the NBA That was turned upside down on Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks pulled it off Withdraw a three-team deal With the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns giving them All-Star guard Damian Lillard. This huge success now makes the Bucks the team to beat in the Eastern Conference and the favorite to win the title. NBA title next season. It also got us thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if three-team trades were common in the trading world NFL Like they were in the NBA?
Three-team deals have been done in the past, so no team would be breaking new ground if they agreed to one today, but they’re hardly as common as they are in the NBA. One of the most notable three-team trades in NFL He came all the way again On Halloween 1987when the Rams, Bills and Colts completed a blockbuster trade that included 10 players and two draft picks, including Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson.
Using this Lillard trade as a starting point, how about we do some trades between three teams in the NFL? But before we do that, let’s not get into the details regarding each team. We’re not going to go crazy and give you good readers at home a headache like a lollipop by trying to rank our calculations as they relate to the salary cap and whether or not a team can accommodate a player’s contract. We’ll just identify a few teams and try to solve them Light parameters It’s a huge deal the same way we see it in the NBA.
Okay, let’s get nuts.
Planes get: Kirk’s cousins
The Vikings get: Jets 2025 2nd round pick, Cowboys 2024 4th round pick, Trey Lance
Cowboys get: DJ Reid
This is a deal that allows two teams that were looking to get into the playoffs this season to help keep those hopes alive after dealing with major season-ending injuries. Meanwhile, the third team in the mix is given the opportunity to hit the reset button early after a winless start to the year and build its war chest of draft picks.
Why does it make sense for airplanes?: New York had high hopes for the 2023 offseason after making the biggest trade of the offseason and acquiring Aaron Rodgers. As you know by now, those dreams of a draft elimination were dashed just four into Rodgers’ tenure after he suffered a season-ending rupture of his Achilles tendon. Since then, the team has gone back to Zach Wilson, and the results have not been good. Wilson is clearly unable to elevate this roster and has been a major reason for losing games. So, returning to the trade market for an established quarterback makes sense. Cousins is in the final year of his deal, and while he may not have the same ceiling as Rodgers, he will make them a playoff contender when they arrive. While losing Reid, who is signed through 2024, would be a huge impact in the secondary, getting a serviceable quarterback is worth whatever they might lose in the secondary.
Why it makes sense for the Vikings: Minnesota has floated contract talks with Cousins through next offseason, making him a lame duck quarterback with no deal in place beyond 2023. Even ownership Perverted questions About Cousins’ long-term future with the team this summer. With the Vikings starting the year 0-3, it’s worth at least having a conversation about starting the rebuild early by moving on from Cousins in the offseason and acquiring future draft capital. They could also take a shot at former 49ers outcast Trey Lance to see if he can once again tap into his potential, which made him the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. And if Lance once again proves he’s not a quarterback you can build around, he’ll have Minnesota’s record is worse enough to be in the QB mix in what is It is expected to be a promising category in 2024.
Why it makes sense for cowboys: Dallas lost All-Pro linebacker Trevon Diggs to a season-ending torn ACL he suffered during practice last week, impacting his secondary. While Stephon Gilmore is still guarding one of the borderline cornerback spots, the Cowboys should try to bolster that unit back up, as they have the talent to make a deep playoff run. However, they will face several elite quarterbacks along the way, so a player like Reed would go a long way to helping soften the blow of losing Diggs.
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Bosses get: Mike Evans
Pirates get:Justin Fields
Bears get: Chris Jones
This is a deal that will never realistically be agreed upon due to the unequal distribution of positional value, but it’s fun to think about who will say no to this deal and why when you start to break it. On paper, it’s pretty great for all parties.
Why it makes sense for bosses: Patrick Mahomes is talented enough that he can blitz almost anyone. However, when you take Travis Kelce out of the equation like they were forced to do in Week 1, we saw that Kansas City’s offense could stall. By bringing in a player like Mike Evans, it would make the Chiefs’ offense go nuclear. Trying to prevent Evans from beating you up top and then slowing down Kelce down the middle of the field would be a real nightmare for opposing secondaries and would be reminiscent of Randy Moss joining Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2007. Yes, losing top-10 defensive back Chris Jones will sting; But KC has plenty of young pieces along its defensive line, and Evans will retain them as an elite offense even when Kelce turns 34 in October.
Why does it make sense for hackers: Mike Evans is an icon of the franchise, so moving on from a player of his stature would not be an easy decision. However, he is in the final year of his deal, and if the Buccaneers fall out of contention and decide the next course of action is to rebuild, that could open the door to his departure. And if they can get a quarterback out of the deal, you basically have to do it. I still have faith in Fields, and if he is put in the right situation, he has elite tools that could make him a franchise quarterback. Bringing him into Tampa Bay and a more consistent offensive line headlined by Tristan Wirfs will give us a better chance of seeing the peak of his potential. While Baker Mayfield has been solid thus far, this type of move has the potential to upend a Bucs team overnight for several years with a former first-round QB who is still only 24 years old.
Why it makes sense for bears: The Bears are the first team to say no in this hypothetical trade. They would realistically need a lot more than that for someone they consider (or are looking at) as a franchise quarterback given his age. However, this team has issues throughout its roster, including its defensive line. Chris Jones will come in and immediately anchor the front seven and be the face of that side of the ball. Chicago also has the cap space next season (the second-most in the NFL) to secure him long-term. Fields has struggled so far this season to the point where people are questioning whether or not he is a franchise quarterback. If the Bears front office decides he’s not “the guy,” they might be interested in shipping him away for a star player and selecting him, while he drops back to the bottom of the league and enters the Caleb Williams sweepstakes.
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