While the NFL offseason has reached its quiet period, the NBA offseason is just getting started. The free-agent negotiating period will open Sunday, and trades will undoubtedly be part of the equation.
In the NBA, trades frequently involve multiple teams because of smaller rosters and limited draft assets. Three-team trades aren’t nearly as common in the NFL, though they have occurred.
The infamous Herschel Walker trade included a third team when Minnesota Vikings running back Darrin Nelson refused to play for the Dallas Cowboys and was sent to the then-San Diego Chargers.
While we’re unlikely to see a blockbuster multi-team NFL trade in the near future, it’s fun to consider how one might impact the current landscape. That’s precisely what we’ll do here by examining five hypothetical three-team trades that would be logical ahead of the 2024 season.
Though largely a thought exercise, these trades will be grounded in reality. Factors like player production, positional value, franchise trajectory, cap space and draft capital were all considered.
Browns Get: Jets’ 2025 third-round pick, OT Tyron Smith
Jets Get: WR Davante Adams
Raiders Get: Jets’ 2025 first-round pick, WR Amari Cooper
The New York Jets are hoping to make a Super Bowl run with a healthy Aaron Rodgers this season. While the Jets have strengthened Rodgers’ supporting cast this offseason, pairing him with his former favorite Green Bay Packers target, Davante Adams, would certainly aid the cause.
Reuniting Rodgers and Adams would also generate plenty of excitement for the casual fan.
Naturally, this is a hypothetical. As Adams noted in April, he’s content playing for the Las Vegas Raiders.
“If I wanted to be gone, I’d be gone by now,” Adams said, per Tashan Reed of The Athletic.
The Raiders are looking to turn the corner and become a playoff team too, so they’re probably not very keen on the idea of dumping their No. 1 receiver. In this scenario, though, the Jets sweeten the deal by involving the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns employ former Raiders No. 1 target Amari Cooper, who is coming off an impressive Pro Bowl campaign. However, Cooper is seeking a new contract and wasn’t present at mandatory minicamp.
Las Vegas has $34.1 million in cap space and could afford to extend Cooper. They get a new top target in this deal, along with New York’s 2025 first-round draft selection. The Jets effectively get Adams for first- and third-round picks—they have two third-rounders in 2025—while sending offensive tackle Tyron Smith to Cleveland.
Smith is expected to start at left tackle in New York this season, but the first-round selection of Olumuyiwa Fashanu gives the Jets an alternative. The Browns could use the veteran insurance, as tackles Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin and Dawand Jones are all returning from season-ending injuries.
And while losing Cooper would be a blow to the Browns offense, Cleveland has a promising group of young wideouts that includes Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy, David Bell, Cedric Tillman Jr. and Jamari Thrash. If Cooper plans to extend his holdout, cashing him in and becoming the third team in this trade could make some sense for the Browns.
With only $6 million in effective cap space, New York would have to rework Adams’ contract to pull this one off. However, it’s a deal that would make a level of sense for everyone involved while shaking up the AFC playoff picture.
Broncos Get: Rams’ 2025 third-round pick, Steelers’ 2026 third-round pick, WR Tutu Atwell
Steelers Get: WR Courtland Sutton, Rams’ 2026 fourth-round pick
Rams Get: DT Cameron Heyward
The Denver Broncos aren’t widely expected to be playoff contenders in 2024. They’re looking to rebuild around rookie quarterback Bo Nix, a process that could take some time. Dealing wideout Courtland Sutton, who has two years remaining on his contract, could give Denver the draft capital needed to help bolster Nix’s future supporting cast.
Denver isn’t looking to trade Sutton, according to Mike Klis of 9 News Denver, but that could change if the right offer comes along. In this hypothetical scenario, the Broncos flip Sutton—who hasn’t had a 1,000-yard campaign since 2019—for a pair of third-round picks and 24-year-old receiver Tutu Atwell.
