A quarter of the season is in the books — more or less, the switch to a 17-game season makes for milestones that aren’t as neat — and with October just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start really digging into what the midseason trade market will look like. Four games is enough to start separating the haves and the have-nots, and it’s also revealing which players might shake free ahead of the deadline. 

From now until the NFL trade deadline on November 4, the Tuesday after the conclusion of Week 9, we’ll be taking a look around the league, position by position, at which players could potentially be on the block. This list was compiled by sifting through reports from beat writers and national media, as well as a dash of dot-connecting. 

Quarterback

• Falcons QB Kirk Cousins
• Giants QB Russell Wilson

In-season quarterback trades are rare because of the unique mental load put on the position. Quarterbacks have to be experts in the offense and that’s hard to do without the benefit of an offseason and training camp. Being traded to a new team in the middle of the season would be like switching from a French class to a Mandarin and still being expected to ace the midterm. 

That’s why teams tend to stick with in-house backups or players who have extensive prior experience in the coach’s offense when it comes to dealing with quarterback injuries. The Bengals, for instance, showed zero interest in going after anyone besides backup QB Jake Browning when starting QB Joe Burrow was lost for months. Sometimes the talent upgrade is worth it, though, and that’s why some trades for notable veterans can’t be completely ruled out even if it’s unlikely. 

Cousins has been a clear trade candidate since he lost his starting job last year. However, his $27.5 million guaranteed salary and Atlanta’s unwillingness to eat a major portion of that prevented any deal from coming together this offseason. That money is even harder to move in-season, and Cousins still has a no-trade clause to veto any deal if he doesn’t like the landing spot. The odds are high that Cousins will finish out the year with the Falcons and then both sides will evaluate their options in the offseason. 

Wilson is a different story. At just $2 million in base salary for 2025, Wilson’s contract is far easier to take on if a team is interested. The veteran was benched after just three games this year, which is a quicker hook than the parties involved likely imagined back when he was added to the team. Wilson is a fierce competitor and undoubtedly would welcome a chance to play, though he’s also said he’s not planning to rock the boat and ask for a trade or release. 

The bigger question might be if the Giants would have any kind of trade market for Wilson. He diced up the Cowboys for 450 yards in Week 2, but his other two starts were rough. Wilson still does a couple of things well, but at this stage of his career, his limitations outweigh his strengths. The Giants are now the third team in three years to decide a limited sample of Wilson as the starter is all they want to see. 

Running Back

• Dolphins RB Jaylen Wright
• Broncos RB Jaleel McLaughlin
• Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell
• Browns RB Jerome Ford
• Texans RB Dameon Pierce
• Raiders RB Raheem Mostert or Zamir White

Wright hasn’t played yet this season but might be losing his grip on the No. 2 job in the backfield to sixth-round RB Ollie Gordon, who brings a physical element to the backfield that the other backs on the roster right now don’t. The second-year back was expected to take a leap this year as the complement to starting RB De’Von Achane, but the word out of camp wasn’t necessarily positive. Wright was losing work to RB Alexander Mattison before he was lost for the season due to injury. It would be odd for the Dolphins to give up on a player they traded a third-round pick for the right to draft in the fourth round just last year but there’s a little bit of smoke around the possibility. 

McLaughlin has been a healthy scratch behind RB Tyler Badie, who Broncos HC Sean Payton seems determined to mix into the rotation despite having two other strong backs in veteran J.K. Dobbins and second-rounder RJ Harvey. The former UDFA out of Youngstown State has legit wheels and could be a spark for another offense where his path to touches is clearer. 

Mitchell dazzled as a rookie in 2023, averaging 8.4 yards per rush and 10.3 yards per catch while scoring twice. Unfortunately he also suffered a gnarly knee injury that limited him to just five games the following year. Mitchell looked all the way back and healthy this preseason but he’s yet to be active for a game in 2025. The Ravens like Justice Hill more as a third-down back and Rasheen Ali more as a kickoff returner, leaving Mitchell behind both. It’s probably worth it for other teams to kick the tires and see if the Ravens would like to have a pick or someone else on the roster more than they’d like to keep Mitchell. 

The Browns double-dipped on RBs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson in the draft this year and those two are the future of the backfield. Ford is still seeing snaps thanks to his experience, but as the year progresses, the Browns are likely to become more developmentally minded. 

Pierce has been off the gameday roster for a couple of weeks now, and if the Texans saw him as a potential solution to their run game issues, he’d be getting some burn. He becomes even more expendable if Houston gets RB Joe Mixon back at any point this year. 

