what's the sound of a single tear? Jets superfan Fireman Ed says team is phasing him out at MetLife - ESPN
Posted by
prayformojo (aka mayhem)
Oct 17 '24, 14:55
|
espn.com
Jets superfan Fireman Ed says team is phasing him out at MetLife - ESPN
Bill Barnwell
23–29 minutes
Bill Barnwell, ESPN Staff WriterOct 17, 2024, 06:20 AM ET
Close
Bill Barnwell is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. He analyzes football on and off the field like no one else on the planet, writing about in-season X's and O's, offseason transactions and so much more.
He is the host of the Bill Barnwell Show podcast, with episodes released once a week. Barnwell joined ESPN in 2011 as a staff writer at Grantland. Follow him on Twitter here: @billbarnwell.
Reactions
In case you haven't noticed, trade season has already arrived in the NFL. In the past, three in-season trades would have qualified as an unusually busy year. We just saw three take place Tuesday alone, as the Vikings landed running back Cam Akers, the Bills picked up receiver Amari Cooper, and the Jets finally reunited wideout Davante Adams with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who definitely has no ability at all to influence decisions in New York.
There will be more trades to come. With the league pushing the deadline by one week -- it's now Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 4 p.m. ET -- franchises will have a better idea of whether they're actually going to be competing for a playoff berth, which should inspire more deals at the buzzer. There are already five teams (the Jaguars, Giants, Browns, Patriots and Panthers) whose chances of making it to the playoffs are below 5%, per ESPN's Football Power Index, and more should fall out of the picture in the coming weeks.
Subscribe: 'The Bill Barnwell Show'
Let's run through the league and provide 12 trades that would make sense for both parties. Some of the names won't be quite as sexy as Adams' or Cooper's, but there are players who are either buried on depth charts or in need of a fresh start who could be more helpful elsewhere. The goal is to find trades that could actually happen as opposed to the most spectacular-but-unlikely swaps.
Even after those two star wideouts moved, there are big names who could find new homes, including a former first overall pick and a multitime Pro Bowl player. I'll start with the latter, a third big-name wide receiver who could end up going from a struggling team to the two-time defending champs:
Jump to an intriguing trade candidate:
Khalil Herbert | DeAndre Hopkins
Haason Reddick | Miles Sanders
Mike Williams | Bryce Young
Chiefs land an instant-impact WR
Titans get: 2025 fifth-round pick
Chiefs get: WR DeAndre Hopkins
While Patrick Mahomes might believe his team is set at wide receiver, the Chiefs need a rental. They have used high draft picks on Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy over the past two years, and while Rice is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, those two should be the starting wide receivers in 2025. Throw in the contracts they need to hand out in the offseason and Kansas City's back-to-back Super Bowls after trading away Tyreek Hill, and I would be shocked if the Chiefs pursued a wide receiver who will make significant money on their roster in 2025.
What the Chiefs need is someone who can step in and take Rice's spot in the starting lineup without requiring any sort of serious commitment for next season. Looking around the league for veterans who fit that role, there's an obvious fit in Hopkins. He's owed approximately $6 million over the remainder of the season, but the 32-year-old former Texans star is a free agent in 2025.
The Chiefs already have speed in Worthy and Mecole Hardman, along with backs and tight ends who can catch the football, but Hopkins would be the "X" receiver they don't have on their roster. Hopkins has been a part-time player for the Titans while recovering from a torn MCL suffered during the offseason, with the five-time Pro Bowler having played 43% of the offensive snaps through the first five games. Kansas City could let him continue to work his way into the lineup in a part-time role as he heals during the season before ramping up his snaps in December and January. The team already has a 94% chance of winning the AFC West, according to ESPN's Football Power Index.
Hopkins isn't the player he was in his prime, but he is still a productive receiver. He has 175 yards across the first month of the year, but he has run only 73 routes. He averaged a healthy 2.2 yards per route run a year ago and is at 2.4 yards per route run this season.
With the Titans having signed Calvin Ridley to be their primary wideout this offseason, Hopkins is likely to move on after the season. They have played Tyler Boyd and 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks ahead of Hopkins this season, and moving the veteran would give Burks a full season to prove whether he's part of Tennessee's future. This might not feel like a massive return for a veteran wideout with Hopkins' history, but he didn't have a huge free agent market two offseasons ago, is older now, is battling a knee issue and is owed meaningful money over the remainder of the year. He wouldn't have a huge market, but the Chiefs feel like the correct fit and would benefit from his strengths.
