the Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback in 2026. After all, the organization did not hide the fact that its locker room seems to greatly prefer Jacoby Brissett’s leadership, and the offense certainly performed better with the veteran quarterback under center. There is no future in Arizona for Murray, and both sides clearly want to part ways. The Cardinals will almost certainly have to cover some of the long-term money still owed to Murray—a $53.26 million cap hit in 2026 and a $43.535 million cap hit in 2027—and his poor play in 2025 means there will be even fewer suitors. Still, he will only be 29 years old next season, and he posted a 93.6 QB rating from 2020-24. If the Cardinals sweeten the deal enough, there should be a suitor.
A.J. Brown popped up in NFL trade rumors during the season, and the Philadelphia Eagles never seemed to squash the idea entirely. It is why teams around the league still seem to be wondering if Brown will be shopped this offseason. He will be 29 years old next summer, and his production has really picked up since late November, but the Eagles do have a 2-3 record during that five-game stretch. With DeVonta Smith seemingly ready to be the No. 1 wideout in Philadelphia and the 2026 NFL Draft class deep at receiver, it is possible Brown is dealt.
The emergence of Colston Loveland, a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, always raised questions about Cole Kmet’s future with...
