NFL's Top 9 Players Most Likely to be Traded During 2024 Free Agency

The dawn of NFL free agency is still a few days away but the dominoes are already starting to fall.

The Denver Broncos made a huge announcement earlier in the week. They'll be releasing Russell Wilson at the start of free agency with a post-June 1 designation.

With Wilson heading to free agency it takes a potential trade target off the board. The odds were always slim that a team would trade for Wilson given his massive contract, but that doesn't mean there won't still be some players swapped shortly after free agency gets started.

Last March we saw several well-known veterans get traded. From Darren Waller and Brandin Cooks to Jalen Ramsey and Stephon Gilmore, teams traded their veterans for cap relief and draft capital.

As we prepare for free agency there's a good chance we will see more players on the move.

Here we'll take a look at the top nine players most likely to be traded based on their team's roster, salary cap situation and buzz if applicable. Players are ranked by the likelihood that they will be dealt.

From an on-field standpoint, the 49ers shouldn't be looking to trade away Brandon Aiyuk. The 25-year-old is coming off his best season to date with 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns for the defending NFC Champions.

However, the salary cap is real. Despite ideas to the contrary, the cap does sometimes force teams to say goodbye to talented players.

With the 49ers already locked into Year 2 of Deebo Samuel's three-year, $71.6 million extension, San Francisco has the daunting task of balancing the budget while figuring out an extension for Aiyuk.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the 49ers would, "like to get Brandon Aiyuk 's contract extended, but he's also a trade candidate if they can't get something done."

While there are certainly instances where teams can't reasonably pay two high-performing players at the same position this really doesn't feel like one of them. Aiyuk is under contract for the 2024 season with his fifth-year option at $14.1 million.

His cap hit would likely be less than that even if he gets a big-money extension, assuming that it will be backloaded with guaranteed money.

That would allow the Niners to keep their receiving duo for two years after which Samuel's contract would be up.

At this point, Aiyuk is younger and has been more productive. This feels more like a negotiation tactic than an actual cap-forced move.

If it's not, Aiyuk will have plenty of suitors. He's proven to be a consistent coverage beater and many teams should be willing to pay him as their No. 1 receiver.

Fits: New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders

Trade Probability Meter: Highly unlikely, barring a massive return.

The New Orleans Saints always find themselves up against the cap this time of year. For the cap isn't real crowd, just look at the quality of players they wind up watching leave every year.

As free agency nears, the Saints are still $15.6 million over the cap. They still have some time to clear up some cap space and some teams believe that Marshon Lattimore could be available.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noted that "several teams" believe that Lattimore is available via trade. Thanks to the restructuring of his contract, the salary that a trading team would take on is just $1.2 million.

Lattimore is a good corner when healthy, but he's only played in 17 games over the last two seasons.

The problem with buying into the buzz surrounding Lattimore is that it doesn't make much financial sense for the Saints. They have to make some hard decisions, but trading Lattimore doesn't offer much upside.

Trading Lattimore before June 1 would actually cost them $16.7 million. Trading him after June 1 would only save $4 million.

The only way a trade makes sense for the Saints is if they can get a real return. However, that doesn't seem as likely because of his injury history.

Still, a contender who is in need of a corner but doesn't have much money could make sense.

Fits: Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers

Trade Probability Meter: The numbers aren't adding up.

Donte Jackson is far from the biggest name on this list, but he's been a solid starter for the Panthers over the last six seasons. He's collected 14 interceptions with 46 pass breakups while starting 76 games.

At 28 years old, he still has a few prime years left and should draw some interest.

It certainly looks like his days with Carolina are numbered. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that the Panthers are expected to trade or release the corner. He has a roster bonus that kicks in on March 16, so that's likely to be the catalyst for a move.

The reason Jackson is still relatively low on the list of likelihood is that outright releasing him is an option too. Jackson struggled last season and gave up a passer rating of 107.7 when targeted while creating no turnovers.

Jackson's stock is relatively low right now and the fact that it's been leaked that they plan to get him off their roster has likely tanked any trade value he had. There might be a team that swoops in with a late Day 3 pick, but this appears to be headed toward an outright release.