Lions add short-term pass-rush assistance
Jets get: 2026 sixth-round pick
Lions get: Edge Haason Reddick
There aren't many options for the Lions, who have now lost both of their starting edge rushers to season-ending injuries. They might have been able to get by without Marcus Davenport (triceps), but there's no replacing Aidan Hutchinson, who was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate before breaking his leg in Sunday's win over the Cowboys. With championship ambitions, Detroit needs to do whatever it can to find pass rushers with the potential to make an immediate impact.
I'd advocate for both the Lions and Raiders to consider an all-in move for Maxx Crosby, but the star pass rusher has said he doesn't want to leave Las Vegas. The best edge rusher who is actually available on the trade market is Reddick, who has spent the year accruing about $5 million in fines for not reporting to the Jets. He has insisted on landing a new contract before he steps back onto the field, and there's little reason to believe he'll give in on those demands now.
Davenport is a free agent after the season, and while Hutchinson will be eligible for an extension in 2025, both sides might want to wait for him to recover fully from his injury before negotiating a new contract. There's a window here in which the Lions could give Reddick a deal with guaranteed money running through the 2025 season. A two-year, $40 million extension to Reddick's existing deal would allow him to claim some victory for his holdout, while Detroit would land the pass rusher it sorely needs. The Jets aren't going to get the third-round pick they sent to the Eagles for Reddick, but that's a sunk cost now.
Dolphins deal for a QB with high upside
Panthers get: 2025 fourth-round pick (conditional)
Dolphins get: QB Bryce Young
The Panthers can say they still see Young as their quarterback of the future and that they have no intention of trading the 2023 first overall pick, but actions speak louder than words. Benching a quarterback of the future two games into his second season suggests Carolina doesn't see Young in the same way as it did as recently as this summer. The franchise likely will be back in the quarterback market next spring, and while it could hold onto Young, it might want a veteran backup (like Andy Dalton) for their next starter.
Young is owed $10.7 million through the end of the 2026 season, which is reasonable money for a backup quarterback. At this point, an acquiring team has to value him as a backup with the upside to potentially do more in a better offensive scheme. Other passers have managed to overcome dismal starts to their careers and survived, but the majority of those who played as poorly as Young did don't live up to their pre-draft expectations.
The Dolphins feel like the best fit here. On the field, Young is best in an offense that's built around RPOs and designed to get the ball out quickly. The ability to create out of structure we saw from him at Alabama might still be there, but it has been eroded by what happened to him in Carolina. He has to play in an offense where the ball will be out before he takes too many hits, especially at first. After playing behind a porous offensive line in a broken offense in 2023, his confidence is shot.
Miami has the sort of uncertain quarterback situation that would benefit from Young's presence. Tua Tagovailoa is signed to a long-term deal and is expected to return from his most recent concussion at some point during the season, but the series of brain injuries he has suffered have understandably raised questions about his long-term status.
Backup quarterback is a clear weakness for the Dolphins. They cut Mike White before the season, and when Skylar Thompson struggled before getting injured, they turned to Tyler Huntley, who has managed 290 passing yards in two starts. Trading for Young would give them a higher-upside option behind Tagovailoa with the potential to eventually emerge as the long-term starter if Tagovailoa eventually leaves the sport.
The Panthers don't have much leverage in a potential Young trade, so a conditional pick in 2026 would make sense. Here, the Panthers would get a fourth-round pick with the potential for that pick to rise based on Young's performance. That pick would upgrade to a third-rounder if he throws for 1,500 yards in 2025 or a second-rounder if he makes it to 3,000 yards.
Chargers take a chance on a young CB
Commanders get: 2025 fifth-round pick
Chargers get: CB Emmanuel Forbes, 2025 sixth-round pick
First-round picks aren't usually on the trade block before they're even halfway through their second pro campaigns, but Forbes is a unique case. An undersized (166 pounds) corner out of Mississippi State, the Ron Rivera regime drafted him with the 16th selection in last year's draft ... and didn't end up liking what it saw. Forbes began the season in the starting lineup before being benched in October. He was in and out of the lineup the rest of the way.
