The stretch run before the NFL’s trade deadline has never been as active as the period we see yearly in MLB, but perhaps that is changing since the league has seen some abnormal movement in recent weeks.
NFL insider Jay Glazer hears that business is picking up around the league and that general managers are “burning up the phone lines” ahead of Tuesday’s 3 p.m. CT deadline.
“I’m told the next 36 hours will be even crazier,” Glazer said on FOX’s NFL Sunday program. “One general manager said, ‘Hey, there are going to be eight desperate teams tonight that will suddenly push up all the trade talk and the asking price.”
Among the players rumored to be generating interest is Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. It’s a bit odd that teams are calling about Floyd, a player who hasn’t provided much of a pass-rushing presence for the team that drafted him. Floyd has yet to pick up a sack in seven games, has just one tackle-for-loss, and only one QB hit. So while that’s not the type of production anyone expected coming into the year, that his name has popped up on the rumor mill says everything you need to know about how desperate teams are to unearth a possible upgrade at the position.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the Bears are inclined to move Floyd. Khalil Mack is still on the mend and the Bears already lost outside linebacker Sam Acho to a season-ending injury earlier in the year. So I can’t necessarily see a path to the Bears trading Floyd right now.
Glazer says teams are dialing each other up in search of additional pass-rush help, and the names he shares suggest that it doesn’t seem to matter where teams sit in the standings after eight weeks. In addition to the first-place Bears receiving calls regarding Floyd, the AFC South-leading Texans have heard from teams interested in pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney, while the Jaguars (who are just 10 months removed from appearing in the AFC Championship Game) have teams asking about edge defender Dante Fowler.
Last year’s trade deadline produced a potential franchise-altering deal when the Patriots send quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second-round pick, so nothing can be ruled out.
Pierre Garcon (49ers receiver), Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Packers safety), Damryius Thomas (Broncos receiver), Janoris Jenkins (Giants cornerback), and Bruce Irvin (Raiders defensive end) are players Glazer says are known to be on the trading block. And while none of those names are necessarily fits for the Bears, we’ll have to keep our eyes open on potential action that could impact them in one way or another.
You can watch Glazer’s entire segment here:
.@JayGlazer is hearing that this trade deadline is going to be WILD.
He's got everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday's deadline ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qjE9RAFrOk
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 28, 2018