• Big-name NFC West receivers could find new homes: Deebo Samuel and D.K. Metcalf are among the two most likely trade candidates.
• Will the Cowboys move on from Mazi Smith? The former first-round pick has been one of the lowest-graded defensive linemen in the league since his debut.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 12 minutes
The 2024 NFL regular season’s end means 18 franchises have already turned the page to what this offseason will look like — with trades a big factor.
In recent years, we’ve seen impact players like Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Ramsey, Stefon Diggs and Keenan Allen get traded during the NFL’s effective dead period. Below are 15 names to keep an eye on this year, whether due to impending free agencies, contract disputes or complicated team fits.
The 49ers’ list of free agents for 2025 and 2026 includes Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw, Jauan Jennings, Kyle Juszczyk, Charvarius Ward and Samuel. The simple answer is that general manager John Lynch won’t be able to retain all of those players, nor would it be wise to. That leaves Samuel as an obvious man out, it would appear.
San Francisco drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round last year and invested $120 million in Brandon Aiyuk, while Jennings (career-high 83.7 PFF receiving grade) has flourished in a more full-fledged role. Meanwhile, Samuel hasn’t enjoyed the success we’re accustomed to seeing, netting a career-low 70.9 PFF overall grade with a career-low 1.60 yards per route run and 8.2 yards after the catch per reception.
Instead of paying Samuel another significant deal, it feels inevitable that the 49ers will sell high after a poor season and recoup their assets, bracing for what could be an offseason of retooling.
The Falcons appear destined to break up with Cousins not even one year after signing him to a $180 million deal, handing over the reins to No. 9 overall pick Michael Penix Jr. The question is through what means, and a trade seems to be the first avenue Atlanta will explore.
While recovering from a season-ending Achilles tear the year before, Cousins simply didn’t perform like the accurate, turnover-free quarterback who has been prolific over the past few years. His 72.3 PFF passing grade was his worst since 2017 and ranked 22nd out of 44 qualifying quarterbacks. Likewise, Cousins’ 4.6% turnover-worthy play rate is the seventh-highest mark in football.
Atlanta would likely need to defray a major portion of Cousins’ contract to find a suitor — as the Broncos did with Russell Wilson this past offseason — but several teams appear to be worthwhile candidates. The Titans, Browns, Steelers, Giants, Raiders or even the 49ers or Saints could all be in play, depending on how the 2025 NFL Draft order shakes out, with likely only two or three quarterbacks being taken in the top half of the first round.
Seattle fell short of a postseason berth for the third time in four seasons, and Metcalf’s inconsistent play was a major reason why. His 75.0 PFF receiving grade is his lowest in a season since his rookie year, and he’s hauled in only 33.3% of contested catches over the past two years.
Factor in a breakout from Jaxon Smith-Njigba (83.5 PFF receiving grade, 11th among qualified receivers) and Metcalf having one year left on his deal, and the Seahawks seem likely to move on. Seattle bestowed Metcalf with a $72 million extension in 2022, but another deal doesn’t appear in the cards — especially considering his waning chemistry with Geno Smith, as Metcalf has generated only a 99.0 passer rating when targeted. Keeping looming free agents like Smith, Charles Cross, Kenneth Walker III and Ernest Jones are more likely to be priorities.
The Browns seem to be giving Watson one last chance to prove himself, but that doesn’t mean Cleveland won’t finally cut the cord once and for all. Whether through the draft or free agency, general manager Andrew Berry is poised to add another legitimate signal-caller — and it wouldn’t be a shocker if that newcomer supplants Watson.
In his three seasons in Cleveland, Watson has never exceeded a 66.8 season-long passing grade. More specifically, he’s notched a single-game overall grade of 80.0 or better in only one of 19 games as a Brown. There’s little defense to even restarting the Watson engine one more time — and a high chance that the Browns move on soon.
The caveat with moving Watson is that the Browns would almost definitely need to do so later in the offseason. According to Over the Cap, Cleveland would incur $26.9 million in dead cap in both 2025 and 2026 if trading Watson after June 1; that number climbs all the way to $80.7 million in 2025 alone if before that date. That could actually work in the organization’s favor, allowing a competition to play out before making a final verdict.
