3 NFL trade deadline deals that could push teams to contender status

NFL Trade Deadline move no. 3: Bradley Chubb to the Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are not going to stay put at the NFL Trade Deadline. Are you insane?

Les Snead has already made it clear what he thinks about “them picks”. In order for the Rams to cement themselves as contenders again this season, however, I think they have to make some kind of bold move. They don’t have a first-round pick thanks to the Matthew Stafford trade (not in 2023, at least) but they do have picks in rounds two and three. The Denver Broncos could send a pass rusher the Rams’ way once again this season, and reports seem to indicate there’s a great chance of that happening whether the Broncos win or lose on Sunday.

Again, nobody loves a trade more than Les Snead. The Rams have an obvious need for an edge presence as they rank in the bottom half of the league at 2.0 sacks per game, with just 1.0 sack per game on the road this season.

Bradley Chubb leads the Broncos so far this season with 5.5 sacks but they could be motivated to trade him for a few reasons:

• They have no picks in the 1st or 2nd rounds in 2023
• They moved Baron Browning (successfully) to EDGE this season
• They signed Randy Gregory in free agency
• Nik Bonitto was their top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft

Even though the Broncos are having to deal without Browning and Gregory at the present moment, the team perhaps will feel like it has the type of depth to sustain losing Chubb for the remainder of the season, or that his absence and the impact it has on the defense will be worth whatever consequence it might bring this season if it means getting draft picks back.