Top Trade Destinations for Prominent Wide Receivers This Offseason
The NFL’s hard salary cap is one of the league's best qualities. This allows for teams at the bottom to quickly rise while teams at the top can quickly fall. This competitive balance created by the league helps most teams have hope for their team’s success in the near future even if they are currently struggling. This makes drafting great players with cheap rookie deals crucial and also makes resigning the right players for a good price even more important. However, when a team is paying many great players, some might find themselves not getting a contract because the team can’t make the salary cap room to pay them. In the other professional sports leagues with no salary cap or a soft salary cap, these situations are much more rare. There are a few top wide receivers in the NFL who might not get resigned by their current teams because they simply can’t afford to pay them what the players believe they are worth. This is referring to players like CeeDee Lamb, Brandon Aiyuk, and Tee Higgins who are all coming off their rookie deal and are looking for massive deals following their tremendous starts to their careers. With Justin Jefferson just getting a massive new deal, it is expected that these wide receivers will be looking for similar compensation. This will likely mean that they will be traded this offseason to a team that can afford to pay them long-term. Therefore, let’s break down the potential landing spots that need a dominant wide receiver and have the salary cap room to make it happen.
New England Patriots - Oh how the mighty have fallen. Ever since losing Julian Edelman, the Patriots have been in desperate need of a true wide receiver for the past several years. Any one of these wide receivers would completely change the dynamic nature of this offense for the future of this franchise. The Patriots currently have the most salary cap space remaining for this year in the NFL with over $46 million which could help secure a new wide receiver to a long-term deal. With the Patriots not paying a quarterback for the next several years after they just drafted Drake Maye with the third overall pick, it would make a lot of sense for new coach, Jerod Mayo, to correct the course of this offense with a new flashy wide receiver via trade. The Patriots did draft Ja’Lynn Polk, a great wide receiver out of Washington in the second round, but he shouldn’t be expected to be the wide receiver one in his rookie season. Therefore, acquiring another dynamic veteran wide receiver, and having him work with Drake Maye this season in practice, could hopefully start to turn things around in New England over the next few years while Maye is still on a rookie deal.
Los Angeles Chargers - The Chargers, similarly to the Patriots, have great cap space, a new coach, and drafted a wide receiver in the second round. However, even with the addition of their rookie wide receiver, Ladd McConkey, the Chargers still have a desperate need for a great wide receiver to pair with standout quarterback, Justin Herbert. After trading both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason to get younger at the position, they are left with their Quentin Johnston, and Josh Palmer who would both be considered as wide receiver threes at best on any other team. This team desperately needs another prolific wide receiver to take the pressure off their rookie wide receiver, Ladd McConkey, and Justin Herbert this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers - This team has always been known for two things, barely having a winning record every season with Mike Tomlin and their tough defense. However, if this team has any aspirations of winning this season, they will have to improve this offense. Their defense may be the best in the league, especially after adding Patrick Queen to the roster, but that doesn’t fix how inefficient this offense was last season. The Steelers did bring in two underachieving quarterbacks on extremely cheap contracts to the team with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields which was a great first move. However, the key to success for this franchise this season is giving their new quarterbacks a chance to succeed, even against a tough schedule, with a new dynamic wide receiver. A new wide receiver like the guys on the trading block would probably be the best wide receiver the Steelers have had since Antonio Brown and the Triple B’s were terrorizing the AFC North last decade. In an offensive-driven league, if the Steelers don’t get a new wide receiver in the building this offseason don’t be surprised to see Mike Tomlin leave the said building after next season.
