NFL Trade Deadline: 5 Most intriguing trades that could happen

The trade deadline is set for November 2 at 4 PM, but there has not been much activity around the league. Of course, things could heat up as teams try to address needs or dump assets in exchange for draft picks.

The following lists the most exciting players actively being shopped or rumored to be shipped to other teams needing to fill an immediate position.

#5 - WR DeSean Jackson to the Green Bay Packers

Just eight games into the 2021 season, DeSean Jackson and the Los Angeles Rams have agreed to part ways. Where Jackson might end up is an intriguing question.

Teams in need of a speedy wide receiver to take the top off the offense include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (believe it or not, especially with injuries to tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown) and the Green Bay Packers.

That being said, make no mistake that if the Rams pull the trigger on a Jackson trade, he’ll most likely go to a playoff contender far away from the NFC West.

#4 - TE Evan Engram to the Minnesota Vikings

The oft-injured but talented tight end needs a change of scenery and the New York Giants could get draft picks or other assets required in return. Evan Engram’s possible destinations could be teams that need at tight end like the Minnesota Vikings, the San Francisco 49ers (already without tight end George Kittle), the Tennessee Titans, or the Green Bay Packers (who appear on this list again because tight end Robert Tonyan is out for the season with a torn ACL).

It would be exciting and ironically funny (albeit unlikely) if the Giants decided to trade Evan Engram to their division rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, after they traded away tight end Zach Ertz to give Dallas Goedert more opportunities.

#3 - WR Michael Gallup to the New England Patriots

The writing was on the wall for Michael Gallup when the Dallas Cowboys drafted wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in last year’s NFL Draft. Regardless, the dynamic wide receiver was to be the third option in a very potent passing attack with the return of quarterback Dak Prescott this season. While the Cowboys have rushed off to a 6-1 start without his services, the offense could still use his field-stretching abilities to open things up even more for CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper. The emergence of Cedrick Wilson and Dalton Schultz, however, may lead the Cowboys to trade away a valuable asset in Gallup in exchange for an immediate need or future draft picks.

#2 - QB Jordan Love to the Houston Texans

Jordan Love, quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s backup, might not be on the radar of surefire trades before the deadline, but moving the Green Bay Packers’ quarterback might be enough to convince Aaron Rodgers to stay with the team. Given Rodgers’s continued elite play at the position, and the precedent set by quarterback Tom Brady, who’s playing great football in his mid-40s, the Packers might want to keep the reigning league MVP around longer to keep the band together and the wins coming.

The Houston Texans would be a longshot trade partner, but not completely impossible, especially if the Texans need a new franchise quarterback to replace Deshaun Watson when they do trade him.

#1 - QB Deshaun Watson to Miami Dolphins

The biggest trade news of the season has been around Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Miami Dolphins. The other darkhouse destination was the Carolina Panthers. Although Watson could still be traded despite his ongoing legal issues, the quarterback is eligible to play because he has not been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. As of now, it looks like the Texans will hold on to their quarterback past the deadline. The NFL’s most intriguing trade rumor might end up being a trade that never happened.