Categories: Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, NFL, New York, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
Tags: Aaron Rodgers, Baker Mayfield, Christian McCaffrey, Deshaun Watson, Jimmy Garappolo, Russell Wilson
The off-season is officially here for 18 of the NFL’s 32 teams and after this weekend 75% of the League will be looking forward to free agency and the NFL Draft. When you need something you go and get it. We have put together FIVE trades featuring TEN teams that are realistic and make sense for every franchise involved.
5. Carolina Panthers Trade Christian McCaffrey to the Buffalo Bills for 2022 3rd Round Pick and 2023 2nd Round Compensatory Pick.
The Panthers need to move in a new direction and by the time they get where they need to be, McCaffrey will be on the final lap of his career. Devin Singletary is a nice back in Buffalo but Josh Allen was the team’s 2nd leading rusher this season. Adding McCaffrey to that backfield and the AFC East belongs to Buffalo for the next three years. It also takes a ton of pressure off Allen. If McCaffrey plays in 14 games in each of the next two seasons or the Bills make the SuperBowl the 2023 Compensatory pick becomes a 1st Rounder.
4. NY Giants trade Saquon Barkley and 2022 3rd Round Pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Jimmy Garappolo.
Trey Lance was a Top 5 pick at QB. The 49ers aren’t going to wait long. Garappolo led San Fran down the stretch to the post-season but so did Alex Smith a decade ago. That off-season he was traded to the Chiefs. Elijah Mitchell ran for 963 yards in his first season. Add Barkley to the mix with Lance in the gun and San Fran is set up for the next decade The Giants are a mess. They get a veteran that can win and handle the spotlight and pressure.
3. Denver Broncos trade 2022 1st Round Pick, 2022 3rd Round Pick, 2023 1st Round Pick and Pat Surtain II to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson.
It’s a lot to give up but the Broncos have a tremendous amount of talent and are missing one piece. It just happens to be the biggest piece. The addition of Wilson will allow Denver to compete with the Chargers, Raiders and Chiefs in what has become the best division in the NFL. Seattle gets to start over with multiple 1st Rounders and a piece to build the new Legion of Boom around. Add Brian Flores as your new coach and Denver becomes and instant major AFC threat.
2. Detroit Lions trade 2022 1st Round Pick (2nd Overall), 2022 2nd Round Pick (33rd Overall,) 2023 1st Round Pick and 2023 5th Round Pick to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson.
The Lions finally get their QB. With plenty of cap space they will have the chance to build up the line around Watson in ‘Year 1. while building for the future with the draft. At 26, Watson has a good decade left on his NFL Time Card. The NFC North has Justin Fields in Chicago, Kirk Cousins in Minnesota and a soon to be new QB in Green Bay. This trade gives Detroit the best QB in the division on ‘Day 1’. The Texans will be able to start their rebuild with the right pieces until they find a future franchise QB of their liking.
1. Cleveland Browns trade 2022 1st Round Pick, 2022 4th Round Pick, 2023 2nd Round Pick and Baker Mayfield to the Green Bay Packers for Aaron Rodgers.
This is the Curt Schilling to Boston Red Sox move. Rodgers is never catching Brady in Super Bowl Rings. He likely won’t catch Bradshaw or Montana either, even with a win this year. You sell him on immortality. Winning a Super Bowl with the Browns would elevate his status amongst the greats because…well.. Cleveland. The Packers begin their new era and have Jordan Love and Baker Mayfield to compete for the QB job. After that with a ton of picks they can decide to build around one of them or go in a different direction.