Mostert was inactive to start the season but got the nod over White in Week 4 and had some chunk plays. One of these players will likely stick around as the handcuff to first-round RB Ashton Jeanty, the other becomes potentially expendable. Mostert has speed, experience and some special teams versatility on his side. White is younger and a hammer. Both are in contract years. 

Wide Receiver

• Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
• Raiders WR Jakobi Meyers
• Bills WR Curtis Samuel
• Titans WR Van Jefferson

We went long last week on why the Dolphins should trade Hill, what they could get back and which teams might be interested. 

Meyers requested a trade this summer after a lack of progress on contract talks with the Raiders. The 28-year-old veteran is in the final year of his deal and will be an unrestricted free agent next year. Las Vegas rebuffed the request because Meyers is easily the team’s best wideout but it’ll be interesting to see if the team relents if the losses keep mounting. It’s possible the rebuilding Raiders could get a quality pick for a receiver as established as Meyers, especially since it’s somewhat slim pickings as far as other options this year. 

Samuel made his debut in Week 4 and caught one pass. The Bills are probably fine keeping him as depth for the rest of the year, especially because his nearly $7 million salary is already guaranteed. The Bills would also probably be fine with another team taking on that money in a trade. Unfortunately for them, the salary also makes Samuel far less appealing as a trade asset. 

The Titans’ receiving corps is about half rookies, half grizzled veterans. The rookies are expected to be the players Tennessee builds around with No. 1 pick and first-round QB Cam Ward. The veterans are there to be a stabilizing presence, and that matters less the more the rookies prove they can play. Jefferson is already sliding down the pecking order. 

Tight End

• Browns TE David Njoku
• Bengals TE Tanner Hudson

Any veterans on expiring contracts are worth watching as potential trade candidates for the Browns, especially the more losses the team accrues. Njoku fits that category, and because of the way his contract is structured with a minimum base salary and most of his compensation already paid out as a bonus, he’s extremely tradable. The Browns should field notable interest from teams interested in adding a boost to their pass-catching group. 

The emergence of third-round TE Harold Fannin is a factor here, as the rookie has more targets and catches than Njoku through four games. But the two have very different body types and play different roles in the offense. The more relevant factor for the Browns will be how likely they see the odds of Njoku returning in 2026, as his asking price could be notable and Cleveland will still be rebuilding on a budget. 

Hudson’s worth mentioning because the Bengals got even deeper at tight end when they signed veteran Noah Fant and it pushed Hudson even deeper down the depth chart. 

Offensive Line

• Giants OL Evan Neal

The demand for competent offensive linemen always exceeds the supply in the NFL, and that’s worsened when the regular season begins and injuries start thinning out the position even more. For that reason, it’s rare to see an in-season trade involving offensive linemen, as teams are trying as hard as they can to cultivate a surplus of depth at the position and not trade it away. 

Any exceptions usually involve extenuating circumstances. When it comes to Neal, the former top-ten draft pick has had a plethora of chances to prove himself in the lineup and has come up small each time. The Giants kicked him inside to guard this preseason in a last-ditch effort to help him find a groove, and so far he’s been a healthy scratch in every game. If the Giants get any kind of offer for him after declining his fifth-year option this past May, they’d likely jump at it. 

Defensive Tackle

• Browns DT Shelby Harris
• Bills DT Larry Ogunjobi

Harris is in his age-34 season but has been a productive contributor in Cleveland’s dominant defensive line rotation, including the game-winning blocked kick against the Packers in Week 3. He’s another veteran on an expiring deal in Cleveland, and the Browns have enough depth at defensive tackle to be able to part with him for a pick if there’s a contender in need of reinforcements. 

Ogunjobi is a unique case because he’s currently serving a six-game suspension after being signed to a notable contract by the Bills this offseason (one year, about $6.6 million). When he returns, he’ll be landing on a loaded depth chart that already includes Ed Oliver, Da’Quan Jones, second-rounder T.J. Sanders, fourth-rounder Deone Walker and Jordan Phillips. That group is playing pretty well, even with Oliver missing some time, and it’d be fair to question where Ogunjobi fits. That could open the door to a trade, as Ogunjobi is on a reasonable $3 million salary for the rest of this season. 

