Buyers and sellers ahead of 2024 NFL trade deadline: Can Lions add key piece? Titans teardown on?

Hidden from plain sight by the Cam Newton era, Panthers fans have experienced some lean times this millennium. Carolina has finished with the sole worst record in the NFL three times since 2000 (in 2001, 2010 and 2023), the most such seasons during that span by any team. They’re careening toward a fourth. The move to Andy Dalton at quarterback offered a one-week reprieve from futility with a Week 3 win — and then the blowout losses returned. Dave Canales’ club has lost four straight games by an average of 21.75 points. Ouch. The Panthers should listen to offers for anyone on the active roster. Receiver — and free agent-to-be — Diontae Johnson should be on the block. Ditto for pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney and safety Xavier Woods. Corner Jaycee Horn, a former first-rounder, could fetch a decent return. With rookie Jonathan Brooks eventually entering the lineup, running back Miles Sanders will become superfluous. Then there is Bryce Young. With Carolina potentially in line to draft another QB, the question seems to be whether the Panthers should consider trading the former No. 1 overall draft pick now or hold off until the spring, in the hopes of pulling off a swap similar to the one that allowed Arizona to unload former first-rounder Josh Rosen. Either way, with a non-competitive defense, this team isn’t going anywhere. It’s the type of situation that calls for a fire sale.

Titans general manager Ran Carthon is already burning up the phones, having traded receiver DeAndre Hopkins and linebacker Ernest Jones away on Wednesday. He should stay in fire-sale mode. Unlike the other one-win clubs, the Titans have been somewhat competitive, with their defense keeping them in games until their offense collapses. Regardless, with the losses mounting ahead of Sunday’s bout against the 5-1 Lions, Tennessee is right to think about the future. Trading Hopkins and Jones, extraneous veterans on the final years of their contracts, gives Carthon eight draft picks — but no third-rounder — in 2025. I’d urge him to aim for more. Pass rusher Arden Key could be a productive, low-cost trade target, given that his contract, which has one more year remaining, includes no guaranteed money in 2025. Perhaps the Titans would flush the entire WR corps, moving Tyler Boyd, who is playing out a one-year pact. Harold Landry could be an intriguing name for teams with pass-rush needs, particularly if the Maxx Crosbys Myles Garretts of the world aren’t available. The big question is whether the shedding of assets could eventually include stud DT Jeffery Simmons, who could net a sizable return — and indicate that the rebuild is of a larger scale than I initially anticipated.

Perhaps Bill Belichick was right that Jerod Mayo shouldn’t have called his team soft. But the former linebacker-turned-current-Pats-head-coach was simply being truthful. New England is playing like a pillow-soft club. With nine draft picks in 2025, Eliot Wolf has the ammo to continue his post-Belichick rebuild. But considering the roster has more holes than a honeycomb, he should stockpile as many assets as possible. Edge rushers Joshua Uche and Deatrich Wise and cornerback Jonathan Jones are set to be free agents. Wolf could dangle the apparently frustrated K.J. Osborn or Kendrick Bourne to a WR-needy club. New England spent the past offseason re-signing or extending its own players. In 2025, the Pats need fresh blood. Adding more assets would give Wolf the potential to move around in the draft and target difference-makers.

Deshaun Watson suffered a season-ending injury for the second straight year, leaving Cleveland to muddle through. For the purposes of this exercise, we’ll set aside Watson’s subpar play and focus on how the Browns’ roster construction since shelling out draft picks for the QB in 2022 left the team old and ineffective. There are too few youngsters who can log significant snaps for Kevin Stefanski’s club. With Myles Garrett playing through injury, the defense is a shell of itself, and the offense has been an eyesore. The Browns already have eight draft picks for 2025 (with potentially two additional compensatory picks coming), but this group is in such dire need of a transfusion, more would be welcome. While I don’t expect Cleveland to part with Garrett, trading Za’Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson or Greg Newsome makes sense for a club floating into the foggy Lake Erie abyss.

Saquon Barkley galloping all over the Giants on Sunday felt like a death knell for this team. The glaring hole left by left tackle Andrew Thomas‘ season-ending Lisfranc surgery underscores how far this roster is from being ready to compete, and the staff hasn’t done enough to coach around the weaknesses. If coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, in their third season with the team, end up fighting to prove they deserve more time, a true fire sale might be a pipe dream for frustrated Big Blue fans. But there would still be moves to consider. With a significant investment already made in Brian Burns, Big Blue could have one of the better trade chips heading toward the deadline in Azeez Ojulari. The 2021 second-rounder’s snaps increased following an injury to Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Ojulari has surged, generating three sacks, nine pressures and a 20.5 percent pressure rate in the past two weeks. The impending free agent could be enticing to a pass-rush-needy club. Veteran receiver Darius Slayton, another impending free agent, could also be shopped.

A smashing victory over the hapless Patriots in London might have relieved some of the pressure on coach Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke, but a gauntlet lies ahead: vs. Green Bay (5-2), at Philadelphia (4-2), vs. Minnesota (5-1) and at Detroit (5-1). If Jacksonville is 2-7 ahead of the trade deadline, Shad Khan should authorize another reboot. The Jags have some players that could draw interest: receiver Christian Kirk, tackle Cam Robinson (when healthy) and running back Travis Etienne Jr. Three offensive linemen (starters Robinson and Brandon Scherff and backup Walker Little) are impending free agents. The Jags entered the season with high expectations. Heretofore, they’ve been massively disappointing. They could wait for the offseason to blow it up or start the turnover before the deadline.

When smoke begins to billow, there’s usually a fire. Over the weekend, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that teams have been calling about trading for star receiver Cooper Kupp. Similar reports about Kupp have only proliferated since. He could be a prized piece for a potential playoff team and net the Rams a good return. Health is a potential concern, as Kupp has been out with a high ankle sprain since Sept. 15, though he is on track to return to action this week. His contract would also likely have to be addressed in order for him to fit with most clubs. Kupp remains a Pro Bowl-caliber player if he can stay on the field — he hasn’t played a full season since 2021. With young, growing talent at the position and the season going sideways early, it seems more and more likely that the Rams could part ways with Matthew Stafford‘s security blanket before the deadline.

My guess here is that GM Chris Grier and the rest of the Dolphins brass don’t view themselves as sellers. The hope in Miami is surely that Tua Tagovailoa returns, and the Dolphins go on a run. At this juncture of the season, before the midway point, the bottom couple of AFC playoff spots feel wide open. But it’s not as if Mike McDaniel’s offense was humming before Tua was sidelined by a concussion. I don’t believe the Dolphins should make any seismic moves, but they’re on this list because they have some solid impending free agents on the defensive side of the ball that could be of interest. If I needed D-line help, I’d reach out to Grier about the likes of Emmanuel Ogbah or the ageless Calais Campbell. Marcus Maye, Da’Shawn Hand and David Long Jr. are also free-agents-to-be. If the offense continues to struggle — wasting good defensive efforts, as we saw in Indy on Sunday — there is little point in those players playing out the string.

Lions edge rusher is currently the most glaring trade need in the entire NFL. It was risky to enter the season counting on Marcus Davenport to stay healthy for an entire campaign, and he lasted two games. Losing Aidan Hutchinson, who’d been a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, was disastrous. Detroit simply doesn’t generate consistent pressure with anyone else on the edge. Even after the Lions played all of Week 7 without him, Hutchinson still leads the team with 30 pressures. Given that the next closest edge player on the roster is Josh Paschal with nine, there is a good chance Hutchinson will continue to pace his position group into December. The Lions can get pressure in the middle with stud Alim McNeill, but they need help outside. Aaron Glenn tried to manufacture pressure against Minnesota, blitzing on 20 of 35 dropbacks (57.1%) on Sunday, but Detroit failed to generate pressure most of the game, finishing with just four pressures on 14 blitzes through three quarters, per Next Gen Stats. Sending extra bodies — particularly when those bodies are stuffed by the opposing pass protection — stresses the secondary. The DBs held up splendidly in Week 7, but Detroit can’t count on that trend continuing into February. With their Super Bowl window yawning, the Lions need to make a move. Even if Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett are off the table, a play for someone like Za’Darius Smith, Azeez Ojulari, Emmanuel Ogbah or Josh Uche must be explored. Team brass knows full well that a move must be made.

As the injuries pile up, will GM John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan make a move, or are they content to ride out the string? Losing receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a torn ACL and MCL for the season should prompt some sort of response. Yes, the Niners drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round and should be getting Christian McCaffrey back from Achilles tendonitis at some point, but if they wait to see how it all coalesces, they could fall further behind — particularly in the chase for one of the NFC’s top seeds. San Francisco hasn’t been shy about making moves at the deadline in the past, and with seven draft picks, including three between Rounds 3 and 4 (plus two more compensatory selections potentially being added), they have ammo to work with. A rental wideout after Aiyuk’s injury would be useful, especially with Deebo Samuel sidelined by a pneumonia-like illness, but the Niners could also turn to the defensive line, where they lost Javon Hargrave (likely out for the season with a triceps injury) and Yetur Gross-Matos (on injured reserve with a knee injury). They’re thin on the edge and could use aid up the gut, as well. Given that there are holes to fill, I don’t expect the Niners brass to simply sit by with fingers crossed that everything will work out.

The Jets have been trying to dig their way out of trouble, and there is no point in stopping now. Owner Woody Johnson’s all-in moves to acquire Davante Adams and convince Haason Reddick to join the fold should not be the end. This is a flawed team with injuries on defense that need to be addressed. The secondary has been decimated; D.J. Reed is dealing with a groin injury, Michael Carter has a back issue, Chuck Clark is on IR with a high ankle sprain, Tony Adams suffered a hamstring injury and Ashtyn Davis left Sunday’s game with a concussion. Adding a reliable body or two would go a long way. It would be very Jetsy for a once-stout D to disintegrate just as the offense kicks into gear.

Before Tampa played Baltimore on Monday, I planned on pointing out that the Bucs could add corner or edge help to boost the defense. Then receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were both lost on the same night; Godwin’s ankle injury ended his season, and Evans isn’t likely to return swiftly from his hamstring injury. Those absences will take a ridiculous chunk out of the Bucs’ potential. Baker Mayfield has played splendidly, but can he continue to do so without two of the top playmakers in the league? Jalen McMillan, Trey Palmer and Sterling Shepard sit atop the depth chart until Evans returns. The Bucs are 4-3 in a winnable NFC South, and their playoff window remains open, but GM Jason Licht might have to make a move to ensure it doesn’t slam shut before Thanksgiving. Could Tampa get in on the Cooper Kupp sweepstakes?

Pittsburgh’s passing attack came to life with Russell Wilson under center in Week 7. George Pickens should see more plentiful 50-50 balls as long as Wilson remains in the lineup. But as we’ve said all year, the Steelers could still use an upgrade at WR2. One reported potential move has Mike Williams going from the Jets to Pittsburgh. He would make an interesting combo with Pickens, and his presence would lead to even more Wilson moonballs. Regardless, the Steelers look like a postseason club once again. To go deeper than the first round, they’ll need another weapon opposite Pickens.

At 3-3, Jim Harbaugh’s club sits on the outskirts of the postseason picture. Monday night’s performance was another indicator that the Bolts need at least one more pass-catching difference-maker — a wide receiver, a tight end or both. Adding a threat on the outside who can gain separation and make a big play for Justin Herbert would help loosen the box. This team sure could use a red-zone player like ex-Charger Mike Williams right about now. A pass-catching tight end in the mold of Evan Engram could also be nice, so that not every target goes to Will Dissly. L.A. has eight 2025 draft picks (with three more compensatory selections potentially on the way) to dip into if it wants to make a move to boost its playoff chances in Year 1 of the new regime.

It’d be blasphemous to leave the Tradester off any list of buyers — based on history alone, GM Howie Roseman’s team will always land in this category. He has a knack for making moves to try boosting his club, and he often fleeces opposing franchises. Even if last year’s deal for Kevin Byard didn’t work out, Roseman won’t be timid. With left tackle Jordan Mailata going on IR, offensive-line depth could be where the Eagles look to improve — if Philly can find anyone willing to part with a blocker at this stage of the season. And adding another edge rusher wouldn’t hurt. Roseman only has seven 2025 draft picks to play with, so he might need to get creative if he wants to pull any levers on the trade market.