NFL Trade Rumors
The league wasn’t even a week into the preseason when it saw its first trade, with the Raiders flipping CB Jakorian Bennett to the Eagles for DT Thomas Booker. It was a classic August deal. The Raiders moved on from a young player who wasn’t in their plans to address a position of weakness, while the Eagles took advantage of a deep spot on their roster to add to another that wasn’t as deep.
Expect plenty more trades in the weeks to come as teams get a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses. The number to know here is 53 — the number of players teams have to cut down to at the end of August. The 54th-best player on one team might be the 45th-best on another, creating an opportunity for a deal. Player-for-player swaps are common, and teams will also often use late-round picks or pick swaps as ammunition. It’s also common to see teams target end-of-the-roster players who may have flashed as opponents during joint practices, as well as the usual familiar suspects that coaches have worked with in the past.
With that perspective, here’s an updated look at our NFL trade block with an emphasis on players who should be coming up in this preseason-style swaps around the league. We’ll be laying things out a little differently from our other trade block posts, going team by team instead of position by position to make it easier to discuss the unique roster math for each squad.
The youth movement in San Francisco this year could push out some other players. The 49ers double-dipped at defensive tackle and have a few edge rushers who can slide inside as well. That could make Elliott expendable just a year after signing as a free agent. Beal was a mid-round pick in 2023 who hasn’t gotten his legs under him and might be out of time.
Jones could sew up the starting left tackle job again over the coming weeks and leave this moot. He’s defied expectations for three years, and judging on how tackles made bank this past offseason, he’s in a position to do very well for himself with another solid 2025 season. However, it’s clear the Bears are preparing for him to potentially move on after spending Day 2 picks in consecutive drafts on OTs Ozzy Trapilo and Kiran Amegadjie. If another team gets desperate for a tackle and comes calling with a premium pick, and Chicago feels good about turning things over to the youngsters, then a Jones trade should not be ruled out.
Scott and Pickens were fourth and third-round picks by current GM Ryan Poles just two years ago, but have made next to no impact so far. Chicago’s battery of additions at both receiver and defensive...