They do it by sending Sutton to the Pittsburgh Steelers while also getting the Los Angeles Rams involved.
In Pittsburgh, Sutton would serve as the No. 2 target behind George Pickens and reunite with quarterback Russell Wilson. The pair didn’t exactly shine in Denver, but Sutton believes that Wilson can rebound in Pittsburgh.
” I think he’s going to have a lot of success,” he told the DNVR Sports podcast (h/t Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot). “… I say that very boldly because I think he gets a bad rap from a few different things that didn’t go the way we wanted.”
Acquiring Sutton would help ensure that Wilson has the supporting cast needed to return to Pro Bowl form. While Pittsburgh doesn’t have a promising young receiver to send back to Denver, Los Angeles does. To facilitate this three-team deal, the Steelers could send standout defensive tackle Cameron Hayward to the Rams.
Hayward—who had 33 tackles and two sacks in 11 games last season—has long been a defensive centerpiece for the Steelers. However, he’s also entering the final year of his contract and is seeking a new deal.
While the Rams have just $9.2 million in cap space, they could potentially solve two pieces of the puzzle by giving Heyward a new back-loaded contract. He’d help ease the loss of Aaron Donald to retirement while helping L.A. make a return trip to the postseason.
The Steelers would land the No. 2 receiver they’re lacking, while the Broncos would get more pieces to support their ongoing rebuild.
Falcons Get: Edge Matthew Judon
Patriots Get: WR Brandon Aiyuk
49ers Get: CB Mike Hughes, Patriots’ 2025 first-round pick, Falcons’ 2025 third-round pick
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk remains the biggest name floating around the trade rumor mill. He’s entering the final year of his contract, is seeking a new deal and is having a hard time getting one from San Francisco.
Aiyuk met with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch on June 24, according to ESPN’s Ryan Clark, but to this point, no agreement has been made public. Meeting Aiyuk’s demands will be a challenge, given the rise the receiver market has seen this offseason.
If the standoff continues, trading Aiyuk could be logical for San Francisco. The 49ers still have Deebo Samuel, re-signed Jauan Jennings and used a first-round pick on Ricky Pearsall. For the right return, Aiyuk could be viewed as expendable.
In this scenario, the 49ers would send Aiyuk to the New England Patriots for a first-round selection. The Patriots could look to include pass-rusher Matthew Judon, who is entering the final year of his contract, but that might not move the needle much for San Francisco.
The 49ers already had Nick Bosa and added Leonard Floyd to be his top complement in free agency.
Getting the Atlanta Falcons involved could help get this one done. The Falcons have long been searching for a quality sack artist, and Judon would fit the bill. He missed most of the 2023 season with a torn biceps but had 15.5 sacks in 2022.
The Falcons could send a third-round pick to San Francisco, along with cornerback Mike Hughes.
Hughes, a 2018 first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, started only four games for the Falcons last season but was fairly reliable in coverage—he allowed an opposing passer rating of 86.3. In San Francisco, he’d provide valuable depth in a secondary that struggled against elite quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow in 2023.
This trade would strengthen Atlanta’s chances of making a run in the NFC South and net the 49ers a solid return for Aiyuk. The Patriots, meanwhile, would get a No. 1-caliber receiver to aid the development of rookie quarterback Drake Maye. With $43.3 million in cap space available, New England could afford to give Aiyuk the long-term extension he is seeking.
Cardinals Get: WR Brandin Cooks, Lions’ 2025 fifth-round pick, Cowboys’ 2025 third-round pick
Cowboys Get: WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, RB Craig Reynolds, QB Hendon Hooker, Lions 2026 third-round pick
Lions Get: S Budda Baker
The Detroit Lions made it to the NFC title game last season, but they entered the offseason needing to improve a pass defense that ranked 29th in net yards per attempt allowed. Detroit took steps by trading for Carlton Davis and drafting cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
Trading for Arizona Cardinals standout safety Budda Baker could help put the finishing touches on Detroit’s new-look secondary. To get this hypothetical deal done, the Lions place a call to the Dallas Cowboys.
