The in-season trade deadline may have passed by a few weeks ago, but trade rumors are a 24/7, 365 kind of thing around here. If we’ve learned anything about the NFL in the past few years, it’s that teams are more willing to be aggressive and creative than at any point in a long, long time.
With time to mull things over and start to look ahead to 2026, there were more players who popped as potential trade candidates — beyond the list of eight who came up as first glance earlier this month. Here’s a look at another batch of big names who might end up on the move:
Raiders DE Maxx Crosby
The Raiders have been turning down trade interest in Crosby for two years now, including at the trade deadline in both 2024 and 2025. But eventually if the league keeps knocking, perhaps the door will crack open — especially because it’s looking more and more like Crosby will be playing for his fourth different head coach in four years in 2026. Crosby has seen just one winning season in seven years in Las Vegas, and the Raiders look poised for another rebuilding year in his eighth.
So far, Crosby has elected not to push for a trade, saying that he wants to be part of bringing the glory days back to the Raiders. The team has done its part to make sure Crosby’s loyalty is rewarded, too, either signing him to a new deal or modified contract in three of the past four seasons. The most recent was a three-year, $106.5 million extension this past offseason, before he’d even played a down for HC Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek.
Ordinarily deals like that would preclude any trade because of the dead money left behind from signing bonuses and restructures. However, that’s not the case for Crosby. Trading him in 2026 would leave just $5 million in dead money and save the Raiders the entirety of Crosby’s $30 million guaranteed salary. It’s similar to the contract for Jets CB Sauce Gardner which didn’t preclude New York from dealing him just a few months after inking him to a market-setting deal. Teams took note of how the Jets structured Gardner’s deal and you can bet they’ve made the same observation with Crosby and the Raiders.
There are two ways Crosby could end up on the block. The first is if the veteran reaches his limit with all the losing and starts applying pressure on the front office to send him out of town. His leverage isn’t great with four years left on his contract; however, teams tend to want players who are bought in and want to be there. While Crosby can’t force a trade, his voice does matter in the situation.
The Raiders could also decide on their own that dealing Crosby makes the most sense for where they are as an organization. Crosby is a foundational piece — one of the league’s elite pass rushers and also one of the hardest working, highest-effort players in the building. That’s why the Raiders have rebuffed so much trade interest in the past and why Carroll and Spytek were willing to give him a massive deal before seeing him play a snap in their program. But the 2-10 record so far this year has exposed the vast multitude of roster holes the Raiders need to patch, and the front office has seemingly accepted that it’s facing a multi-year rebuild.
Crosby turns 29 next August and is still in his peak. The question the Raiders have to ask, though, is what he projects to look like in two or three years when they’re closer to being competitive. And in that scenario, does it make more sense to trade him for a haul of picks that could be used on players who would be contributors for longer?
This is the same calculus the Jets went through when they elected to blow things up at the trade deadline this past year. Like the Jets, the Raiders have a first-year general manager looking to make his mark. This is why teams are going to keep calling and giving the Raiders something to think about when it comes to trading Crosby, and at some point the team might just pull the trigger.
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
Last summer, the 49ers and Aiyuk were embroiled in some of the most contentious contract talks in recent memory. While those ended in a new deal, it’s never felt like the two sides have recovered from those talks. Multiple reports have discussed the “instant buyer’s remorse” from the 49ers’ front office, exacerbated by Aiyuk tearing his ACL less than halfway through the season. Aiyuk’s rehab has dragged on, and it was recently revealed that he missed sessions earlier this year that led the team to void his guarantees back in July.
Rather than contest that, Aiyuk elected not to file a grievance with the NFLPA, potentially costing him $27 million if the 49ers cut him. Even though he’d be scooped up by another team, it’s unlikely he’d sign for the same rate given his injury and how much time he’s missed. The natural inference, then, is that Aiyuk is willing to give up some money if it means securing his freedom from the 49ers.
It might not be that simple. The 49ers would save $27 million in cash by releasing Aiyuk, money they could reinvest elsewhere on the roster, but they’d also be letting a former first-round pick and a talented player leave for just nothing. They’d also be accelerating $29 million in dead money to 2026, costing them $14 million in cap space. It stands to reason the 49ers would prefer to trade Aiyuk instead.
