When the Carolina Panthers fired Matt Rhule on Oct. 10, the impact it would have on the NFL’s trade market was predictable. First to go on the block? The highly paid players who couldn’t sensibly be dragged through another quarterback reboot.
“I bet they try to get out of [two] bad contracts,” one AFC general manager said after Rhule’s firing, pointing specifically to running back Christian McCaffrey and wideout Robbie Anderson.
Just days from that prediction coming to fruition, the league is heading into a defining week before the Nov. 1 trade deadline. Not only was Week 7 clarifying in terms of teams that fit into a “selling” column, front offices are shaping up the assets that will draw the most phone calls. And they’re not all short-term rentals like last season’s prize edge rusher, Von Miller.
With that in mind, here are some of the teams that front offices expect to be sellers, along with the players who could draw inquiries by next Monday’s deadline.
Carolina Panthers
Carolina has shed the two contracts that it wanted to move away from, but there could be some more moves in the coming days. Unfortunately for buyers, the Panthers’ team ownership and front office want to retain the young core that it believes will be helpful for the next quarterback (likely a highly drafted rookie). That includes pass rusher Brian Burns, wideout D.J. Moore, cornerback Jaycee Horn and defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
But one obtainable name that is expected to draw interest is defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis. Known inside the organization as a “Matt Rhule guy” from their days together at Temple, the 28-year-old Ioannidis is a free agent after this season. He also represents a solid and experienced cog that a playoff-caliber team could add to its defensive line. There’s zero question that Carolina will listen to offers for him.
The Bears would listen to offers on most anyone on the roster at this point. That includes serious offers for linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Eddie Jackson and running back David Montgomery.
But a far more interesting (and movable) player is edge rusher Robert Quinn. Just one season removed from 18.5 sacks, the 32-year-old former All-Pro hasn’t produced under the new regime and suddenly looks like a prime candidate to be released this offseason. His current contract runs through 2025 and carries sizable base salaries of $13.9 million in 2023 and $12.9 million in 2024. While the skill set isn’t a 1-for-1, Quinn could be a very attractive target for teams looking to add pass rushing pop heading into the postseason, a la the Los Angeles Rams and Miller last season.
As one NFL general manager put it, “If he’s in the right scheme and lining up either next to the right guy or opposite the right guy, there’s some value there, definitely. The Bears should be motivated [to trade him], too.”
The Broncos have the feel of a team that is flying an “open for business” flag extremely high right now, with reports that there has been active “interest” in wideouts Jerry Jeudy and K.J. Hamler, as well as linebacker Bradley Chubb. There’s little doubt they would be open to offers on any of that trio. The question is whether there’s legitimate interest or if the team is trying to drum up interest on players who are unlikely to be written into the plans next season.
Of that trio, Chubb is the most intriguing. Similar to Quinn with the Bears or Von Miller one year ago, he can add some pass rushing spark to an acquiring team. He’s also viable beyond 2022, if a franchise views him like a long-term piece.
Denver knows Chubb entered this season with three straight years of health issues. And that makes putting a pricey franchise tag on him after this season a dicey prospect. If the Broncos can pull another lucrative trade deadline rabbit out of a hat like they did with Miller one season ago, where they got second- and third-round draft picks from the Rams, Chubb is a goner. There will absolutely be calls.
Another team that will listen to offers for essentially anyone on the roster, given the likelihood of a rookie quarterback reboot next season. They’re already flying the flag on wideout Brandin Cooks, but it would likely take some gymnastics to get him off the roster for anything of value given his $18 million base salary in 2023. Surely the Texans would love to shed his contract as they head into another offseason of recalculation.
The Texan almost nobody talks about is offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who is arguably the best player on Houston’s roster. The 28-year-old Tunsil still has a very friendly 2023 base salary of $18.5 million, but will look to enter into contract extension talks this offseason. Most teams believe that Tunsil’s likeliest trade window is the coming offseason, largely because he’s going to be reaching for a market-setting left tackle contract. That’s probably the correct read but it doesn’t mean the Texans wouldn’t listen to offers for him right now, if a team is inclined to make a move and get its left tackle of the future in the fold soon.
While general manger Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels didn’t arrive in Las Vegas thinking reboot (as evidenced by their free agent signings), both have been preparing for roster churn. Some of that became obvious when the team declined the fifth-year options on all three first-round draft picks from 2019 — running back Josh Jacobs, safety Johnathan Abram and defensive end Clelin Ferrell. That immediately made that trio trade bait at the deadline.
But that is rife with complication. Ferrell is unlikely to be tradable for anything of value and Jacobs is looking like he’s worthy of a potential contract extension. That leaves Abram, who has seen his snap count diminish in a way that suggests he’s available.
There’s little question the Raiders would take calls on any of the three (even Jacobs). But it’s less likely that anyone would be interested enough in Abram or Ferrell to make them tradable, or offer enough for Jacobs, who has been carrying the Las Vegas offense of late.