Where there’s smoke, there’s often fire, and plenty is billowing around Wilson and the Jets entering this offseason. With only one year left on Wilson’s rookie contract and a series of sweeping changes inbound, New York could elect to trade him.
Wilson has proven to be a stud during each of his three years as a pro. Since debuting in 2022, Wilson’s career 85.4 PFF receiving grade ranks 22nd among wide receivers (minimum 100 targets), and he has dropped only 4.4% of his 315 catchable targets.
It would behoove the Jets’ new general manager and head coach to try to keep and extend Wilson, but New York could look to save money and start over at the position. On top of that, rumors have circulated that Wilson and Aaron Rodgers didn’t enjoy a strong rapport in 2024 — although this may have been Rodgers’ final NFL season. Without much certainty anywhere, Wilson being traded doesn’t feel like a far-reaching idea.
Would Pittsburgh really want to trade arguably its best offensive player, and clear-cut best wide receiver? The superficial answer might be no, but this situation is more delicate than it may outwardly appear.
Pickens is entering a contract year in 2025, and he’ll undoubtedly seek a compensatory payday before going into next season. The question is whether or not the Steelers want to entrust him with that and commit to him long term.
Pickens has steadily improved throughout each of his three seasons and has produced at a stellar level in 2024, notching a career-best 78.0 PFF receiving grade with an average of 2.06 yards per route run. But his contested catch numbers (34.6% from 2023-24 compared to 67.9% in 2022) and character concerns could make Pittsburgh skeptical.
The Steelers’ wide receiver corps is already one of the thinnest in the league, but will Mike Tomlin want his top wideout making over $20 million annually — on top of unreliability on and off the field? Pittsburgh trading Pickens isn’t as improbable as one might think, especially considering a deep free-agent receiver crop.
Carr’s situation in New Orleans will almost certainly hinge on the team’s next head coach, but there’s real doubt about his long-term future with the Saints.
When on the field in 2024, Carr excelled. His 86.7 PFF passing grade ranks fourth among qualified quarterbacks, and his 78.7% adjusted completion rate sits sixth. By most advanced metrics, Carr enjoyed his best season since he was an MVP candidate in 2016.
However, Carr played only 300 dropbacks due to a slew of injuries. On top of that, his cap hit reaches an astronomical $51 million in 2025, and he’d receive $30 million guaranteed if he’s still a Saint by March. With New Orleans needing to clear around $70 million in cap space for this offseason alone, moving Carr and starting afresh under center — whether via a draft pick or free agent — would be good business, even if producing a worse product.
After being a touted linebacker intended to shore up the middle of Green Bay’s defense, Walker has underperformed in his three seasons as a Packer.
He hasn’t exceeded a 58.5 PFF overall grade in any of his three pro seasons. Even though he’s improved as a tackler, he remains a liability in coverage, allowing catches on 78.8% of targets this season to go along with 9.1 yards per reception.
As Walker has dealt with injuries this year, others stepped up in his stead. That includes second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper, who flashed with a league-best 91.4 PFF overall grade over the final four weeks. Eric Wilson (65.8 PFF overall grade) has also fared slightly better.
Green Bay could elect to keep Walker on a prove-it final season, assuming his fifth-year option gets declined. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see general manager Brian Gutekunst cut his losses and trade Walker.
Although Trey Hendrickson (90.4 PFF pass-rushing grade) put together an All-Pro-caliber season, he hasn’t received much help from his colleague in Hubbard. That could open the door for Cincinnati to move on this offseason.
Hubbard’s 2024 production hasn’t matched that of the past three years, when he reached at least 40 pressures. This year, the 28-year-old secured only 18 pressures on a 6.3% pass-rush win rate, his lowest mark since 2020.
With Hubbard having just one year left on his $40 million deal, the Bengals could very easily trade the 28-year-old in pursuit of upgrades next to Hendrickson.
A litany of notable Browns will be free agents after this upcoming year, which means you could realistically choose any of them to be traded. Emerson feels like an especially worthwhile candidate to be dealt after another subpar season.
