There aren’t a lot of periods of dead time on the NFL calendar, but the current stretch between OTAs and training camp is one of them. Front offices have time to sit back and examine their rosters and evaluate where things stand with just a few weeks before the dawn of training camp.
For rebuilding teams, it’s an opportunity to look at which players they could make available in trades. Swapping out veterans for draft capital and cap flexibility can be a crucial part of the rebuilding process.
Training camp is where we might start to see some injuries that create new needs for teams who are looking to contend. Rebuilding franchises with their eyes set beyond 2024 might have the answers.
Specifically, these rebuilding franchises should consider making these players available based on their age, contract situation and role with the team.
There would admittedly be some laughable irony in the Cardinals trading Budda Baker at this point. He sat out OTAs last season as he sought a contract that would make him the highest-paid safety in the league or a trade.
Instead, he settled for a $300,000 signing bonus and up to $2.4 million in added incentives into his contract.
Now Baker appears to be happy in the desert. He’s taking on a leadership role for a young Cardinals defense with defensive-minded head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Once Baker got on the field, he showed just how good he is. He earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance while racking up 87 tackles in 12 games for the Cards.
The problem is that this defense is not one good safety away from being great. The Cardinals are still working to find answers on the edge. They still have to figure out the cornerback room. Even if Kyler Murray can elevate his game and bring the offense to respectability, the Cardinals have problems on defense a talented safety can’t solve.
Trading Baker would create another hole on the defense, but if a team is willing to give up a valuable pick, then it would give the Cards more ammo to address more pressing needs.
That’s critical for a team with so many holes that could be facing even more pressure to win in 2025 when Baker’s contract expires.
The Carolina Panthers are rebooting their rebuild with new head coach Dave Canales and new general manager Dan Morgan. They have some key players in position, but there’s still a ways to go before the roster is good enough to compete.
That’s why trading some of their veterans who don’t align with the rebuild timeline would make sense.
Linebacker Shaq Thompson is a good place to start. The linebacker has been productive when healthy. He had a streak of four seasons in a row with over 100 tackles and has also been an asset in coverage.
However, he’s entering his age-30 season on the heels of a year in which he played only two games with a broken fibula. It’s fair to wonder just how much longer he will be able to produce at that level.
His next few seasons might be better served on a team that’s ready to compete. The Panthers also need draft capital after dealing with a compromised allotment of picks in the 2024 draft.
Thompson’s versatility could be useful to a contender, and the Panthers just used a third-round pick on Trevin Wallace. He could play alongside Josey Jewell at linebacker in a defense that is going to go through some growing pains anyway.
The Los Angeles Chargers aren’t often lumped in with the “rebuilding” teams around the league, but it’s hard to deny that they spent this offseason retooling their roster and identity.
Part of that was choosing to keep both Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa while trading away Keenan Allen and releasing Mike Williams. With all four set to account for cap hits of more than $30 million, they had to make some tough choices.
But electing not to trade Khalil Mack might have been a mistake they will want to rectify during the season.
Mack was highly productive last season, racking up 17 sacks and 71 pressures, per Sports Info Solutions. However, he was nowhere to be found in ESPN’s top 20 in pass rush win rate on the edge.
At 33 years old, Mack is reminiscent of Robert Quinn in 2021. The veteran pass-rusher had 18.5 sacks in age-31 season on a Bears team that went 6-11. Rather than trade him to a contender in the offseason, they brought him back and ended up trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick.
He ended up with just one sack as he fell off the age cliff.
The Chargers might be hoping for a quick turnaround under Jim Harbaugh, but it still would have made sense to deal Mack now while his value is likely as high as it will get.
The New England Patriots don’t have a quick fix that will elevate them from their 4-13 finish last season.
The offensive coaching might improve, but the supporting cast around rookie quarterback Drake Maye isn’t going to make them a threat right away. The defense was decent last season and they still only won four games.
This is going to be a multiyear rebuild even if Jerod Mayo and his staff are the right guys for the job. So the likelihood that Matthew Judon, who is going to be 32 when the season starts, will be part of that rebuild is unlikely.
The veteran pass-rusher missed all but four games last season with an injured bicep. He is still producing at a high level with 15.5 sacks in 2022 and four in the four games he played last season.
However, he might be more valuable to the Patriots rebuild as a trade asset.
The Eagles were able to turn Haason Reddick into a conditional third-round pick from the New York Jets. If the Pats could get something similar for Judon, it would allow them to save $6.7 million in cap space and stock up on draft capital to build around Maye.
The New York Giants might not be willing to admit they are rebuilding. They are sticking with Daniel Jones this season, and there’s likely to be some pressure on head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen to bring some results this season.
But this roster still has plenty of work to do before the Giants are even a factor in the NFC East. They came in at No. 30 in our power rankings and have major questions about their offensive weapons and defensive backfield.
They don’t have a ton of veterans who would even be interesting trade bait. Dexter Lawrence, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns are all part of the long-term picture. Darius Slayton would bring some value, but they can’t afford to lose a receiver.
Azeez Ojulari is an interesting trade candidate who is on the younger side, though. With the Giants trading for Burns this offseason, they already have two pass-rush specialists, and Ojulari has brought diminishing returns in each of his three seasons in New York.
The 2021 second-round pick showed promise with eight sacks and 13 quarterback hits in his rookie season. However, he’s only combined for eight sacks and 14 quarterback hits over the last two seasons thanks to injuries.
He only has one year on his contract. After losing snaps to Burns and Thibodeaux, it would stand to reason that he could be on the way out anyway.
Sending him to another team that needs a rotational pass-rusher to get more picks would make sense for the Giants.
The Washington Commanders organization might have more resources invested in the interior defensive line than anyone in the league right now. Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are former first-round picks who account for two of the top three cap hits on their books this season.
They used an early second-round pick on Jer’Zhan Newton to go with 2022 second-round pick Phidarian Mathis.
There’s something to be said for building through the trenches, but having that much money invested in the interior defensive line on a rebuilding roster might not be the best approach.
Instead, the Commanders could look to maximize their return on a trade by putting Allen on the trade block. With Adam Peters taking over as general manager, this current front office does not have any allegiance to the veteran, and he only has two seasons left on his current deal.
With $18 million left in guarantees, the Commanders could look to trade him to free up cap space and bring back one or two draft picks. Washington filled out its roster with several veteran free agents on one-year contracts.
The Commanders are going to need additional picks to find long-term solutions as they build around Jayden Daniels.
Allen would be a useful interior pass-rusher for multiple teams. He has 22 sacks over the last three seasons.