Will Jerry Jeudy remain in Denver as the NFL trade deadline looms?
The 2023 NFL trade deadline is in town. While some teams are rounding up to get their piece of a Christian McCaffrey-shaped springboard deal, others may be preparing to bid farewell to long-term servants in view of a reboot.
McCaffrey transformed an already-handsomely-staffed San Francisco 49ers offense last year when he was acquired ahead of the deadline as part of a trade with the Carolina Panthers, guiding Kyle Shanahan’s side to the NFC Championship Game and resuming his role this season as a driving force in the team’s pursuit of a Super Bowl return.
Trades have already been in motion across the league this season: JC Jackson returned to the New England Patriots after things failed to work out with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chicago Bears traded wide receiver Chase Claypool to the Miami Dolphins and Cam Akers was traded to the Minnesota Vikings by the Los Angeles Rams, who have also shipped wide receiver Van Jefferson to the Atlanta Falcons.
The deadline is set for October 31 at 4pm Eastern Time (8pm GMT). So who else is being rumoured as a potential trade option?
Danielle Hunter – EDGE – Minnesota Vikings
Could Danielle Hunter be on his way out of Minnesota?
This is the kind of year that can define a general manager tenure, as is the case for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in his second season with the Minnesota Vikings. His team sits 2-4 and looking a long way from contention, quarterback Kirk Cousins is coming to the end of his contract having been unable to lift Minnesota to the Super Bowl and talisman Justin Jefferson is staring at weeks on the sidelines. Do the Vikings keep their faith in Cousins and sign him to a new deal at the end of the season? Do they concede this season and prepare for a post-Cousins reload?
How the organisation perceives and forecasts their immediate future will have an impact on the position of edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who is a leading trade candidate in view of a fresh pay-day after signing a one-year, $17m deal ahead of the season. The 28-year-old is tied for first alongside TJ Watt with eight sacks on the year, while his 13 pressures rank just 18th having finished with 10.5 sacks (17th) and 34 pressures (13th) in 2022.
Potential suitors: Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills
Jerry Jeudy – WR – Denver Broncos
If you feel like you have been here before, you would not be wrong. Jerry Jeudy’s name flirted with the trade block when a beaten-down Denver Broncos team arrived in London to face, and beat, the Jacksonville Jaguars this time last year. Jeudy’s development has been marred by schematic flaws, a Russell Wilson trade-gone-wrong, injury setbacks and now a league-worst defense since landing in Denver as the 15th overall pick of the 2020 Draft.
His reputation was that of one of the crispest and deceptive route-running technicians coming out of college, with the ability to feast at all three levels of the field as both a vertical threat and horizontal focal point. A better version of Russell Wilson in 2023 has nodded towards the traits of the lead receiver that had been touted, but with the Broncos 1-5 and hurtling towards another wasted year Jeudy may well be deemed a bargaining chip with which to boost the post-season surgery.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Denver Broncos against the Miami Dolphins in Week Three of the NFL season
“As a receiver, there’s a lot of people you’ve got to depend on,” Jeudy told reporters recently. “You can be open, but if the line don’t do their thing or the quarterback don’t do his thing or the [offensive coordinator] doesn’t put you [in a good spot], it’s a whole lot of stuff that you’ve got to go through as a receiver to be successful.”
Potential suitors: Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, Indianapolis Colts
Brian Burns – EDGE – Carolina Panthers
This is not Brian Burns’ first trade chatter rodeo. Such is life with a rebuilding franchise that the young edge rusher has become a familiar name associated with potentially recouping some draft capital. The Panthers turned down two first-round picks from the Los Angeles Rams for Burns last year in view of preserving a cornerstone piece, but team and player have since failed to reach an agreement over a long-term deal and Burns looms as arguably the top free agency-bound option in the league.
Frank Reich’s side remain winless this season as No 1 overall pick Bryce Young adapts to life in the NFL, with 33-year-old Adam Thielen currently their brightest hope through the air. A pending, and no doubt hefty, contract makes things tricky for any team tempted to make a play for Burns, though he does cut the figure of a level-lifting long-term addition for any side plotting their Championship run. The 2019 first-round pick has 34.5 sacks and 191 pressures since entering the league, putting up a career-high 12.5 sacks last season.
