With six games of the NFL season past us, the picture has started to become even clearer. With that comes the nearing of the trade deadline; meaning several general managers around the league will be making last minute moves to shift the direction of their team’s season.
Two new WR1s in the AFC East
Despite firing their head coach just a week ago, the New York Jets made a move to maximize their window of Aaron Rodgers. The third Davante Adams trade saga has come to an end, and the Las Vegas Raiders worked out a deal to send him to New York. It will be a lot more viable to for Rodgers to throw the ball 40 times a game when he now has both Adams and Garrett Wilson as primary targets.
Not to be one-upped, their division rival Buffalo Bills would make a blockbuster wide receiver trade of their own shortly after.
Like Adams, Amari Cooper has been no stranger to playing for different teams – and by proxy, quarterbacks. Even just in Cleveland, he’d caught passes from Jacoby Brissett, Joe Flacco (fresh off the couch, by the way) and perennial Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate Deshaun Watson. But now, he gets to catch passes from Josh Allen. Calling that an upgrade might be the understatement of the century.
Of course, these trades came off the cusp of the Monday Night Football matchup between these two division rivals, with the Bills winning by a final of 23-20. Even after falling to 2-4, the Jets looked to add to their roster and make a playoff push with Rodgers late in his career.
With the trade deadline still three weeks away, what other teams could we see bolstering their rosters? And what teams will be looking to clean house to end the first half of the season?
Buyers
The Detroit Lions still remain among the top of the NFC West following a 47-9 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys. However, despite the blowout the biggest headline of that game was negative for Dan Campbell’s squad.
Hometown hero and star pass rusher Aidan Hutchison suffered a broken tibia and fibula, ending his season. There are several options available for Detroit to help strengthen their pass rush in 2024 – it is unlikely Hasson Reddick will be one of those options due to a clause in his previous trade to the New York Jets.
There are still several viable options, however. Trey Hendrickson from the Bengals and Azeez Ojulari from the Giants come to mind.
Dallas sits at 3-3 following another home blowout loss, but I could see them being buyers as well. The main position of need for this team is running back, as Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliot is just not enough to help support Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb.
The most intriguing option here would probably be Dameon Pierce from the Houston Texans. With Joe Mixon as the lead back, I could see Pierce being expendable for the team. Either Miles Sanders or Chuba Hubbard from the Panthers would also be viable options, especially with second round pick Jonathan Brooks set to return later in the season.
Despite a 4-2 start, the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be opting to let Russ cook once again now that he is healthy. Getting him a veteran supporting receiver could be in play for them, with options like DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Williams mentioned as possible trade candidates at the deadline.
Sellers
There are three 1-5 AFC teams that could be well on the way to clearing house – likely including head coaches as well. To start, the Cleveland Browns are pretty much stuck in cap hell due to Deshaun Watson’s contract. The play has not matched said contract at all, so it feels like only a matter of time before they do a full reset.
Question is, does that include players like Myles Garrett who would net a first round pick minimum? It will be interesting to see if and when general manager Andrew Berry pulls the trigger.
Half of the AFC South could be on a similar path. Doug Pederson’s seat is scorching hot, and it’s not just the Jacksonville heat (it is fall now, after all.)
The Tennessee Titans are in a similar situation, although under a first-year coach in Brian Callahan. Questions will begin to arise on whether or not Will Levis is the guy, so it will be interesting to see whether or not a veteran receiver like DeAndre Hopkins could be shopped in the coming weeks.
Week 7
Not a lot of marquee matchups this week, which means all the games will likely be very competitive. There is one clear standout in the early (US, not London early) window: the 5-1 Houston Texans against the 4-2 Green Bay Packers.
Two of the youngest teams and rising star quarterbacks will face off in Lambeau Field, and Jordan Love appears to be back in form following a 4-touchdown performance in last week’s blowout against the Arizona Cardinals. Stroud comes into Green Bay following a 3-touchdown performance of his own, winning handedly over fellow 2nd overall draft pick Drake Maye and the New England Patriots.
The entire NFC North looks incredibly competitive, with the Packers currently in last place despite their 4-2 record. The top two in the division will face off in the afternoon, as the Detroit Lions look to spoil the Minnesota Vikings’ undefeated season.
The Vikings come in off a bye week, and hope to get some players back healthy; most notably running back Aaron Jones. They’ve avoided a couple last minute surges in their last two games against the Packers and Jets respectively, and I have my doubts that the Jared Goff led Lions will not take advantage of that opportunity.
Side note: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson vs Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is without question the coaching matchup of the weekend. Very excited to see how that goes.
Typically, a Super Bowl rematch is one of the most anticipated matchups of the NFL season. While the Chiefs-49ers matchup is certainly still high-profile, injuries of these teams’ skill positions makes the matchup lose its luster a little bit.
For the 49ers, Christian McCaffery still remains searching for his bionic Achillies tendon in Germany. NFL leading rusher Jordan Mason has filled in well in his absence, but he’s been dealing with a shoulder injury of his own.
Multiple receivers are injured or coming from injury with both teams, as Jauan Jennings – who was a key player in the previous matchup – will miss this game. The Chiefs are still without top receiver Rashee Rice and running back Isaiah Pacheco, leaving Mahomes with a less-than-ideal receiver core to work with. Juju Smith-Schuster has been the top target, and he’s listed as questionable ahead of the matchup.
Some good news? First round pick Ricky Pearsall has a chance to make his debut, after recovering from a gunshot wound suffered in the leadup to the season.
The slate will leave us waiting all day for the Jets debut of Davante Adams; and possibly the debut of Russell Wilson on the Steelers as well. A nice matchup to cap off the evening.
For Monday Night Football, we have a doubleheader! Well kind of.
The televised game matchup will see Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The NFL will also have its first ever ESPN+ exclusive Monday night matchup, with the Chargers taking on the Cardinals in a subsequent primetime game.
MLB postseason catchup
Shifting over to MLB, we are currently at the likely midpoint of the League Championship series. As things currently stand, we could be set to get the Dodgers and Yankees in the World Series – a fun conclusion to the season for all parties involved.
Shifting over to MLB, we are currently at the end of the League Championship series. The Yankees and Guardians series has come to a close. The Dodgers and Mets are still battling it out in the NLCS with a pivotal game 6 being Sunday night.
The Yankees over in the ALCS took care of business winning 4-1 over the Clevland Guardians. The win came on the back of some extreme playoff heroics from Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton won the ALCS MVP award after hitting 4 clutch home runs to help propel the Yankees to the World Series. Game 5 came down to the wire and got into extra innings. Juan Soto, who is probably going to get the biggest contract in MLB history hit a massive homerun in the tenth inning to advance the Yankees to the world series.
The Dodgers currently have the lead in the NLCS being up on the Mets 3-2. This series has been a odd one. None of the games have been that close with only one being decided by less than 4 runs. While the Mets may be down, they don’t believe they are out. They have performed quite well with their backs against the wall winning the Wild Card series in some last-minute heroics versus the Brewers. Games 6 and 7 will be in Los Angeles with the winner of the series getting to play the mighty Yankees in the World Series.
This World series has the potential to be the biggest one in 20 years, and you can bet that the MLB is loving this rematch from the 1981 World Series.
