Looking Ahead At 12 Big-Name Players Who Could Be Traded In 2025

November is an interesting time of year for us here at NFL Trade Rumors. With the trade deadline in the books, a bit of a lull sets in. The season is more than halfway over but it’s still too early to say much of anything definitively about next year. How things shake out in December and January will have a massive influence on the decisions teams make in March and April. 

All of that is to set up this caveat — this piece about potential 2025 blockbuster trades will include a lot of speculation. Things are guaranteed to change between now and the end of January, so this is just a preliminary look with the idea of starting the conversation on topics we could be talking about in a few months. 

One thing I can say for sure: there will be some eyebrow-singing trades this coming offseason. NFL teams have become much more aggressive about taking big swings, and there will be players who drive that kind of interest potentially available. 

So without any more setup, here are some potential blockbuster trade candidates to keep in mind for 2025: 

Cowboys LB Micah Parsons

A year after protracted contract negotiations with both QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys will be back under the microscope with Parsons. The star pass rusher was technically eligible for a new deal this past offseason but Dallas had other fish to fry and Parsons shrewdly understood that the only place his market was going was up. Now he’s entering a contract year on his fifth-year option worth $21.3 million. 

The absolute minimum number for Parsons is going to be $35 million a year on a new contract and he’s much more likely to land closer to $40 million annually. That would put him ahead of Vikings WR Justin Jefferson ($35 million per year) as the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback and ahead of 49ers DE Nick Bosa ($34 million per year) as the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player, and it would reflect the growth in the salary cap from when those deals were signed. There’s no question Parsons is worth that as a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. 

A much more valid debate can be had about the merits of Dallas being the team to give him that deal after signing Prescott and Lamb to contracts worth a combined $94 million annually. Add in a deal for Parsons, and that’s $134 million for just three players out of 53 on the roster. Even if the salary cap keeps growing at a high rate, the Cowboys would be surrendering a ton of flexibility and committing to a top-heavy roster. 

The alternative would be trading Parsons — and the Cowboys could get a haul. Two first-round picks would be the minimum starting point for a deal and three wouldn’t be outside the realm of imagination. With how well the Cowboys have generally drafted over the past several years, they could do a lot of damage with those picks and benefit from the overall flexibility with the rest of the roster. 

That said, the Cowboys would obviously still be taking a huge risk by moving Parsons. Teams turn over every rock to find good players and calling Parsons a good player is the biggest understatement I will make in this column. It’ll be interesting to see how negotiations unfold. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones isn’t known for getting these big deals done in a timely manner and Dallas has the franchise tag to fall back on to keep Parsons in 2026. Whatever happens, I would be surprised if anything happened quickly. 

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill

It’s been an interesting season for Hill on and off the field. After notching more than 3,500 receiving yards combined over the past two seasons, Hill has just tk yards in 12 games this season. Injuries to the quarterback position in Miami have been a big reason for the dip in production, as have changes to the way opponents have played the explosive Dolphins offense. That’s still a major dropoff, however, and it raises a few eyebrows considering Hill is on the other side of 30, even if he still looks like an explosive player. 

Hill signed an updated contract with the Dolphins this summer but is still under contract for two more seasons after this. He’s due a $10 million base salary in 2025 along with a $15.85 million option bonus which isn’t due until August 31 and nearly $2 million in per-game and workout bonuses. Both his base and the option bonus are guaranteed. In 2026, Hill has a nearly $30 million base salary plus a $5 million roster bonus due at the start of the league year, neither of which are guaranteed. 

That structure makes 2026 the more likely off-ramp for the Dolphins when it comes to Hill’s deal, as they could cut him and save a significant amount against the cap. But it’s not out of the question they could look to move on sooner. Miami is 29th in the NFL in projected effective cap space in 2025, per Over The Cap, because of top-heavy deals committed to Hill, QB Tua Tagovailoa, OLB Bradley Chubb, CB Jalen Ramsey, WR Jaylen Waddle and a few others. The team will have to clear up cap space and cash to have room to operate next year. 

Trading Hill wouldn’t clear cap space but it would take over $27 million in cash off the books for the upcoming season and give Miami a valuable draft pick to rebalance the roster, perhaps even a first-round pick if there’s a team that believes Hill’s dip in production is due more to the environment than his age. Bill Belichick used to say it’s better to be a year early than a year late, and with 2026 setting up as a potential exit anyway for Hill, it would make sense for the Dolphins to explore their options when Hill’s value is higher. 

Steelers WR George Pickens

Pittsburgh’s switch to QB Russell Wilson has done a lot to reinvigorate Pickens in 2024. He’s back on track for another 1,000-yard season and the end of his touchdown drought coincided with Wilson’s first start of the season. Yet there are still reminders that the third-year wideout can be as explosive off the field as he is on it, the latest one coming when he was tangled up in a brawl with Browns CB Greg Newsome on the Steelers’ Hail Mary attempt last Thursday. 

Pickens will be eligible for a contract extension for the first time in 2025 as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. It’s worth pointing out the Steelers have a long history of not extending receivers. In the last two decades, the only notable players who have gotten second contracts from the organization have been Hines Ward, Antonio Brown and Diontae Johnson. The list of players who haven’t includes Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Plaxico Burress and JuJu Smith-Schuster. 

It’ll be fascinating to see how the Steelers handle Pickens. There are some parallels between Pickens and former Steelers WR Chase Claypool, though the former has accomplished much more on the field already than the latter did before Pittsburgh dealt him to the Bears midseason in 2022. Pickens is under contract in 2025 so the Steelers don’t have to do anything but if they’re pessimistic about an extension, they could look to trade him while his value is higher and cycle through other receivers. 

