With the NFL season in the rearview mirror and free agency on the horizon, NFL teams are getting ready to shake things up with new additions and possible subtractions. The trade market is alive and well this year with potential stars on the move. Here are some of the biggest trade candidates of the 2025 offseason.
Matthew Stafford, QB Rams
In three healthy seasons with the Rams, Stafford has a Super Bowl ring plus one-score losses in the Wild Card and Divisional Rounds. While not in the highest echelon of quarterbacks, Stafford is at worst a top-15 player at the most important position in football. He is guaranteed $4 million in 2025 and nothing in 2026. He is at least due for a minor restructure and likely wants an extension. The Rams have formally given Stafford permission to speak to other teams. Notably, the Giants hired Chad Hall—Stafford’s brother-in-law—as an assistant quarterbacks coach this offseason. It’s a weak quarterback class and the current regime in New York is on the hottest seat in the league.
While the Rams are seemingly a coin-flip to move on from Stafford, Cooper Kupp has likely played his last snap in LA. Kupp made the Rams’ decision to seek a trade partner for him public earlier this month. I wrote more about landing spots for Kupp here. If you’re wondering why Deebo Samuel isn’t in this article, he too has his own write-up.
Davante Adams, WR Jets
The Aaron Rodgers era has mercifully come to an end in New York. He and Adams were a package deal and the Jets are entering a rebuild. It’s safe to assume Adams wants a new home and the Jets would prefer the draft capiatal. The Bills were reportedly front-runners in the Adams market at the trade deadline before Gang Green landed Rodgers’ buddy. Buffalo has made numerous efforts to find a WR1 over the past two years but has come up short thus far. On the other hand, a reunion with the Packers would be a fitting close to Adams’ career and at least one Packers player has recognized the need for a true No. 1 in Green Bay.
Garrett Wilson has also been bandied about as a potential trade candidate. With Rodgers and Adams gone, a Wilson deal is off the table. New GM Darren Mougey will almost certainly keep Wilson, only 24 years old, as the cornerstone of his offense.
Myles Garrett, DE Browns
Unless your team needs a quarterback, Garrett is the white whale of the trade market. The superstar defensive end requested a trade shortly after the season, citing his ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl as the reason. Garrett finished the 2024 season ranked first or second in:
This absurd level of play has been the norm for Garrett over the past five years. Even at the age of 29, it’s safe to pencil in a couple more elite seasons from the soon-to-be ex-Brown. The Raiders’ trade of Khalil Mack can give us a framework for a Garrett trade. Ignoring some ancillary pick swaps, the Bears gave up two first-round picks and signed Mack to a record-setting extension the same day. Garrett still has two years left on his deal, though I’d expect both sides to work toward a new contract.
Who could those sides be? The Commanders are everyone’s favorite trade destination to dream up. They are loaded with cap space and just made the NFC championship. The move makes sense on paper as well. Washington closed their rebuilding phase by trading away Chase Young and Montez Sweat. They now have an aging and underperforming defensive line that could be turned around in an instant via the league’s top pass-rusher. The Bills and Eagles have both been thrown out as potential landing spots. The cap implications of acquiring Garrett make either deal tricky to swing, but not impossible. Detroit is surprisingly flush with cap space in the near-term and could use a second EDGE to pair with Aidan Hutchinson. An all-in move might be what Dan Campbell needs to combat the loss of both of his coordinators.
Tee Higgins, WR Bengals
Though the move has yet to be formally announced, the Bengals are expected to place the franchise tag on Higgins for the second year in a row. It will cost them roughly $26 million and leaves the door open for a tag-and-trade. It’s not a common move in recent offseasons but a handful of largely defensive linemen were tagged and quickly moved a few years ago including Jadeveon Clowney, Frank Clark, and Jarvis Landry. Most of the tags were used with the sole intent of trading the player, which doesn’t appear to be the case for Higgins. The Bengals appear to be making a serious effort to keep him in town. For teams looking to trade for him, they will only have to wait one more year before Higgins is guaranteed to hit the open market, should the Bengals fail to extend him.
The Bengals have a second and more realistic trade candidate in Germaine Pratt. The veteran linebacker requested a trade at the end of the season. He is entering a contract year and is in search of a new deal. The Bengals, on the other hand, can save $5.6 million by cutting a linebacker with one top-40 season by PFF grade to his name. Pratt was reportedly close with former DC Lou Anoroumo, who now holds the same role in Indy. If the Colts are looking for a linebacker who knows the system, Pratt could be had for a Day Three pick.