That could come with challenges given the situation. Other teams are aware of how things have deteriorated between Aiyuk and San Francisco, meaning the 49ers will have some leverage challenges. Any team interested in Aiyuk would rather just sign him rather than also surrender a pick to the 49ers. Aiyuk might also prefer being a free agent rather than the more limited number of suitors who would be interested in a trade, although in a trade he gets to keep his $27 million.
Unfortunately, the 49ers can squat on Aiyuk for a while because the bulk of his salary is in an option bonus that isn’t due until next September. They could carry him through free agency, the draft and possibly even through the summer. The longer things drag on, the uglier the standoff could get — but given how things have already gone between the two sides, perhaps that should be the expectation.
Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie
Over the last several years, the Chiefs have been willing to make some big trades to send out players when the price tag climbed too high. It’s the price of building a team around a supermax quarterback contract, and veterans like CB L’Jarius Sneed, G Joe Thuney and most notably WR Tyreek Hill have been sacrificed by GM Brett Veach in the name of cost-cutting.
The theme connecting all those players is positional value and resource allocation. The Chiefs are willing to cycle through cornerbacks more than other positions, and the presence of McDuffie coming up behind Sneed led to his tag-and-trade in 2024. Now McDuffie is up for a potential extension. He’s got one year left on his rookie contract, the fifth-year option worth $13.6 million in 2026.
The Chiefs explored a new contract with McDuffie this summer but weren’t able to reach an agreement, in part because McDuffie was reportedly seeking to reset the cornerback market at more than $30 million a year. McDuffie’s gone on to have another productive year, notching seven pass breakups, a forced fumble, a sack and his third career interception. He’s playing more on the outside than in the slot, but has the ability to do both at a high level. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the No. 6 overall cornerback and No. 8 in pass coverage grade.
McDuffie is a good young player, and the Chiefs clearly view him differently than other cornerbacks as evidenced by their willingness to trade up in the first round to select him back in 2022. However, finding a value the two sides can agree on might be tough. McDuffie’s not a traditional shutdown corner, and he also doesn’t have the same ball production that a lot of his peers do. It’s probably why the Chiefs weren’t willing to reset the market.
Kansas City has McDuffie under contract for one more season, but if it starts to become apparent that an extension is going to be too challenging to negotiate, that’s when a trade becomes an option like it did for Hill. It should also be pointed out that the Chiefs are in a huge cap hole for 2026 right now and need to be conscious of how they spend their money.
Bears WR D.J. Moore
With an iffy group of potential free agent receivers that will likely thin out even further before March, teams looking for proven pass catcher help in 2026 might need to cast a wider net. One avenue could be poking around established veterans like Moore. A major acquisition by GM Ryan Poles in 2023 as a part of the deal sending the No. 1 pick to the Panthers, Moore had over 1,300 yards that first year. Now, he’s on pace to fall short of 1,000 yards receiving for the second straight year with just over 500 yards in 12 games.
There are a variety of reasons for that. New Bears HC Ben Johnson is reorienting the offense around the run game, not the pass game, and there’s a lot of competition for the ball with the skill position group. Second-year WR Rome Odunze has taken over as the No. 1 option. Moore also bears some responsibility with a fair share of mental errors like missed assignments and drops.
For as talented and productive as he’s been, Moore has never been the most detail-oriented, which is not the best fit with Johnson’s offense. The veteran is due $24.5 million in 2026, nearly all of which is guaranteed. If Chicago finds a trade partner, it could clear the whole bill from its books, which would be welcome considering the Bears don’t have a lot to work with in terms of cap space next season.
Moore turns 29 in April, so between that and the cash he’s due, he probably wouldn’t fetch the Bears a first-round pick. Something between a third-round pick or a fifth-round pick would be more realistic. Former WR Amari Cooper has been dealt for both and he’s a good parallel for Moore. The fifth-rounder was when the Cowboys essentially dumped his salary, the third-rounder was when the Browns took advantage of a receiver-needy team looking for a proven option. How well the Bears manage the situation will dictate which end of the spectrum a potential Moore trade falls.