49ers WR Deebo Samuel

Samuel was available in trade talks this past offseason before the 49ers elected to keep him. It’s not out of the question that could happen again. San Francisco will need to reconfigure its books in the next two years with the core of its contending teams over the past few years starting to age out and looming blockbuster contract for QB Brock Purdy. The 49ers are projected by Over The Cap to have nearly $50 million in cap space in 2025 but just $6 million in 2026 as things stand right now. 

The catch is trading Samuel would trigger a dead money hit of $31 million, twice as much as Samuel is currently scheduled to count against the books in 2025 thanks to an option bonus the team built into the deal to spread out the cap hits. Samuel’s trade value will also be interesting since he’ll be 29 and is a unique scheme fit. Getting more than a fourth or fifth-round pick for Samuel could be tough. If the 49ers trade Samuel, it will be more about saving the cash than it is freeing up cap space. 

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson briefly requested a trade this past offseason as he was seeking a new contract. He has one more year left on his deal and currently leads the NFL with 11.5 sacks, so that’s not going to lessen his desire for a raise any. It’ll be interesting to see how the Bengals handles this, as they don’t like paying big money on third contracts for veteran players. Hendrickson’s options are limited since he’s got a year left on his deal but this is still a situation worth watching. He’s by far the best player on the defensive side of the ball in Cincinnati which has struggled. 

Chiefs G Joe Thuney

Thuney is still playing like one of the top guards in the NFL but he’ll be 33 and entering a contract year in 2025. The Chiefs would like to keep G Trey Smith who’s the other half of their stellar duo and much younger but it will cost them a pretty penny, perhaps $20 million a year or more. They could figure out a way to make it work but this is also a team that’s had no fear of letting quality players walk when it doesn’t want to pay a premium. 

Chargers OLB Joey Bosa

Bosa reworked his deal this past offseason to avoid being a cap cut, as did fellow OLB Khalil Mack. Chargers WRs Keenan Allen and Mike Williams did not and were traded and cut. Now the time could be coming for Bosa and Mack, the latter of whom is on an expiring deal. Bosa is due over $25 million in cash in 2025 and it’s probably safe to say the 29-year-old will not see that money. He has three sacks this year and has missed time again due to injuries. There won’t be another team eager to pay him that, which complicates a potential trade, but a reworked deal could be part of a trade. 

Packers CB Jaire Alexander

Injuries are starting to become more and more of a problem for Alexander, who remains one of the league’s best cover men when he’s healthy enough to play. He’s appeared in just seven games so far this year after being limited to seven last year and four in 2021. This is the final year of his contract that includes guaranteed money and he’s owed base salaries of $16 million and $18 million in the next two years. He also turns 28 in February, which is a little long in the tooth for a cornerback. I think the Packers could be interested if another team comes calling about Alexander but the money owed to him will complicate things for inquiring teams. 

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts

Pitts hasn’t quite backed up the potential he showed in his rookie season when he topped 1,000 yards receiving and threatened Mike Ditka’s records for the tight end position, and this year is included in that. He has 35 receptions for 494 yards and three scores in 11 games. Pitts will be on the final year of his contract in 2025 and due $10.878 million fully guaranteed on the fifth-year option. 

Setting aside the idea of an extension for Pitts — the prudent choice at this point seems to be letting him play out his rookie deal — the Falcons are hard up for cap space in 2025. Over The Cap currently has them in the bottom five in expected cap space next offseason and in the red. Trading Pitts could be a way to clear space while adding a quality draft pick. For as flummoxing as the start to Pitts’ career has been, his potential is still massive. It’s easy to see a team giving up a second or third-rounder to try and unlock his game. 

Atlanta could turn around and potentially land a cheaper contributor with that pick, and moving on from Pitts could allow them to bring in a tight end who better fits the current scheme. 

Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf

Metcalf’s name got a little bit of buzz at the trade deadline this year but it seems like that was driven more by speculation than by any real momentum to a deal. The star receiver is someone to watch this offseason, however, as he enters the final year of the three-year, $72 million extension he signed in 2022. With the way the receiver market has continued to balloon, Metcalf is in line for a deal worth more than $30 million a year. 

Are the Seahawks willing to commit that much to Metcalf? He’s been their best receiver this year and his presence has been missed in the games he’s been out due to injury. But former first-round WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been the most productive Seahawks wideout in 2024 and is in the midst of a breakout season. He’ll be up for a new contract in a couple of years. Seattle also already has a ton of money on the books in 2025 and this roster is poised for some dramatic reshaping in the second year under HC Mike Macdonald, whether they finish off their bid for a playoff berth or not. 

All of this is why I would not be surprised to see teams check the temperature on the situation with the Seahawks this offseason — and for Seattle to be open to listening. 

Rams QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp

Both Stafford and Kupp have come up as trade candidates in recent weeks on this site — Stafford in a look-ahead to the 2025 quarterback carousel and Kupp when the Rams seemed poised to trade him ahead of the deadline. It would not be surprising to see both come up as trade candidates again this offseason. 

I went into more detail on Stafford in the link above, the summary is basically the two sides are year-to-year with each other after not reaching an extension this past summer. The situation with Kupp could be somewhat similar. The Rams have to decide this offseason if they want to keep rolling along with Stafford and Kupp as foundational pieces (who are paid like it) or if the time is right to hit the reset button to a degree. 

Whether or not the Rams make the playoffs could influence their decision in 2025. They seemed more willing to trade Kupp earlier this season when they were 2-4 and the playoffs seemed far out of reach. But the Rams currently sit with nearly $60 million in projected cap space next year, so they’re not hard up against the limit or anything like that. It will be a question about whether Stafford and Kupp can still produce in a way commensurate with their considerable salaries, or if the time is right to move on to a younger generation of core players.