Some teams would be wise to give up a late pick to bring Jackson in. Former defensive coordinator Phil Snow is now with the Chicago Bears as an analyst. Jackson had success under him and the Bears could use more depth in their cornerback room.

The Commanders and Packers also have a bounty of picks and a need for corner depth.

Fits: Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers

Trade Probability Meter: Slightly lifted. Probably headed to the free-agent pool.

Had Tee Higgins hit the open market he likely would have been the next receiver to hit the jackpot. Even coming off a down year, he's a 25-year-old receiver who has shown the ability to be a team's No. 1 option.

The Cincinnati Bengals had other plans, though. They utilized the franchise tag which will saddle him with a one-year contract worth $21.8 million.

That doesn't mean he's necessarily going to play on it or that he'll even keep playing for the Bengals. The tender could turn out to be a placeholder for that big, long-term contract or an opportunity for the Bengals to make sure they get a nice return for their star wide receiver.

The Bengals were the first team to apply the franchise tag when the window opened. Dan Graziano of ESPN reported from the Combine that there were "a lot of people in Indy" who believe they made that decision to get a jump start on shopping him.

If that's the case, Higgins should have a healthy market. When he's right, he's a quarterback-friendly target with a huge catch radius and No. 1 receiver material.

The New England Patriots should consider putting together a trade package for him. They desperately need a No. 1 receiver and they might have to use the third pick on quarterback.

The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals should both be on the hunt for legitimate No. 1 wideouts this offseason as well. Bryce Young didn't have much help in Carolina and Kyler Murray hasn't had a true No. 1 since the 2020 version of DeAndre Hopkins.

Fits: New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals

Trade Probability Meter: Coin Flip

Something has to give with the Chargers cap situation. With free agency just days away they are $18.6 million over the salary cap.

They also have a quartet of players who could free up a significant amount of salary cap space. Khalil Mack, Joey Bosa, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams all have cap numbers over $30 million next season.

There's really an argument for any of them to be trade fodder. However, Mack tops them all in cap savings if traded ($23.3 million). He's also the oldest of the group. He just turned 33 in February.

After four consecutive seasons of seeing his sack numbers decline, Mack exploded with 17 this season. His pressure rate shot back up to 14.3 percent too.

The Chargers might be wise to take advantage of the surge from Mack. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that there is "some interest" from other teams for Mack.

Fowler also noted that he felt good about Allen coming back and got the sense that Williams might be outright released coming off his ACL tear last season.

That makes Mack the most likely of the Chargers to get traded.

The Atlanta Falcons make sense as a buyer. They have a ton of salary cap space and were 21st in sacks last season. The Lions are in a position to get aggressive after coming one game from the Super Bowl. The Cincinnati Bengals also have a ton of cap space that they can use in the short term to make a push for a deep run in 2024.

Fits: Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals

Trade Probability Meter: Makes too much sense not to happen.

Much like Tee Higgins, the Kansas City Chiefs put the lid on L'Jarius Sneed's hopes of hitting the free agent market at the top of his position.

After the 2023 campaign that Sneed put together, he was in line to get paid on the open market. Instead, the Chiefs gave him the non-exclusive franchise tag worth $19.8 million for cornerbacks.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has publicly said that the Chiefs would like to retain both Sneed and Chris Jones. However, the club has also reportedly given Sneed permission to seek a trade.

Now, Tyler Dragon of USA Today has connected seven different teams to the corner. Dragon noted that seven teams, including the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions.

It's easy to see why Sneed has reportedly attracted so much attention. He was often put on the opposing team's best receiver and had a knack for shutting down some of the biggest names he went against.

As far as fits, Sneed could go to most teams and fit in as their No. 1 corner. The Chiefs asked a lot of him and he was comfortable playing on an island in both press man and zone situations.

The Vikings, Colts and Lions all have a desperate need for someone with Sneed's skillset. They also have the cap space to get a new deal done with him.

