Bold Trade Predictions Before the 2024 NFL Season Kicks Off

The 2024 NFL season is just under a week away and teams around the league have set their official 53-man rosters... for now.

The official cutdown day ahead of Week 1 always brings some clarity to what rosters will look like around the league, a lot gets mixed up once pads start cracking, the injuries start to mount and hope either develops or gets crushed.

The ever-changing dynamic around the league tends to be the catalyst for at least a few notable trades during the season. This year's trade deadline isn't until November 5 after the Week 9 games.

Here, we'll attempt to look into the crystal ball and make some bold predictions for trades that could happen over the next few months.

The idea of trading Haason Reddick has to feel more appealing to the New York Jets the longer his contract saga drags on ahead of the season.

The Jets find themselves in a bit of a mess with the 29-year-old edge rusher. They traded a conditional third-round pick for him in April, but he has yet to report with the team, holding out for a new contract.

According to ESPN's Rich Cimini, the Jets are hesitant about giving Reddick a contract extension and would prefer to sweeten his current contract which expires at the end of the season.

Thus far, it doesn't look like that's a satisfactory conclusion for Reddick. He'll turn 30 in September so it makes sense that he would want to get more long-term security while he still has some leverage and age on his side.

It's a stand still that doesn't seem to have a positive end in sight. Trading him to a team that is willing to give him an extension might be the best way forward.

The Ravens should be on the short list of teams who would be willing to do that. They are coming off of a great season in 2023, but they have a clear need for an edge rusher. Perhaps exchanging an unproven young player like David Ojabo for someone who can help right away would be appealing.

Jadeveon Clowney was second on the team in sacks last season, but he left for Carolina in free agency. Reddick would be an immediate double-digit sack threat with Justin Madubuike.

Amid a flurry of NFL news that included trades, cuts, signings and the new Brandon Aiyuk contract, the Cleveland Browns made a move that could set the table for a big trade at some point this season.

The Browns restructured Deshaun Watson's contract to free up $36 million in cap space. They converted $44.8 million of Watson's 2024 salary into a signing bonus and added a void year giving them a league-high $51.7 million in cap space.

The cap gymnastics gives them a lot of freedom to make moves right now, but a lot of that space will likely be rolled into next season when Watson's cap hit now stands at $72.9 million.

In short, the Browns are putting a lot more eggs into the Watson basket. Thus far the Deshaun Watson era has not produced great results. The quarterback has dealt with multiple injuries and his QBR of 42.9 would have ranked 24th in the league if he played enough to qualify.

Some of the Browns newly found financial freedom could be used to make one last major addition to the roster during the season.

DeAndre Hopkins is a logical hypothetical target. The 32-year-old showed he's still got it with a 1,000-yard season in 2023, but the Titans are in the middle of a rebuild and the veteran is on the final year of his contract.

That's not to mention the chemistry that Hopkins already has with Watson from their days together in Houston.

A receiving trio of Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and DeAndre Hopkins would leave Watson with no excuses not to return to Pro Bowl form.

The Houston Texans are in the perfect spot to get aggressive with trades. Just look at what they did to acquire Stephon Diggs this offseason.

With C.J. Stroud in just the second year of a rookie contract, the Texans have plenty of cap flexibility to add some expensive veterans. They've already shown they understand that by trading for Diggs and signing Danielle Hunter this offseason.

They could take it a step further by targeting Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen in a trade.

Allen would instantly upgrade a weak area for the Texans. With Will Anderson Jr. and Hunter coming off the edge, Allen would bring a little more punch to the interior than the current combination of Folorunso Fatukasi and Mario Edwards Jr.

Allen's 5.5 sacks was more than Fatukasi and Edwards had combined last season.

From the Commanders perspective, the biggest goal right now is to put the best offense on the field with Jayden Daniels. They paid Daron Payne this offseason and drafted Jer'Zhan Newton in the second round of this draft.

Continuing to pay that kind of premium at defensive tackle might not be the wisest move for a rebuilding roster.

The stories that come out in the aftermath of free agency can be telling. Once a free agent signs with a team they really don't have a reason to hide how their recruitment process went before signing with their team.

That's why Josh Jacobs' recent comments about his free agency before he decided to go to Green Bay are interesting. Jacobs told Dan Pompei of The Athletic that the Chiefs worked hard to get him to join the defending Super Bowl champions.

"They were trying to get me hard," he said. "But there was no way I was going there. I feel like once you are rivals with somebody, you have a genuine hate for them. I couldn't see myself in that color."

According to Jacobs, the Chiefs were serious about signing him, but Kansas City went on to do nothing of note to address their backfield depth. They obviously have Isiah Pacheco, but the depth behind him is the maligned Clyde Edwards-Helaire and part-time fullback Carson Steele.

It's no secret the running back position has been devalued. But if the Chiefs believe that adding another talented back could put them over the top in their quest to threepeat as champions then it would be worth it to them.

Notable trade targets that could make sense include either of the Pittsburgh Steelers running backs Jaylen Warren and/or Najee Harris. Both are set to become free agents after this season and it's unlikely the Steelers pay both of them.

If the Steelers struggle early in the season they might be willing to deal one of them to the Chiefs and get something in return.

There was plenty of trade speculation surrounding Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams this summer. The buzz grew so loud that Adam's agent had to come out and say that the rumors were "baseless, unfounded speculation" and noted that Adams is, "expected to be with the Raiders".

That may all be true, but it's hard to shake the feeling that this will be a topic of discussion again before the trade deadline.

Adams has played most of his career with Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback. When he was traded to the Raiders, it was under the assumption that he'd be reunited with his college teammate Derek Carr.

With Carr in New Orleans, Adams has now played with Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew is next.

Adams' frustration with the quarterback situation was captured on Netflix's Receiver show. It's fair to wonder how he's going to fare if the offense isn't better in 2024. Minshew was 23rd in the league in catchable pass rate, per Player Profiler.

The 31-year-old has two more years left on his Raiders contract, but the team would clear $17.5 million by trading him and there isn't much guaranteed money in those last two years.

Don't be surprised if Adams trade rumors are a hot topic again during the season.

The 2023 season was a year that proved the value of a great backup quarterback.

Several of the league's biggest stars went down for stretches of games. Those who had a good backup survived and won a few games. Those who didn't found out the hard way that a strong backup quarterback can be a game-changer.

It's why Mac Jones could become a hot trade commodity if the right team suffers a quarterback injury during the season. The Jaguars gave up a 2024 sixth-round pick for Jones after he struggled to live up to expectations in New England.

Jones looked like a much improved quarterback in preseason action with the Jaguars. He completed 38-of-52 passes for 421 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Obviously the level of competition drops in the exhibition games, but head coach Doug Pederson praised him for buying into the way they do things in Jacksonville and picking up the offense.

Those qualities, combined with his first-round pedigree, could be enough to force a team with a major quarterback injury to call the Jags and ask what their price would be for Jones.