The 2024 NFL trade deadline is quickly approaching, and these three teams feel extremely vulnerable and in a position to sell. The trade deadline is approaching folks, and we've already seen two guys in Amari Cooper and Davante Adams of note get moved. I promise you, there are more trades that will be made in the coming weeks.
There are a solid amount of flat-out bad teams that should be sellers when the deadline comes after the Week 9 games. It does take a lot to admit that your team isn't good and needs to rebuild, but that's just how the NFL works.
In the coming weeks, could we see these three vulnerable NFL teams be massive sellers?
3 vulnerable NFL teams who could be massive sellers at trade deadline
New Orleans Saints
According to Over The Cap, the New Orleans Saints will be about $81 million over the cap in 2025. Yes, OVER the cap.
This is a horribly dire situation where the Saints have kicked the can down the road, and the can is now firmly in view. There is no choice here; not only do they have a bad coaching staff, but they do not have a franchise QB and have a ton of veteran players on huge contracts.
The Saints simply need to rip this thing down to the studs and rebuild. Saints' GM Mickey Loomis cannot continue operating this way, and after their embarrassing loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 7, Loomis must pickup the phone himself and make some trade deadline deals.
And them getting ride of Dennis Allen in-season also would not be a shock. The Saints just need to reset, and it's hard to find a more vulnerable team in the NFL right now.
Cleveland Browns
The 1-5 Cleveland Browns are the most dysfunctional team in the NFL and are somehow still sticking with Deshaun Watson. My personal opinion is that there is someone or multiple people very highly-ranked in the Browns' organization who are now allowing the coaching staff to bench Watson.
With the team already having traded WR Amari Cooper, it would not shock me to see them shipping away other players. They're likely to be 1-6 on the season when Week 7 is over. They host the Cincinnati Bengals, and it's not going to be shock if Cleveland drops that game.
Being 1-6 and having one of the worst QBs in NFL history at this point as the starter is just as rock-bottom as any team can get if we're being honest. The Browns should look to trade more veteran players as they slowly begin to try and move on from the Deshaun Watson era.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are headed toward another lost season, and this is the same team that benched second-year QB Bryce Young after just two games in 2024. The Panthers need to rebuild yet again and should target a QB in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Them being 1-5 should help them in that quest, as they'll surely finish with a top-3 pick in the NFL Draft.
First-year head coach Dave Canales may not want to continue keeping the Bryce Young experiement alive in 2025, and given that the Panthers did deplete a lot of draft capital to acquire the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, they could stand to benefit from trading some veteran players away.
The Carolina Panthers did spend a lot of money last offseason to repair their offensive line, so the team isn't really in a spot to not support a franchise QB. They do need to add another viable WR, but the OL is solid, and that's a good place to start.
The Panthers must be huge sellers at the NFL trade deadline.