We told you this NFL trade deadline would be crazy – and the rumors swirling around league circles over the last 48 hours prove us right.
It’s still really ramping up. Yes, it may be hard to top last week’s Jeffery Simmons blockbuster, which was essentially a starting QB trade when you take into account the value of all the picks sent to Tennessee by the Bears for defensive tackle.
We reported on the ongoing trade talks involving Simmons in the spring and summer, and when he ended up signing a very lucrative extension with the Titans, many people who cover the NFL suggested he wasn’t going anywhere a few months later at the midseason deadline.
And, uh, it didn’t even make it to Halloween on their list, let alone November 10th.
Be careful what you consider facts and be wary of why some access mongers always peddle certain narratives on behalf of certain entities they are “covering”, or should we say helping?
The more they insist that a certain player couldn’t be traded – which is a ridiculous concept given that everyone from Babe Ruth to Wayne Gretzky to Joe Montana to Myles Garrett has been traded – they try to drive up the price of that asset, because everyone has a price, especially when it comes to failing franchises.
Teams trying to sell before the NFL deadline are pretty desperate. There are five NFL superstars who absolutely could still be dealt by the deadline (the Tuesday after Week 9). On a scale of 1 to 10, here is the probability that these transactions will go through.
Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts – 10:
This has been in the works for weeks.
The “reporters” claiming to be a fullback, who will be out of contract by the time the Colts get good again as they tear up the roster, were not going to be part of the deal from the beginning, playing you for fools.
He’s the best asset this owner can move, he’s easily the best in class available at his position, and he’s always had a price to pay for a second-round pick (and ideally a little something more).
“Of course he’ll be traded,” one general manager told me before all the recent breathless reporting about Taylor’s days in Indy was numbered. The Packers or Giants would make sense.
Maxx Crosby, EDGE, Raiders – 8:
He had already been traded to Baltimore in March, then the Ravens general manager chickened out.
They are perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of the Simmons deal; the Raiders were never going to budge on what they got from Baltimore (almost), and now it could be more.
Debate remains over whether anyone will offer two first-round picks, but this is a borderline starting defensive end who never leaves the field and generates an elite 17% pressure rate despite high snap counts.
“I think they get what they want,” a longtime NFL personnel executive suggested to me this weekend.
Garrett Wilson, WR, Jets – 6:
We’re still hearing a few stories about how he won’t be traded in a million years and I’m going to put it at 7. That’s ridiculous.
It’s almost like they’re all receiving the same text at the same time. Look, this is a constantly rebuilding team, they sold a lot of Sauce Gardner a year ago (I remember a lot of the same people saying he wouldn’t be dealt), colleges are producing top WRs at a high rate and several contenders really need a true point guard and the market is tight.
“Untouchable? Come on,” the general manager said.
Exactly. Yes, he had bad offenses, but Wilson never had 8 touchdown catches in a season; we’re talking about a league average of 12 yards per catch.
“I think they can get an overpay for him if someone is desperate enough,” said another longtime personnel executive. Me too. Seems to me like the Jets desperately need one themselves.
Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers – 3:
There must be a real need, supply in relation to demand and all these factors which contribute to obtaining such an evolution during the season.
Now, a team that expected to draft a QB in 2027 could try to skip the looming offseason investigations into Herbert and snag him now.
He’s much more likely to be ahead of the draft if this season continues the way it’s going for this supposed MVP-type QB and the supposedly contending Chargers.
Gn sports