Edge Rusher

• Dolphins OLBs Bradley Chubb or Jaelan Phillips
• Browns DE Alex Wright or DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
• Patriots OLB Anfernee Jennings
• Texans DE Darrell Taylor

Hill isn’t the only big-name player the Dolphins could part with before the trade deadline this year, or at least get interest in. Both Chubb and Phillips face uncertain long-term futures in Miami and that makes them worth watching. Phillips isn’t under contract past the end of this season as he plays out his fifth-year option worth $13.25 million. Chubb is under contract through 2027 but has no more guarantees on his deal starting in 2026, making him a potential cap casualty. 

Both players have dealt with multiple major injuries in their careers, which is a factor both for interested teams and as Miami considers its options with both. Phillips is 26 compared to 29 for Chubb and would probably fetch more in a deal as a result, even though the older Chubb has three sacks compared to none for Phillips so far. Phillips is more likely to be viewed as a potential extension candidate, while Chubb is more likely to be just a rental given his sizable 2026 salary. Given the league-wide demand for pass rushers, the Dolphins would have interest if or when they decide to start selling. 

Wright and Tryon-Shoyinka are both on expiring deals. Tryon-Shoyinka was a dart throw signing this offseason as the Browns filled out their rotation. Wright is a former third-round pick who flashed in his first two years before tearing his ACL in 2024. He’s back and so far has been a bright spot in a contract year, perhaps setting himself up for a contract the Browns can’t or don’t want to match in 2026. If they see that coming, it makes some sense to try and lock in a pick for him now instead of playing the compensatory pick game. 

Jennings was the subject of some trade rumors this summer but remained on New England’s roster through cutdown day. He’s a workmanlike player who does a lot of dirty work in the run game, but has played a bit role so far this season with around 20 percent of the snaps. 

Taylor signed with the Texans as a rotational rusher this offseason but has been a healthy scratch the past two games. If he’s fallen out of favor in Houston, a change of scenery would make a lot of sense. Taylor had 24.5 sacks in his first four seasons, primarily as a sub-package rusher. 

Linebacker

• Dolphins LB Willie Gay
• Browns LB Jerome Baker
• Patriots LB Jahlani Tavai

Gay was a camp and preseason standout who looked poised to seize a much bigger role than the Dolphins expected when they signed him to a small contract. Instead, he’s played just 11 snaps the first three weeks. He’s on just a one-year deal, so if the Dolphins aren’t planning to play him, it would make more sense to trade him. 

Baker signed a one-year deal this offseason and is playing behind a couple of other players so far to start the season. His deal is structured with a veteran minimum salary, so if the Browns decide to move ahead with other younger options, they should be able to find a taker for Baker. 

Tavai has been on the injured list to start the year but his window to return could open as soon as this week. He’ll have a chance to factor into the lineup at linebacker where the Patriots’ incumbents have struggled but Tavai will likely run into the same issue a lot of other former holdovers have had with fitting into the new system under HC Mike Vrabel. 

Cornerback

• Seahawks CB Riq Woolen
• Chiefs CB Joshua Williams

There was an interesting report on Sunday morning from NFL Media about other teams viewing Woolen as a potential trade candidate ahead of the deadline, which is serious buzz to pay attention to. Woolen is in the final year of his contract, has been inconsistent under HC Mike Macdonald and has the athletic gifts to spark some interest from other teams. Seattle is also deep enough at cornerback to be able to make the move with the emergence of some other players. 

Williams is playing a lot on special teams right now but hardly at all on defense after seeing between 30-40 percent of the snaps in each of his first three seasons. That experience could make him appealing for a corner-needy team, and the Chiefs could use Williams as a chip ahead of the deadline to try and add more help to the roster or a future pick. 

Safety

• Patriots S Kyle Dugger
• Jets S Tony Adams
• Titans S Quandre Diggs
• Panthers S Nick Scott

Dugger ended up sticking on the roster out of the preseason despite major buzz that he could be on the way out. His salary might have been a factor, especially if the Patriots didn’t want to essentially pay him to play somewhere else. The team’s depth at safety isn’t as strong as it was this summer but it’s still possible New England decides a fresh start is the best option here like they did with Jabrill Peppers. 

Adams has been usurped by fourth-round S Malachi Moore and is in the final year of his contract. If the Jets don’t plan to bring him back, he makes sense as a trade candidate if he sparks interest from other teams. 

The Titans have some depth at safety, including younger players who it makes sense to prioritize snaps for. Accomplishing that might mean removing Diggs from being a roadblock at some point. 

The Panthers also have some young safeties who are operating behind the veteran Scott for now, but should take over as the season progresses, especially if Carolina keeps losing and getting shredded on defense.