With all the talk about the upcoming NFL trade deadline, you’ll find no shortage of scoffs from NFL sources in various insider pieces about how the deadline is more hoopla than substance. They’ll point to the imbalanced ratio of talk to action, with far more speculation about potential trades than actual, real-life deals.
To some degree, those folks are right. It’s hard to make meaningful improvements during the midseason trade deadline — and it’s a lot easier to trade away players in a video game or fantasy football when there aren’t real-life locker room and job security impacts. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to thread the needle. In recent years with NFL front offices becoming more aggressive, there are more and more examples of the trade deadline becoming a real opportunity for savvy teams.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some potential trades that could go down before the deadline. Not just any trades either, big deals that could have a major impact on the rest of this season or for seasons to come.
Giants trade for Titans WR Calvin Ridley
Details: New York sends 2027 3rd, 2026 5th for Ridley, 2026 6th.
There are some conflicting reports about how serious the Giants are about trading for a receiver before the deadline but the buzz has been too persistent to dismiss completely. New York lost one of the league’s brightest rising stars when WR Malik Nabers tore his ACL, dulling a bit of the excitement around an offense riding a spark from first-round QB Jaxson Dart and fourth-round RB Cam Skattebo. There’s no way to replace a player like Nabers midseason but the Giants are exploring their options to ensure they can support Dart’s development — the most important thing for the future of so many people with the franchise right now.
New York has been linked to younger guys like Saints WR Chris Olave and Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle. But with serious doubt about how available Olave and Waddle actually are, Ridley is a more accessible alternative who still has a comparable resume as a 1,000-yard receiver. He was a big-ticket signing by the Titans last year, but both former GM Ran Carthon and former HC Brian Callahan, the two men most responsible for signing off on that contract, are gone now. That makes Ridley a cut candidate, with $13.7 million in potential cap savings despite the $3 million he already has guaranteed in 2026.
If Ridley’s a cut candidate in 2026, that makes him a trade candidate now. The Titans have signaled the season is a lost one by firing Callahan after just six games, and there has to be a focus on the future. Tennessee can’t just give Ridley away, as the Titans also have a young quarterback they have to make sure they develop, but if the Giants put a Day 2 pick on the table, that’s potentially a strong enough offer to prompt a deal.
If the Giants are comfortable with that, Ridley makes a lot of sense as a target. It probably doesn’t hurt that HC Brian Daboll was the play-caller at Alabama in 2017, Ridley’s final collegiate season. Not only does Daboll have some personal familiarity with Ridley, there are probably some similarities between what the Giants are running on offense now and the playbook Ridley learned in college, which can help the veteran hit the ground running.
Ridley hasn’t been as consistent as the Titans would have liked but he still went over 1,000 yards receiving in a tough overall offensive environment last year, and has flashed despite similar struggles around him this year. He’d be a significant upgrade for a Giants offense that has been relying on Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Jalin Hyatt and Beaux Collins for significant snaps in recent weeks. He’d also be more than just a short-term rental, as he’s under contract for 2026, albeit at a pricey $20 million total base salary.
The two sides would need to sort out some logistics to facilitate a trade. Ridley was scheduled to make $23 million this year, and any team that trades for him has to have enough cap space to take on whatever remainder Ridley is owed for the rest of the season. If the deal happens this week, that would be $13.5 million, with $1.35 million coming off the bill each successive week. The Giants have less than $5 million in space right now and had to restructure two contracts last week to have enough budget for injury replacements. They would need to also restructure DT Dexter Lawrence’s deal to have enough space to trade from Ridley.
From there, they could restructure Ridley to have room to operate over the rest of the season, or even work out a new deal that keeps him at a lower number in 2026. They could always ask the Titans to take on some of the bill, but they would likely ask for better trade compensation and New York is already taking on some risk in this deal as is.
Eagles trade for Dolphins OLB Bradley Chubb
Details: Philadelphia sends 2026 4th to Miami for Chubb
If I had to call my shot on a deal before the deadline, it would be Chubb going from Miami to Philadelphia. Adding Chubb to the Eagles’ defense would fill a massive need for Philadelphia, which has been banged up at edge rusher — a position that was already a question mark entering the season. It’s tough to be a true Super Bowl contender with pass rush question marks. Chubb is possibly the top pass rusher available ahead of the deadline with four sacks so far this season and would go a long way toward patching up a need for Philadelphia.
Not only that, but trading for Chubb would reunite him with his coach for three years in Denver, Eagles DC Vic Fangio. Chubb made his first Pro Bowl in Fangio’s defense in 2020 and is a great fit for what the longtime defensive mastermind is looking for in his edge rushers. The Eagles have been burned by making trades at midseason for pass rushers before, but Chubb should be much more of a known quantity.
As far as deadline deals go, a fourth-round pick is a lot to change hands this time of year, but the demand for pass rushers should help drive up the price if the Dolphins look to sell. I could see Miami getting things up to a third-round pick if the bidding is strong. However, there’s a cap on how much any team will be willing to give up for Chubb because he is, in all likelihood, a half-season rental. Chubb has no guarantees on the $20 million he’s set to make in 2026 and is turning 30 next June. That combination means he’s unlikely to play on his current contract next year, whether he’s in Miami or someplace else.
Whether it’s a third or a fourth, the Eagles have extra draft capital to play with and shore up the team during its window of contention. The bigger holdup at the moment might be the Dolphins’ willingness to sign off on a deal. There’s been no shortage of reports about other teams calling Miami about several players. Yet to this point the Dolphins haven’t wanted to subtract a lot more from the roster. The Week 7 blowout at the hands of the Browns that dropped the team to 1-6 might spark some changes. It feels more and more like a major reset and rebuild is coming in 2026, and it makes sense to flip players like Chubb who might not be part of a turnaround for draft picks that can be used on players who will.