The Cowboys face a very difficult financial situation. They have just $10.1 million in cap space and need to work out extensions with quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and pass-rusher Micah Parsons.
Parsons is extension-eligible, while Prescott and Lamb are both impending 2025 free agents.
However, Dallas could save $8 million in cap space by trading wide receiver Brandin Cooks. While Detroit is fairly deep at receiver, the Cardinals lack high-end options after rookie first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. In Arizona, Cooks could replace Marquise Brown as the deep threat and be another supporting player for quarterback Kyler Murray.
The Cardinals would also get a fair return for Baker, who is entering the final year of his contract.
Dallas would offload Cooks, who was merely serviceable as its No. 2 receiver in 2023, and the savings could help get one of those expensive extensions settled before Week 1.
The Cowboys would also come away with a pair of budget role players in wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and running back Craig Reynolds. Both could be more valuable in Dallas than they are in Detroit.
The current Cowboys backfield committee of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman leaves plenty to be desired. While Peoples-Jones hasn’t found his way in Detroit, he was an 800-yard receiver in his final full season with the Browns.
Dallas could also get some quarterback insurance in the form of 2023 third-round pick Hendon Hooker. There’s a real chance that the Cowboys can’t keep Prescott beyond this season, and backup Trey Lance is also set to be a 2025 free agent.
Hooke’s future in Detroit is uncertain at best following Jared Goff’s four-year extension, but he could give Dallas a quarterback to develop.
Bengals Get: WR Tyler Lockett, Seahawks’ 2025 fourth-round pick
Jaguars Get: WR Tee Higgins, Seahawks’ 2025 second-round pick
Seahawks Get: Edge Travon Walker, CB Ronald Darby
This offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed quarterback Trevor Lawrence to an extension that ties him with Joe Burrow as the league’s highest-paid quarterback. Ensuring that Lawrence lives up to the deal should be a top priority for the Jags.
After losing Calvin Ridley in free agency, Jacksonville used a first-round pick on Brian Thomas Jr. The rookie should help support Lawrence, but Jacksonville could further aid the quarterback by reuniting him with former Clemson receiver and Cincinnati Bengals standout Tee Higgins.
Higgins is set to play on the franchise tag, and while he did recently sign his tender, a long-term extension with Cincinnati before the July 15 deadline “seems unlikely,” according to ESPN’s Ben Baby.
The Bengals, who must extend Ja’Marr Chase as soon as possible, might not be able to pay to keep Higgins. The Jaguars, who have $25.1 million in cap space after Lawrence’s deal, could extend Higgins. To pry him away from Cincinnati, the Jags enlist the help of the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle has less than $1 million in cap space available but could save $14.9 million by trading receiver Tyler Lockett. Sending him to Cincinnati would give the Bengals receiver help for the next two seasons while helping to acquire two big defensive pieces.
In this hypothetical trade, Seattle could make a move for 2022 No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker. While Walker hasn’t quite lived up to his draft status in Jacksonville, he did have 10.0 sacks in 2023—more than any single Seahawks defender.
Seattle could add Walker and cornerback Ronald Darby—who played under new head coach Mike Macdonald with the Baltimore Ravens last season—at the cost of Higgins and a pair of middle-round selections.
Lockett has been a valuable contributor for Seattle, but if Macdonald is looking to build the sort of defense he oversaw in Baltimore, this would be an enticing swap.
Jacksonville would get another potent (and familiar) target for Lawrence while recouping some of its investment in Walker. Cincinnati would move on from the potential headache of trying to keep Higgins and buy a two-year window to either develop rookie third-round pick Jermaine Burton or find a new No. 2 receiver.
This could be a win-win-win deal for three teams that are looking to return to the postseason after missing it in 2023.
Cap and contract information via Spotrac. Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference.