In his third year as a pro, Emerson has continued to regress, recording a career-low 48.4 PFF coverage grade in addition to a 62.7% catch rate allowed and a 108.7 passer rating allowed when targeted. Indeed, that coverage grade is the 11th-worst mark among 127 qualified cornerbacks.
At the same time, Emerson has flashed his talent before. As a rookie in 2022, he solidified a 75.1 PFF coverage grade, and his 53.3 passer rating allowed was the fourth-lowest mark among qualified cornerbacks last year.
The Browns would be smart to upgrade their secondary this offseason, and trading Emerson — before he’d want any type of extension — would be a natural pathway to doing so.
Smith has accrued only two years of service time in Dallas, but neither has gone according to plan — especially for a player picked 27th overall.
Over the past two years, Smith’s 34.7 PFF overall grade ranks 275th out of 279 defensive linemen with 200 or more snaps over that time. He’s actually been worse in multiple departments in his sophomore year, including tackling, where his missed tackle rate has elevated from 0% to 7.0%, and pass rushing, where his pass-rush win rate dwindled from 9.9% to 0.9%. Even staying on the field has been an issue for Smith.
Plenty of questions must be answered in Dallas. But if Mike McCarthy doesn’t return as head coach, a new staff may want to cut ties with an underwhelming player taken by the prior regime. Even if McCarthy is back, Smith’s time as a Cowboy could be nearing its end anyway.
Penning doesn’t carry as much of a monetary onus as Carr, but he’s still a player whose spot on the 2025 Saints feels very much in doubt. The 2022 first-round pick simply hasn’t produced at the level that has been expected.
In his three years as a pro, Penning has never generated a pass-blocking efficiency mark above 96.8. His past two years have been particularly disappointing, permitting nine sacks and 73 pressures on 908 pass-blocking snaps.
With Penning struggling in his first season at right tackle, New Orleans will likely want to upgrade that slot. Moving on from Penning would be wise, if nothing but to garner some value before he hits the open market.
Another Saint makes this list, and that’s no coincidence. New Orleans needs to find savvy ways to shed payroll and make this roster more sustainably good moving forward. At 32, Mathieu doesn’t appear to be a solution for years to come.
One of the best safeties of this decade, Mathieu didn’t perform as strongly in 2024. His 60.5 PFF overall grade is the worst of his storied 12-year career, as is his 57.8 coverage grade. Likewise, Mathieu’s blitzing prowess has declined, as evidenced by his 51.2 PFF pass-rushing grade.
With Mathieu set to count for $11.3 million against the cap next season, the Saints would be smart to prevent that number from being enforced. Trading him after June 1 would mean only $4 million in dead cap each of the next two years, which feels like the best possible mutual outcome.
Both of the Giants’ first-round picks from 2022 could realistically be on the move entering this offseason, but Neal feels like the less likely option to still don blue and red in 2025.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Neal’s NFL career has been extremely disappointing. While he posted a career-high 61.2 PFF overall grade this season, powered by a strong 80.8 run-blocking grade, he’s remained a liability in pass protection. In three years with Big Blue, Neal has surrendered 12 sacks and 98 pressures. Only eight other qualified tackles have generated a worse pass-blocking efficiency than Neal (95.1) since he debuted.
The Giants appear to have their 2025 right tackle secured in Jermaine Eluemunor, pairing him with Andrew Thomas at left tackle. Finding a trade partner for Neal makes plenty of sense, especially if New York has a different general manager.
Like Evan. Neal, Green was a first-round pick but has, unfortunately, fallen prey to poor play throughout his NFL tenure.
In his two healthy years, Green has recorded PFF overall grades of 37.7 and 38.6, struggling as both a run blocker and in pass protection. In fact, Green was the third-lowest-graded offensive lineman in the NFL this season (minimum 500 snaps). The sad truth is that Green’s inability to develop has severely hindered Houston’s interior offensive line and, thus, the team’s offensive efficacy.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio assuredly understands that his team’s interior offensive line needs to be totally revamped, and that would theoretically leave Green on the trade block. One would expect Green to have supporters throughout the league, given his age (23) and strong career at Texas A&M not long ago.