49ers QB Mac Jones
The former first-round pick signed a two-year deal with San Francisco to try and rehabilitate his career under the expertise of HC Kyle Shanahan. Consider the mission accomplished. Jones started eight games in place of 49ers QB Brock Purdy, tossing 13 touchdowns to six interceptions and clearing 2,000 yards passing. San Francisco was 5-3 with Jones under center.
Because he signed that two-year deal, Jones remains under contract for 2026, giving the 49ers options. They could just keep him for another season since he’s proven to be valuable insurance, especially with how historically injury-prone the 49ers seem to be. They could also trade him to a quarterback-needy team, especially because the options for those teams look like they could be sparse next year. Whether the 49ers get enough interest to actually part with Jones remains to be seen, but they almost certainly will get trade calls.
Packers OLB Rashan Gary &/Or OL Elgton Jenkins
Green Bay’s preseason trade for Micah Parsons looks like it’s on a successful trajectory so far. The Packers are in the thick of the playoff mix and have two games upcoming against the Bears to try and win the NFC North. The defense has been outstanding and Parsons has 12.5 sacks so far this year. But there will be some fallout from the massive $46 million per year deal the Packers handed Parsons as a part of the trade.
Jenkins and Gary are among the players the Packers could consider moving on from this offseason when they make their salary cap cuts. Just like this past year with CB Jaire Alexander, they’d probably prefer to try and trade these players first, and it’s possible they could have a market. Jenkins is due $20 million which is a significant ask for a new team to take on, but he’s also been a rock-solid starter at multiple spots up front. Interior linemen have been cashing in big as free agents the last few years, so perhaps $20 million isn’t as unreasonable an ask as it might appear at first glance.
Gary’s situation is fascinating because on paper he’s doing well as a complement to Parsons with 7.5 sacks in 12 games. However, his down to down impact on the field has been far more inconsistent, especially factoring in how much attention Parsons commands from opposing blocking schemes. Due $19.5 million in 2026, which will be his age-29 season, Gary isn’t on rock-solid ground with the Packers. Green Bay could find the idea of getting younger, cheaper and more dynamic at edge appealing, which could lead to trading Gary.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown
In October, I was confident that despite all of the speculation, there was no way the Eagles would trade Brown before the deadline. I’m not nearly as confident that the Eagles will hang on to Brown for all of next year. There’s just too much discontent in Philadelphia to assume that no major changes will be made.
A lot of that discontent seems to be coming from Brown, with frustrations over his usage in the offense bubbling over multiple times this year. At one point, he and QB Jalen Hurts used to be close, and that doesn’t seem to be the case any more. It’s hard to say exactly how much that factors into the situation but it’s probably not zero. The fact that the Eagles are still winning as much as they are is likely papering over issues, but the team has dropped two straight games and a big slide could have major ramifications in the offseason.
If Brown decides he wants out, that would probably catalyze a deal. There’s also a football case for the Eagles front office to look at doing a deal. This season is on pace to be the lowest score of Brown’s career in ESPN’s receiver tracking metrics, which uses GPS data from chips embedded in shoulder pads, including his lowest YAC score and his second-lowest open score. Between that data and his sagging production, there’s a case to be made that Brown, who turns 29 in June, is starting to decline.
Trading Brown would be painful for the Eagles but perhaps less painful than keeping him through another year like this season has gone. He’s owed $29 million guaranteed next year, most of which is in an option bonus that isn’t due until September 1. A trade creates $43 million in dead money, $20 million more than Brown’s current cap hit for next season which means a deal would eat up a lot of the Eagles’ financial flexibility. The date on the option does give the team flexibility to trade Brown after June 1 and make the cap hit more manageable, but it could shrink the market given the draft will be in the books and fewer teams will have $29 million laying around unused in their budget.
Eagles GM Howie Roseman deserves the massive credit he gets for building an organization that’s been to three Super Bowls in the past decade, but between Brown and some other looming issues, he’s about to have as challenging an offseason as he’s had in a while.
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