The floodgates of free agency are about to open, and there are a lot of swirling rumors ahead of open season. Teams that are currently over the cap are desperate to free up space so they can be compliant, others are trying to open up room for a big signing, and teams on the right side of the ledger are rubbing their hands together waiting to find the pieces that will make them better.
We have already seen one mammoth trade ahead of free agency, with the Kansas City Chiefs trading All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams — but there are a few more moves that could come together which we really want to see.
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Maxx Crosby to the Chicago Bears for D.J. Moore and a 1st round pick
The focal point of the Bears is their offense, but in order to take that next step this team needs a signature pass rusher. Enter Maxx Crosby, who brings everything to the table that Chicago is looking for. While it’s entirely possible this team dabbles in free agency for help, or tries to bolster their unit through the draft — there’s an underlying reality that the Bears want to compete right now, and Crosby is the means to do that.
It just so happens there’s a mutually beneficial deal here as well. Wide receiver D.J. Moore is the perfect ancillary piece to offer in addition to draft compensation that would allow Chicago to keep some of its future draft capital, while also removing a receiver who just doesn’t really fit their ethos anymore with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Colston Loveland being the focus of the passing offense.
For the Raiders, it’s all well and good to take Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall (and they should), but this team cannot doom him to starting his NFL career with Brock Bowers and an island of misfit toys. Moore would immediately start in Las Vegas, giving Mendoza a solid YAC target to take some of the pressure of the young QB. It’s one of those deals where both players need a change of scenery, and offer exactly what each other team needs.
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Brian Thomas Jr. to the Buffalo Bills for Gregory Rousseau and a mid-round pick
There is nothing I hate more than watching a brilliant QB struggle because a team didn’t get them enough help — call it a factor of being a Panthers fan during the Cam Newton era. That’s the point the Bills have reached with Josh Allen, and this team absolutely has to get him a receiver to compete properly in 2026.
The perfect guy might be on the move, with the Jaguars potentially trading Brian Thomas Jr. this offseason. The core issue is that like Moore in Chicago, BTJ doesn’t really work in the Liam Coen offense. He struggled a lot in the coach’s first season, with Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers eclipsing him in usage. Throw in Travis Hunter returning from injury and the receiver room is crowded, even for someone of BTJ’s talent.
This move would give the Bills the No. 1 guy they so desperately need, while also returning a young pass rusher to the Jaguars — who really need help in this area. There have been murmurs about the Jags sniffing around Maxx Crosby, but they don’t have the draft capital or cap space to take on a $30M EDGE. Rousseau comes in around the price the Jaguars could stomach, and despite criticism in 2025 he had a really strong finish to the year that saw him get back on track. There’s every chance that in Jacksonville he could become a 10.0 sack guy, while the Bills get a 1,000 yard receiver.
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Michael Pittman Jr. to the Carolina Panthers for a mid-round pick
It hurts as a Panthers fan, because I love him as a person, but the team is facing the reality that Xavier Legette is a bust. Nothing has really clicked for Legette since entering the NFL, dropping too many passes due to inattentiveness, and not having the killer instinct to use his frame to make aggressive catches. The regression in 2025 was real, and it was Jalen Coker who bailed this team out and got them to the playoffs.
That opens the door for another receiver to be added to the room, and Michael Pittman Jr. of the Colts might be the perfect solution. There would need to be some salary finessing to make it work, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. What this would do for Carolina would be to add a legitimate starting receiver to the offense so the team isn’t relying wholly on Tetairoa McMillan, while allowing Coker to play in the slot where he’s far more dangerous.
Meanwhile for the Colts it gives them what they need the most: Cap space. The team is up against it with Pittman’s deal, and they have tipped their hand about wanting to keep Alec Pierce over Pittman, making him expendable. This deal would allow the Colts to have some cap freedom to make the moves they want, and get the Panthers what they need.
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Anthony Richardson to the Rams for a mid-round pick
Staying on the Colts, let’s free up some more room by getting QB Anthony Richardson off the roster — while also projecting an incredibly fun future in Los Angeles. The truth is that Richardson didn’t work. Indianapolis needed a quarterback who could compete right now, and weren’t really equipped for the massive amount of work Richardson needed as a prospect.
You know who is equipped? The Los Angeles Rams. This is a team that functionally has two years tops before they need to really address their QB position with Matthew Stafford reaching retirement age, but this could happen even sooner if the Rams manage to win the Super Bowl next year, which is legitimately possible.
In this scenario there is nothing better, or more intriguing than having Richardson waiting in the wings. It’s easy to forget just how young it was when A-Rich made the jump. Even factoring in a two year wait he’d still only be 25 when asked to step into a starting role. The infrastructure is in place to develop Richardson into a future starter, and there’s a chance he could become special with the time to sit and learn.
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