The new regime that took over after Rivera was fired, meanwhile, doesn't appear to see much in the 23-year-old, either. Forbes has played just 72 defensive snaps this season. While he has been held back by a thumb injury, he was a healthy scratch for last Sunday's loss to the Ravens. He is probably the sixth corner on Washington's depth chart and is due over the next three years more than $6 million guaranteed, which the team might prefer to spend elsewhere.
On the other hand, if an organization still sees Forbes as the dynamic playmaker he was in college, three years of a young cornerback for $6 million is a bargain. The Chargers might be willing to take the plunge, given that Asante Samuel Jr. is on injured reserve for the next three games. There's not much on the long-term depth chart for Los Angeles at cornerback, as Samuel and Kristian Fulton, the team's two starters on the outside, will both be free agents after the season. Taking on $6 million for a player who hasn't been even a passable NFL corner might be a dangerous move, but the upside of landing a prospect who went in the middle of Round 1 just 18 months ago would be worth the risk for Jim Harbaugh & Co.
Cowboys move for a RB with intriguing tools
Bears get: 2025 sixth-round pick
Cowboys get: RB Khalil Herbert
Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones might not like his offseason decision-making being second-guessed, but as I don't host a radio show with him, I can speak freely. Dallas didn't address its running game in the offseason, and it is struggling on the ground. Ezekiel Elliott has been mostly phased out of the rotation, leaving Rico Dowdle, who has generated minus-18 rush yards over expected (RYOE) in a relatively quiet start to the season.
There's no Derrick Henry lurking as an immediately impactful back, but what about adding another set of fresh legs to compete with Dowdle? Herbert is probably not the sort of back to shoulder a workload of 20 carries per game, but among the 46 players with 300 carries or more between 2021 and 2023, his 4.9 yards-per-carry average ranks seventh. He generated 189 RYOE over that stretch, which ranked 11th among all backs. Some of that was playing alongside Justin Fields, but Chicago's other backs produced minus-256 RYOE across their carries.
Ranking 28th in success rate suggests Herbert was hitting big plays as opposed to racking up steadier gains, but the Cowboys' longest run of the season has gone for 12 yards. Herbert had 24 runs for 13 or more yards during his first three seasons with the Bears. Some explosiveness wouldn't hurt, even if he would only become a part of the rotation.
Herbert has been the odd man out in Chicago's rushing attack, as offensive coordinator Shane Waldron appears to prefer D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. Herbert has played just 27 offensive snaps through six games and hasn't touched the ball since Week 3. With his contract expiring after the season, he's likely going to be moving on in 2025. Here, general manager Ryan Poles would earn a pick for letting Herbert leave a half-season earlier than expected.
Steelers snag a veteran WR after missing on others
Jets get: 2025 seventh-round pick
Steelers get: WR Mike Williams
Davante Adams' spot in the Jets' starting lineup probably will come at the expense of Williams, who has been targeted on game-sealing interceptions in back-to-back games. In addition to not being on the same page with Aaron Rodgers, Williams doesn't quite look all the way back from the torn ACL he suffered in September 2023. In 2022, his last full season, his average maximum speed when running routes was 14.4 mph, which ranked 27th out of 104 wideouts. This season, his average maximum speed has dropped to 12.9 mph, which ranks 99th.
At the same time, Williams is owed only about $837,000 over the rest of the season, which makes him a reasonable trade candidate for a team hoping the veteran gets healthier and returns to his old form. One place that has an opening is Pittsburgh, where the Steelers were reportedly close to acquiring Brandon Aiyuk before the season. Williams isn't the same caliber of player, but this would be a much cheaper acquisition.
Raiders general manager Tom Telesco drafted and extended Williams during their shared time together with the Chargers, so after trading away Adams, Las Vegas could figure in the running here as well.
Saints bring in a familiar face along the O-line
Raiders get: RB Kendre Miller
Saints get: OT Andrus Peat
Injuries to the offensive line have slowed down the Saints' offense after a 2-4 start and might have contributed to Derek Carr's oblique issue. With wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed banged up heading into the Thursday night game against the Broncos, New Orleans is at the point in which it needs to add help on the offensive side of the ball. It can't address all of its issues, but making at least one move along the offensive line would help make life easier for Spencer Rattler and the running game.