Christian Kirk, WR Jaguars
Kirk made an appearance on my 2025 NFL cut candidates article. The Jags could save $10.4 million by cutting him or trading him, so they will of course explore a move with another team before releasing him. There were rumors that trades for Kirk were in the works at the deadline during the 2024 season, but those dissipated when the veteran wideout suffered a season-ending broken collarbone. Kirk started to look obsolete in 2024, largely due to the breakout of rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. He hit four-year lows in yards per game (47) and yards per route run (1.7). Unless a team trading for Kirk intends to extend him, he is a one-year rental, meaning teams going all-in on a short window should be the only ones in the running. The perenially win-now Steelers reportedly neared a deal for Kirk last year and could be back in the running for his services this offseason.
Quay Walker, LB Packers
The 2022 first-round pick has been an inconsistent and ultimately average linebacker through three years. GM Brian Gutenkunst now has to decide on Walker’s fifth-year option. That would cost the team $16.1 million in 2026 and is fully guaranteed. Walker would be flirting with a top-five salary at his position, making it an unlikely move for the team. For practical purposes, Waker is on an expiring contract and hasn’t convinced the team to extend him but still has the pedigree of a player other teams may want to take a shot on. Green Bay also hit a home run at inside linebacker with Edgerrin Cooper in the draft. PFF graded Cooper as the top linebacker in the league last year.
Fellow Green Bay defender Jaire Alexander could also be on the move. The Packers have reportedly grown frustrated with Alexander’s never-ending injury issues and his inability to play through them. He has played more than seven games in a season once over the past four years. The strained relationship between Alexander and the front office might be enough for them to move on from a once-vaunted corner.
Kyle Pitts, TE Falcons
The Falcons picked up Pitts’ fifth-year option for $10.9 million dollars, all of which would be moved to his new team if he is traded. The former generational prospect became just the second tight end ever—now third—to top 1,000 yards as a rookie. He has since failed to hit 700 yards in three consecutive seasons with injuries. If the Falcons are done with the Pitts experiment, you better believe someone else in the league is thinking “But it might work for us.”
Kirk Cousins is also up for grabs, though it’s hard to imagine a team offering to take him off the Falcons’ hands. Any team trading for Cousins would be forced to pay his $37.5 million in guaranteed salary. Cousins is due a $10 million roster bonus on March 17th. He is all but guaranteed to be cut as a post-June 1 release before that date.
Derek Carr, QB Saints
This Derek Carr portion of this article is largely about why, despite many calling for him to be traded, it won’t happen. That is primarily because we have seen this situation once already. Carr has a no-trade clause in his current contract, just like he did in Vegas. When the Raiders wanted to move on from him, Carr refused to waive the clause, forcing the front office to cut him. This gave Carr the guarantees from his Vegas contract while letting him hit the open market and get a new deal on the books. Carr has already said he won’t take a pay cut for the Saints. He presumably won’t accept a trade either, once again allowing him to choose his landing spot while also making more money. That leaves the Saints with two options: Keep him for another year or cut him with a post-June 1 designation. The latter creates $30 million in cap space while saddling New Orleans with $21.5 million in dead cap.
Bryce Huff, EDGE Eagles
The Eagles swapped EDGE defenders with the Jets last year, trading away Haason Reddick while signing Huff to a three-year, $51 million contract on the open market. Both sides regret the deal as Reddick refused to play in New York for much of the season in search of a new contract and the Eagles got nothing from Huff. A year after tallying 10 sacks with Gang Green, Huff recorded just 2.5 sacks in Philly and was a healthy scratch for their Super Bowl win. The Eagles are taking a bath on his contract but could at least recoup a decent amount of draft capital from a team that views Huff as the Jets standout as opposed to the Eagles bust.
Adam Thielen, WR Panthers
Thielen has been one of the few bright spots on an otherwise dreary team over the past two seasons. He led the team with 103 catches and 1,014 yards in a return to form two years ago. Despite missing seven games—over 40 percent of the season—Thielen still led the team in yards last year. The only way Thielen leaves Carolina is if they plan to add a receiver via the draft. With the No. 8 overall pick, that’s certainly in play.
Cole Kmet, TE Bears
The Bears signed Cole Kmet to a four-year, $50 million contract two offseasons ago. Kmet set career-highs in catches (73) and yards (719) in his first year under the new contract. Things didn’t work out nearly as well last year. His target share plummeted with the additions of Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, resulting in a measly 47 receptions for 474 yards. Kmet set a career-low in yards per route run at .91. While he isn’t a likely cut candidate this offseason, the receivers will be the focal point of this passing attack going forward. Kmet may ultimately be of more value to another team on the field, meaning the Bears may field offers for the 26-year-old tight end.
