2025 NFL 53-man roster deadline: Cut candidates, trade targets

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It’s the season for trades and trade rumors, coinciding with the annual cutdown to 53-man rosters.

We’ve already seen several trades go down in August, with the Eagles making two of those. Are more swaps brewing? Activity has been up in recent years. Some players — including Jameis Winston — have been deemed off-limits. But others remain twisting in the wind, with the 2025 regular season fast approaching.

Yet, this offseason stands above other recent ones, sheerly because of the big-name players who still remain at odds over contracts with their current teams — Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson and Terry McLaurin. Personally, I feel McLaurin is unlikely enough to be traded that I didn’t include him below, but if any of them are dealt, it would be a rare massive summer blockbuster.

Will these standoffs or other roster crunches lead to any more preseason trade activity? Any big names on the chopping block at cutdowns? Let’s dig into some notable players who could be on the move soon, ordered roughly by position group below.

TRADE CANDIDATES

 Joe Flacco  won the Week 1 starting job, and Pickett currently is listed as the backup. That certainly could be how it goes to start the season, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if the Browns kept four QBs. Injuries to Pickett,  Dillon Gabriel  and  Shedeur Sanders  have complicated the entire operation and projection. But if the Browns feel good about the health of Gabriel and Sanders, and Pickett suffers no setbacks in his recovery from the hamstring injury that short-circuited his pursuit of the top gig in Cleveland, it could open up a spot for Pickett to be moved. Keeping him around would only slow the development of their two 2025 draft picks.

It has been awfully quiet on the Cousins front lately, to the point where the most likely course of action feels like the Falcons not trading him and just keeping him as the backup. Most of the starting jobs around the NFL have dried up. The one spot to monitor might be the Rams, with  Matthew Stafford  and his balky back. Stafford is practicing again, but if that issue begins to trend in the wrong direction, Cousins could be an option in Los Angeles. The connection ex-Rams staffers Raheem Morris and Zac Robinson have with Sean McVay would presumably make it an easier trade to do, if the need arises.

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