Reuniting with Peat would make sense. Though the 2015 first-round pick might be best at left tackle, he spent years at guard in New Orleans. Starting guards Lucas Patrick and Cesar Ruiz have both battled injuries, while star center Erik McCoy is on injured reserve. The Saints have imported Connor McGovern and given Nick Saldiveri reps at guard, but bringing in Peat would give them a veteran they know can step in as a starter. They could then move Patrick to center until McCoy returns.
The Raiders signed Peat to a one-year deal this offseason, but he has played just 32 snaps. Having his versatility in reserve can be valuable, but Las Vegas could swap him for a younger player with some upside in Miller. The second-year back missed half of his rookie season with an ankle injury, but he ran for 73 yards in the season finale. He then appeared to get into coach Dennis Allen's doghouse after suffering a hamstring injury on the opening day of training camp.
Miller is set to return from injured reserve after missing every game with that hamstring issue, but he already seems to have worn out his welcome in New Orleans. As a third-round pick who ran for 1,399 yards in his final season with TCU, he seemed to offer something as a power back with explosion and acceleration. The Raiders don't seem committed to Zamir White, and rookie Dylan Laube fumbled in a key spot against the Steelers last Sunday. Bringing in Miller as part of the competition at running back could land Vegas a more significant player for their future.
49ers acquire a RB to help with injuries
Dolphins get: 2025 sixth-round pick
49ers get: RB Jeff Wilson Jr., 2025 seventh-round pick
Here's another reunion for a team riddled with injuries at running back. The 49ers were already down Christian McCaffrey before Jordan Mason suffered a shoulder injury in the Week 6 win over the Seahawks. Mason briefly returned to the game before exiting for good, and while the team believes he avoided a serious injury, we've seen shoulder injuries linger and worsen for backs in previous years.
Rookie Isaac Guerendo showed off his burst with a 76-yard carry, but his other 21 rush attempts have gone for just 64 yards. He has great raw speed and acceleration, but he's not experienced or consistent enough as a runner within this offense to thrive with the sort of regularity the 49ers need from their backs. Patrick Taylor Jr. is in the mix -- they could also bring back Matt Breida, who is a free agent -- but adding someone with experience as the lead back in this offense would be helpful.
Unlike Breida, who was more of a change-of-pace and home run hitter during his time in San Francisco, Wilson was used as the top back more often. He's fourth on the depth chart in Miami behind Raheem Mostert, De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright, and the Dolphins have competed with the Browns to be one of the league's worst offenses. Wilson would be useful to have around if all the other backs in front of him get injured, but he's not going to play much otherwise.
Chargers upgrade their WR depth
Cardinals get: 2025 sixth-round pick
Chargers get: WR Zach Pascal, 2025 seventh-round pick
Chargers fans who are excited about the team's 3-2 start and hoping to add playmakers for Justin Herbert might be dreaming about Tee Higgins being in a trade conversation here. That sort of big swing probably isn't happening at the deadline, but L.A. could stand to add a different sort of receiver in the days to come.
Pascal isn't exactly going to light up the stat sheet -- the 30-year-old doesn't have a catch across 37 snaps in six games. Where he excels, though, is as a blocker in the run game. After playing out his rookie deal with the Colts, he was a quietly useful part of the Eagles' offense that went to Super Bowl LVII before he followed coach Jonathan Gannon to Arizona a year ago.
While Pascal averaged more than 14 offensive snaps per game last season, that mark is down to just over six per game in 2024. That's probably about the point where he might be a better fit elsewhere. The Chargers are comfortable rotating their receivers in and out of the lineup and had nine different players catch a pass in the first 20 minutes of their Week 6 win over the Broncos. With added work on special teams, he would be an ideal fourth or fifth wide receiver to carry on game days as they try to compete for a playoff spot.
Colts fill a CB need with a former top-25 pick
Bills get: 2025 sixth-round pick
Colts get: CB Kaiir Elam
Elam is another one of the former first-round cornerbacks who has never met expectations. Taken No. 23 in 2022, he appears to be a rare miss on the defensive side of the ball for Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott. Despite injuries opening up opportunities for him in the depth chart, he never seemed to convince McDermott he deserved steady playing time. Injuries hit Elam last season, and while back healthy, he has played just 23 defensive snaps in 2024.
The Colts weren't exactly stacked at cornerback before the season, and that was before potential breakout candidate JuJu Brents suffered a significant knee injury. Slot corner Kenny Moore has also missed time, while they cut Dallis Flowers in midseason. Waiver-wire acquisition Samuel Womack has been surprisingly impressive in his first taste of starting football, but Indianapolis could use more options at cornerback.