Panthers trade for Dolphins OLB Jaelan Phillips
Details: Carolina sends a 2026 4th to Miami for Phillips
Both Dolphins edge rushers are generating a lot of interest before the trade deadline because both players have uncertain futures in Miami. We covered Chubb’s situation above as a potential cap cut even with two years under contract remaining. Phillips is in the final year of his contract and the Dolphins have had a poor record of being able to re-sign their own players, mostly due to pocketbook constraints. Guys like G Robert Hunt, DT Christian Wilkins, S Jevon Holland, DT Calais Campbell, OLB Andrew Van Ginkel and more have walked in the past two seasons.
Those same constraints will likely be in place in 2026. The Dolphins will have $56.4 million in cap space tied up for QB Tua Tagovailoa and another $34 million in dead money already — with more coming once expected moves like releasing WR Tyreek Hill are processed. Miami is last in the NFL in cap space right now and, per Over The Cap, $36 million in the red in effective cap space in 2026.
That will make retaining Phillips tricky. He’ll be a complicated free agent for some teams to value given he’s had both ACL and Achilles injuries that have stopped him from truly breaking out with a double-digit sack season. He also has just one sack this year. However, he’s 27 years old, a former first-round pick and if you dig deeper, playing much better than that lone sack indicates. He’ll be a hot commodity as a free agent.
Miami could just play the comp pick game with Phillips like they have other free agents, or they could be proactive if it’s clear they’re going to be rebuilding. Their situation is reminiscent of Washington a couple of years ago when the Commanders traded not just Chase Young but also Montez Sweat ahead of the midseason deadline in 2023, getting picks that contributed to their quick turnaround a year later.
If the Dolphins do make Phillips available, there should be plenty of suitors with teams that want to fortify their pass rush. There will likely be a split between teams that view Phillips as a rental and teams that see him as a potential long-term option. Carolina could fall in the latter camp. The Panthers spent a lot of resources between free agency and the draft to improve the defense, and they’ve gotten outstanding results with the run defense. The pass rush remains more of a work in progress. The team had five sacks on the season before exploding for six against the Jets in Week 7.
By trading for Phillips and giving him an extension as a part of the deal, the Panthers could move to skip the rush of open free agency and lock up an edge rusher who could help take their group up a few levels. The team has a winning record for the first time in a while, but it’s still clear that the Panthers have work to do to upgrade the talent on the roster to truly compete with the top teams in the conference. A big swing by GM Dan Morgan for a pass rusher might help close the gap.
Raiders trade for Seahawks CB Riq Woolen
Details: Las Vegas sends 2026 6th to Seattle for Woolen
When Woolen was coming into the league as a prospect out of UTSA, it felt like he was tailor-made in a lab to be the perfect cornerback for Pete Carroll and the system he perfected with the Seahawks. So it was no surprise the 6-4 corner who ran a 4.3 40 landed with Seattle. Now that Carroll’s in Las Vegas and the Seahawks are reportedly open to trading away Woolen, a reunion feels natural.
Woolen is in the final year of his rookie contract and making over $5 million thanks to hitting a few escalators in his deal, so his trade value will be less than his name recognition might indicate. The Raiders would be taking a slight risk by dealing for him without a long-term deal, but we have seen teams make that work. Cornerback is a glaring need for the Raiders right now and Woolen would be a familiar option to slot back in with Carroll. That system probably fits him better than the current one in Seattle under HC Mike Macdonald.
Cardinals trade for Browns TE David Njoku
Details: Arizona sends 2026 5th for Njoku, 2026 7th
Once again, the Cardinals were in a game down to the wire, and once again, they came away with a loss in Week 7. After falling to the Packers, Arizona is now 2-5 on the season after a 2-0 start, and all five losses have come by four points or less. Most 2-5 teams aren’t going to be making big additions at the trade deadline, but the Cardinals have some reasons to believe they’re not as bad as their record currently says they are. It’s also possible that HC Jonathan Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort feel a little pressure to show some results in Year 3 of their regime and make a move for short-term gain.
Injuries have hurt the Cardinals this year, specifically injuries on offense that have made it harder for the team to play with the identity it wants. Cardinals OC Drew Petzing wants to lean heavily on multiple tight end sets to keep defenses off-balance and unsure of whether it’s a run or pass. So while the team still has TE Trey McBride, potentially the top player at the position right now, losing TEs Tip Reiman and Travis Vokolek to season-ending injuries in back-to-back weeks was a big blow, especially after RBs James Conner and Trey Benson had already gone down. All the injuries to running backs and tight ends have kneecapped Arizona’s ability to play to its identity.
That’s why a trade for another tight end like Njoku could make sense. Njoku played for Petzing in Cleveland and is in a very similar system under Browns HC Kevin Stefanski right now. He’s a big body who can stretch the field from the “Y” alignment while Arizona moves McBride around to hunt matchups, and allows the Cardinals to go back through playing through their tight ends instead of a receiving corps that’s been sketchy.
While the Browns are clearly open to trading veterans, as evidenced by dealing QB Joe Flacco to the division-rival Bengals, there’s been a sense in Cleveland that Njoku will be handled a little differently. Still, he’s in the final year of his contract and is one of a handful of players who will have tangible value for other teams before the midseason deadline. The Browns have made it abundantly clear they view their situation as a multi-year rebuild, and part of expediting that process is trading veterans in shorter-term windows for draft picks who can be potential pieces of the puzzle for longer. That alone makes Njoku a trade candidate worth watching.
The post Five Potential Big-Name Trade Proposals appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.