Fits: Vikings, Colts and Lions

Trade Probability Meter: More likely than not, especially if Chris Jones signs an extension.

Donte Jackson isn't the only player the Carolina Panthers could be looking to move as free agency gets started. They used the franchise tag on Brian Burns but things are far from settled between the defender and his struggling franchise.

Joseph Person of The Athletic shed some light on the contract negotiations and none of it is good for the Panthers.

According to Person, the Panthers and Burns have been trying to agree on a long-term extension for a year with "no real progress".

The Panthers have had multiple opportunities to trade Burns. They could have reportedly traded him to the Rams in 2022 for two first-round picks and a second-rounder. However, they've had a lot of turnover with coaching staffs and now Dan Morgan is taking over as general manager.

The tag technically gives the Panthers until mid-July to come to an agreement on a long-term deal. However, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reported the Panthers have informed Burns they will not continue contract talks.

That sure seems like an indication they will shift their focus to trading him.

It's at least a better option than letting the contract situation drag on for another year.

Burns won't command the same haul that the Rams offered back in 2022, but he should still bring the Panthers some much needed draft capital.

The Cardinals need an edge rusher and have a lot of draft capital to trade. The New York Giants are in a similar boat and could build an exciting pass rushing duo with Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Rams obviously have an affinity for him as well.

Fits: Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, Los Angeles Rams

Trade Probability Meter: Pushing toward inevitable.

Haason Reddick was a catalyst for the 2022 Eagles defense that featured one of the most productive pass rushes in history. That seems like a long time ago after the Eagles' late-season collapse in 2023.

It could feel like an even more distant memory if Reddick is traded away. Ian Rapoport reported that the Eagles have given the 29-year-old permission to seek a trade.

It hasn't taken long for other reports to come out about Reddick's trade market. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer noted, "teams have already reached out to the Eagles about" potentially trading for Reddick.

Reddick might not have matched the 16 sacks that he had in 2022, but he still had more total pressures this season (62) than he did last year, per Sports Info Solutions.

Defenders who can get after the quarterback like Reddick are always in high demand. This free agent class could have had some top talents at the position but Brian Burns and Josh Allen were both franchise tagged, so the trade market might be the only place to go for teams shopping for an edge defender.

A reunion with the Arizona Cardinals and Jonathan Gannon makes sense. Reddick was drafted by the Cardinals back in 2017 and Gannon was the defensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2022. They need a pass-rusher and Reddick would immediately become one of their best players.

Reddick would also be a good fit as a stand-up 'backer in the Los Angeles Rams defense which utilizes a base 3-4 alignment. The Lions could still use a high-end running mate for Aidan Hutchinson.

Fits: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions

Trade Probability Meter: If the Eagles are selling, someone is buying.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles hasn't come out and said the Bears are trading quarterback Justin Fields, but he certainly didn't deny that it's been a consideration when addressing reporters at the NFL Combine.

Instead, he addressed the timing of such a trade. Noting that it, "just depends on what opportunities pop up."

Translation: The decision has been made, it's just figuring out who the highest bidder will be.

Fields is a significant domino in this year's quarterback carousel. The former 11th overall pick has shown just enough promise that teams should be interested in him as a potential answer at quarterback, but the Bears have the No. 1 pick so it's hard to pass up the opportunity to draft Drake Maye or Caleb Williams when Fields has just one year and a fifth-year option left on his contract.

The Bears can upgrade at quarterback and get another four years of having a starting quarterback on a cheap rookie contract. That makes it a fairly obvious move to deal their 25-year-old quarterback.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported that Bears general manager Ryan Poles is "open to waiting" on a Fields trade until Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield sign with their 2024 teams.

Fields is going to make sense for any team that might not be in the best position to draft a quarterback, but need a new one.

The Raiders could make sense, although the fit with former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is questionable. A return to his native Georgia to play with the Falcons should be a consideration.

A sleeper team would be the New York Giants, who might be done with Daniel Jones.

Fits: Las Vegas Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants

Trade Probability Meter: Fields should be spending some time on Zillow. He's moving this summer.