Taking a flier on the 6-foot-1 Elam is one way to try to address that weakness. As a former first-rounder, Elam is owed $1.3 million over the remainder of 2024 and $2.6 million in 2025, all of which is guaranteed. That's not a huge sum of money, but the Colts won't want to pay that much unless they think he has a reasonable shot at becoming a regular member of the active roster. General manager Chris Ballard & Co. would need to decide on his fifth-year option after the season, so time is already ticking.
play
2:23
Bills GM to McAfee: Amari Cooper may not be our last move
Bills general manager Brandon Beane joins Pat McAfee and details the team's all-in mentality this season after trading for Amari Cooper.
Eagles add injury insurance at TE
Bengals get: 2026 sixth-round pick
Eagles get: TE Tanner Hudson, 2026 seventh-round pick
Hudson was quietly an efficient part of the Bengals' offense down the stretch last season, averaging 1.6 yards per route run while catching 22 of his 39 receptions from quarterback Jake Browning, who was filling in for injured Joe Burrow. I wondered if Hudson might be able to sustain that role with Burrow returning, but Cincinnati signed Mike Gesicki and has received solid play from rookie fourth-rounder Erick All, which has buried Hudson on the depth chart. He has played only 13 offensive snaps in 2024.
Twenty-nine-year-old tight ends with limited track records of production aren't going to transform an offense, but Hudson could be a reliable pair of hands in an offense that uses multi-tight end sets. The Eagles were using 12 personnel on a league-high 33.6% of their snaps before Dallas Goedert went down because of a hamstring injury Sunday, which is expected to cost him time. Philly has opened up Albert Okwuegbunam's window to return from injured reserve, but the former Broncos tight end hasn't been able to stay on the field as a pro; he has played in 12 games since the start of the 2022 season. Hudson might be a way for the Eagles to survive a month without their top tight end.
Chiefs boost their RB depth chart
Panthers get: 2025 sixth-round pick (conditional)
Chiefs get: RB Miles Sanders, 2025 seventh-round pick (conditional)
We started with a Chiefs trade for a skill position player, so let's finish with one, too. Sanders was one of many players whose stock dropped after the 2023 season in Carolina. Duce Staley, who had been Sanders' running backs coach in Philadelphia when Sanders was drafted in 2019, was fired by the Panthers last November and left for the Browns. Sanders probably would have been cut this spring if it weren't for the finances involved; Carolina owed him $6 million guaranteed in 2024.
About $2.7 million of that money is left, but Sanders might not have a spot on the roster. Chuba Hubbard has been effective in a lead role for coach Dave Canales' offense, limiting Sanders to five carries over the past two weeks. The back of the future in Carolina is second-round pick Jonathon Brooks, and the team has opened up his practice window to return from injured reserve. Sanders doesn't play on special teams, so he could be a healthy scratch when Brooks returns.
No team is going to take on that money for a player the Panthers are likely to consider cutting in the weeks to come, but if Carolina was willing to eat most of that cash and reduce Sanders' salary to the minimum, it could find a few takers. He averaged 5.0 yards per carry during his time with the Eagles and has shown an ability to catch the ball when he hasn't been paired with Jalen Hurts. He might look more like that Philly back in a better offensive situation.
The Chiefs would qualify as a fit. They've cycled through backs to replace injured Isiah Pacheco. Carson Steele couldn't keep hold of the ball. Samaje Perine has never been a regular back and has only 11 carries. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was activated to the 53-man roster this week after time away from the game to address his mental health. Kareem Hunt went from being out of football to carrying the ball 27 times in the win over the Saints, an arrangement that seems both unsustainable and ill-advised.
Sending a seventh-round pick to the Panthers would add another back with an uncertain ceiling to the rotation, but none of the backs on the Kansas City roster should be considered as guarantees to keep their role. Sanders has a higher ceiling than any guy the Chiefs have, and with experience playing under Doug Pederson earlier in his career, he should have a bit of a handle on Andy Reid's offense. Once Pacheco returns, Sanders could play in the Jerick McKinnon role as a change-of-pace back. The Chiefs would make this pick swap only with the Panthers if Sanders plays one offensive snap for them in the postseason, leaving this as a relatively risk-free deal.
|
Replies are disabled on threads older than 7 days.
|
|