The Trent Richardson trade got me thinking, why aren't more trades like this done in the NFL? The first big reason is salary cap implications, but mostly it seems like teams value draft picks and the future way more than they should. Teams that are going for the Lombardi trophy should be more willing to part with future draft picks before and during the in season trade deadline to get deals done. A championship season is worth selling out for as the fans will remember it forever. Not to mention having a Super Bowl championship on your resume is good for job security as well as getting jobs in the future. Below are some deals I believe should be made, but most likely will not be made before the deadline.
1. Steelers trade SS Troy Polamalu to the Packers for a 3rd round pick.
The Steelers traded their 3rd round in the upcoming draft to the Browns for the their 4th round pick in last years draft to take Polamalu's potential replacement, Shamarko Thomas. Pittsburgh needs to enter a rebuilding mode as soon as possible to have a chance at another Super Bowl run on the back end of Big Ben's career. With this trade they would get back a 3rd round pick in this years draft, which they are missing from the aforementioned trade, for a guy that doesn't have much tread left on his tires.
Green Bay is in desperate need of a playmaker of Polamalu's caliber in their secondary to take on Charles Woodson's old role. Though Polamalu is 32 and has had trouble staying healthy the past few seasons, he is healthy now and making big plays. Polamalu's big play ability can help be the difference for the Packers in a very tight NFC. This deal also would be for more than a one year rental as Polamalu's contract is valid through the 2014 season.
2. Browns trade DE Jabaal Sheard to the Falcons for a 2nd round pick.
The Browns signed Paul Kruger to a 5 year $41 million contract and drafted Barkevious Mingo with the #6 pick in the draft, making Jabaal Sheard expendable. The 37th pick in the 2011 draft has had a pretty solid start to his career notching 8.5 sacks as a rookie and 7 as a sophomore at DE in a 4-3. Through two games at his new positions 3-4 OLB he has added half a sack to his resume. The Browns are stockpiling picks for the 2014 draft to make sure they can get the franchise back on track, even though trading a young pass rusher doesn't seem smart the moves mentioned above make it seem that Sheard is not in their long term plans.
Atlanta has been killed by injuries on both sides of the ball and the defense especially couldn't afford to lose any talent. The most devastating injury for the Falcons was having to place DE Kroy Biermann on season ending injured reserve. Osi Umenyiora was brought in to replace the departed John Abraham but doesn't seem to have much left and Biermann's replacement Jonathan Massaquoi is a a 2012 5th rd pick who was only active for 8 games and didn't show up on the stat sheet last season. Thomas Dimitroff is one of the few GMs in the league that loves to make big deals and his team needs one to stay afloat this year. Sheard would move back to his more natural position, 4-3 DE, help upgrade the Falcons' almost non existent pass rush and like Polamalu is signed through the 2014 season. Add in that he is only 24 years old and this trade makes a lot of sense for a team that sees itself as a Super Bowl contender this year and beyond.
3. Jaguars trade ILB Paul Posluszny to the Giants for 4th round pick.
The Jaguars are the worst team in the NFL in my opinion and move one of their only talented players just a 4th round pick seems odd. This makes sense for the Jaguars for two reasons even though he might be not only the most talented player on the defense but maybe the entire team ILBs don't win championships and secondly he has a big cap number. Jacksonville can absorb the big cap hit for this deal and then have its book cleared of a high priced ILB when they are ready to start competing again. Adding an extra fourth round draft pick will enhance the Jaguars chances of moving around in the draft or they can keep the pick and add depth to the roster.
New York has the worst LBs corpse in the league by far and despite having a bad LB corpse for years the team has forgone drafting LBs high and didn't even use one pick on the position in last April's draft. Posluszny would be a massive upgrade in the middle of the Giants' defense and allow them to upgrade not only their run but even their pass defense. Posluszny is one of the leagues better coverage LBs as evidenced by his 5 interceptions over the last two seasons in Jacksonville. This move would give the Giants a presence in their LBing corpse they haven't had since Antonio Pierce.
4. Titans trade WR Kenny Britt to the Panthers for a 7th round pick.
The Titans seem to be fed up with Kenny Britt and all his injuries and off the field issues that they would probably take a bag of deflated footballs for him. The team used a 1st rd pick on Kendall Wright in 2012 and moved up in the 2nd rd this year to take Justin Hunter so there is no way they are resigning Britt when his contract expires at the end of the season. Instead of just letting him walk getting a draft pick for him, albeit a last round selection, is better than nothing.
The Panthers have done a real bad job of surrounding Cam Newton with weapons since selecting him with the #1 pick. They did bring in Greg Olsen at TE but at WR it is a black hole behind 34 year old Steve Smith. Taking a chance on a very troubled but also very talented player seems well worth the risk for just a 7th round pick. If it doesn't work out they are right back where they started and if it does it could help take this offense to the next level and give Steve Smith someone to pass the torch to.
5. Vikings trade DE Jared Allen to the Denver Broncos for a 3rd round pick.
The Vikings get less for Allen than the Browns get for Sheard due to Allen being 31 and only under contract for the rest of the season. It is shaping up to be Allen's last season in Minnesota so shipping him off for a 3rd round pick seems like a great idea for the future.
Denver can do much better at DE than Robert Ayers who has amassed only 6.5 sacks in his first four seasons in the league. Adding Jared Allen would give the Broncos back that dual pass rush threat they had last season with Elvis Dumervil being the robin to Von Miller's batman; upon Miller's return from suspension of course. The Broncos are the overwhelming favorite in the AFC at the moment and have to cash in on their Super Bowl dreams fast as Peyton Manning is not getting any younger. Adding Allen to a defense that has performed pretty well to start the year without its best player, Von Miller, seems like a no brainer for a team that wants to avenge their first round playoff defeat from a season ago.
