Blockbuster trades became a staple of the NFL in this era, highlighting offseason guesswork, buzz and reactions and persisting into each regular season.
Recent moves like Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff (and change), AJ Brown for the Eagles and Jalen Ramsey for the Rams have had significant impacts.
And after?
Here are a handful of potential deals that could shake up the league in 2024.
The New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals are both locked into massive contracts with their young 2019 first-round picks at quarterback, and neither has reason to be entirely satisfied returns. Each team has only had one winning season since this draft.
So why not make an exchange?
Murray is a bit more expensive (his contract averages $46.1 million per year, compared to Jones’ $40.0 million), but he’s also clearly more accomplished as a first-round pick and a two-time pick. Pro Bowler (Jones was drafted sixth and was never a Pro Bowler). As a result, the G-Men would probably have to sweeten the pot a bit, but they would at least save the Cards some money and potentially help them expedite a rebuild.
It would be really interesting to see what coordinator Mike Kafka might be able to do with Murray in the Giants offense, and what a new executive could do for both quarterbacks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a difficult position. It certainly doesn’t seem like the long-term answer at quarterback is on the roster, but they also continue to win enough that they don’t have the draft capital to land a favored passing prospect in this year’s draft. Meanwhile, they remain competitive and talented enough to reach the playoffs, but they are also short on salary cap space.
Do you know what they need? A cheap, talented quarterback with potential who could very well thrive in a new setting with a stable franchise.
We just profiled Justin Fields, who at 24 is a phenomenal young athlete capable of becoming a star but who may have worn out his welcome after three years of limited improvement as a passer in Chicago.
If the Bears decide to go down a new quarterback path with the top pick in the draft, they could very well decide to trade Fields out of conference to a Steelers team that has little reason not to give him a chance.
The Aaron Rodgers-Davante Adams connection is impossible to ignore.
Rodgers returns from injury and is running out of time to win with the New York Jets. And his former Green Bay go-to receiver has been a hot candidate for some time as the Las Vegas Raiders undergo their own regime transition.
According to ESPN Adam Schefter, the Jets inquired with the Raiders about Adams before last year’s trade deadline. They have reportedly been rebuffed, but that doesn’t mean a deal is necessarily off the table. In fact, a source tells Schefter that Gang Green will pursue the 31-year-old six-time Pro Bowler again this offseason.
Regardless, if it were to drop, it could pave the way for the Jets — who already have an exceptional defense — to truly contend for the Super Bowl with a healthy Rodgers in 2024.
Talks between Adams and Dallas have already resumed, but the Adams-Rodgers reunion makes more sense, so we’ll instead embrace this inter-conference deal between two perennial contenders.
In this case, the cap-strapped Buffalo Bills could decide to finally move on from star receiver Stefon Diggs, who has repeatedly looked unhappy over the past year and is coming off a slightly disappointing season.
And if that’s the case, the increasingly desperate Dallas Cowboys might be willing to take Diggs off Buffalo’s hands via a trade that would likely have to be cut after June 1 for salary cap reasons.
In Dallas, Diggs would join his younger brother, Trevon, so there’s a chance he could be ready to strike a new, friendlier deal with the ‘Boys. That would be huge, as would him being on a team that was easily one of the best in football, but fell short in the playoffs yet again last season.
Yeah, this one isn’t as glitzy as the others. But considering how close the Detroit Lions have gotten to the Super Bowl in 2023, a deal for a game-changing defensive end could be the type of move that puts the team over the top in 2024.
Veteran safety Justin Simmons fits that profile and fills the need for a defense that has plenty of room to improve after ranking 13th in DVOA (adjusted value of defense relative to average) in 2023, by FTN.
Simmons is on the wrong side of 30, and a Denver Broncos team that simply hasn’t been competitive can save $14.5 million by setting up a walk year for the two-time Pro Bowler, according to Spotrac.
Here they can send him out of the conference to a team that could get more bang for their buck with him as a contender in 2024.