Potential suitors: San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens
DeAndre Hopkins – WR – Tennessee Titans
It is often worth approaching six-week judgement of the Tennessee Titans with caution; Mike Vrabel has a remarkable ability of putting his team in positions to disrupt the narratives of others around the league with soaring standards and a defense that still seeks to mirror its head coach’s playing style. Nevertheless, they find themselves 2-4 at the bottom of the AFC South with an argument to be made for quarterback Ryan Tannehill having taken them as far as he can.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Baltimore Ravens against the Tennessee Titans in Week Six of the NFL season
The reload is pending in Tennessee, where a fourth-worst-ranked passing offense is not doing much to enamour a win-needy veteran in DeAndre Hopkins. The former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver has made 27 catches for 376 yards and zero touchdowns so far on the year after signing a two-year deal with the Titans in July. The separation oomph may have dropped a peg or two, but he still possesses a pair of the safest hands in the league and a top shelf contested catch prowess that has previously fed into six 1,000-yard seasons. For a contender with the pieces in place that soften the burden on Hopkins to serve as a centre-piece, he can still get it done.
On the other side of the ball, safety Kevin Byard is another name to keep an eye out for ahead of the deadline. How soon are the Titans willing to turn their attention to the future?
Potential suitors: Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens
Chase Young – EDGE – Washington Commanders
Chase Young is back, we think. That is the dilemma, of sorts, facing the Washington Commanders as they weigh up just how ‘back’ the young edge rusher is, and whether he is ‘back’ for good. Young managed just three games last season due to his recovery from a torn ACL that ended his year during Week 10 of the 2022 campaign. Upon returning to action this year he has managed three sacks and 31 pressures (PFF) in five games (four starts) to tease signs of the form that saw him become the second overall pick in 2020.
Washington declined his fifth-year option ahead of the season as they waited to find out which version of Young would emerge from a lengthy injury lay-off. As it stands Young is heading towards free agency, with Montez Sweat and Kamren Curl among those to account for when it comes to new deals. How much long-term faith do the Commanders have in Young?
Potential suitors: Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Jeff Reinebold believes the inclusion of flag football as an Olympic sport at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles could be huge for the worldwide growth of American Football
Davante Adams/Hunter Renfrow – WR – Las Vegas Raiders
This was not in the plan for Davante Adams. Hopes of a thriving reunion with college friend Derek Carr upon his arrival from the Green Bay Packers have evolved into frustration as part of a Las Vegas Raiders offense in which he has made just 14 catches for 149 yards over the last three games. Two of those three games happen to have included two of his side’s three wins on the year, most recently against the New England Patriots, after which Adams alluded to a limited usage.
“I’m sure people are thinking, ‘They won the game, why is there an issue?’ I mean, you see why it’s an issue,” Adams told reporters. “Y’all should know who I am, know what I’m about at this point. When you’re a player like me, mentally, my benchmark is not wins and losses – it’s greatness. So when I go out there, I expect to be able to have that ability to put that on tape and have an influence on the game. That’s my purpose for being here. I’m not here just to hang out; I came here to win and to do it the right way.”
He remains one of the NFL’s elite weapons with arguably the most diverse release packages and deadliest route-running alongside a league-leading 46 touchdown catches since 2020. And while the above comments point to disgruntlement, the underlying tone is that of a player who knows he is capable of lifting an offense with more opportunities as opposed to being unhappy in it. Adams signed a five-year, $140m deal with the Raiders in 2022.
The intriguing side-note to any Adams storyline, however, is the stronger likelihood of a trade for Hunter Renfrow, who has made just six catches for 59 yards this season. Renfrow managed just 36 catches for 330 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games (one start) in 2022 after signing a two-year, $32m extension, before which he had posted a career-best 103 receptions for 1,038 yards and nine scores. Once everybody’s favourite slot demon, Renfrow may now be up for grabs.
Potential suitors: Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets