Surprising NFL trades that make too much sense not to happen

The NFL Scouting Combine marks the unofficial start to the 2025 season, and trade rumors will begin with it. Indianapolis serves as an incubator for deals. With so many team executives in one place it’s only natural for everyone to talk shop. Couple that with watching potential stars in the upcoming draft and teams will begin to form their draft boards, or at the very least narrow down their targets — meaning picks will begin to be coveted in a tangible way.

There are some big names on the market in 2025 and there are some deals that make too much sense not to happen.

Myles Garrett to the Minnesota Vikings

There’s going to be no shortage of teams looking to make deals for Browns’ pass rusher Myles Garrett, but the Vikings just make too much sense when looking at every factor involved.

Minnesota ranked 5th in the NFL in sacks last season thanks to monster seasons from Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, but anyone who watched this team play knows that was largely manufactured pressure due to scheme brilliance, rather than individual greatness.

The path forward for the Vikings is so lean on Brian Flores’ brilliance and become an overwhelming defensive team that can take pressure off J.J. McCarthy, assuming he is the starter in 2025. Garrett achieves all that, and would be somehow even more terrifying inside the Vikings system, where his athleticism and do-everything ability would be the ultimate weapon for Flores.

Away from the field this deal makes a ton of sense as well. The Vikings have an incredible amount of cap room to play with, assets in the form of draft picks, as well as young players like Jordan Addison and Dallas Turner who could be dangled in a trade. Couple that with the fact that Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah served as VP of football ops for the Browns, and you have the familiarity needed to get a deal done.

If Cleveland breaks down and honors Garrett’s trade request then the Vikings are too obvious of a landing spot.

Cooper Kupp to the Pittsburgh Steelers

It’s no secret that Pittsburgh is in the market for another WR, and Kupp would be a really solid fit here alongside George Pickens.

There’s a lot of uncertainty at the quarterback position for Pittsburgh, but Kupp is a plug-and-play receiver who can mesh into basically any situation. It’s a move that allows the Steelers to bridge the gap at WR they need without investing draft capital that could be spent at other positions.

This move also gives the 31-year-old receiver a legitimate chance to contend on a playoff team, and doing right by him seems to be in the Rams’ ethos when they approach to their players. If Pittsburgh make the correct choice at QB this could work out well.

Matthew Stafford to the Tennessee Titans

There are some deals that make sense from a football standpoint, and others that hinge on business. At this point the Titans are thinking more about the latter, and if the former works out — more power to it.

Tennessee is giving the Titans the largest taxpayer subsidy in the history of sports to build the team’s new stadium, and year-after-year of mediocrity isn’t going to cut it. It’s put the Titans in win-now mode, and in the soft AFC South it’s possible to turn things around quickly.

The goal with trading for Stafford wouldn’t be to win a Super Bowl like his trade to the Rams, but to steady the ship. It’s clear Will Levis won’t be the guy, and this is a bad draft to take a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, leading people to the assumption that Tennessee will take DE Abdul Carter or CB/WR Travis Hunter with the No. 1 pick.

Stafford is 37-years-old. Realistically he has two, maybe three years left tops. That could allow him to reunite with Brian Callahan (who was his QB coach in Detroit in 2016 and 2017), turn the Titans into an above .500 team, and ride off into the sunset when he opens the team’s new stadium in 2027. By then the team should be in a position to have a succession plan at QB to move forward, with Stafford being the jump-start they need.

Davante Adams to the Washington Commanders

There is no way in hell that Davante Adams sticks with the Jets at this point in his career. It’s been a mess for him ever since getting out of Green Bay, and following Aaron Rodgers to New York didn’t pan out. Now it’s on Aaron Glenn to correct course, and that will require time, and draft capital.

The Commanders are a great landing spot for Adams because of their cap space, ability to compete, and the opportunity they offer him as a player. With two years left on his deal he’ll need to perform in order to see another contract, and being on a Kliff Kingsbury offense with Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin will do that.

Washington already boasted one of the most explosive deep-threat offenses in the NFL last season, but as the Commanders transformed from reclamation project to legitimate contender it became clear they were lacking receiving weapons outside of McLaurin.

Adams would allow the offense to take the next step. The Commanders need to just keep pouring gas on this fire, and seeing how far it will go.

Deebo Samuel to the Carolina Panthers

There are a lot of places Samuel could go, but with the above scenarios he finds himself on the outside looking in on a lot of potential landing spots — but Carolina is a really good fit.

The Panthers need receiver help. It’s trendy to mock them a wide receiver with the No. 8 pick, but that would require them taking back-to-back receivers with their top pick despite having myriad holes to fill. Dealing for a WR and giving Bryce Young more help would allow the Panthers to find a pass rusher in the draft, and then shift Adam Thielen to the slot.

This team loves players with local roots, and a South Carolina native and former Gamecock fits the bill. In addition he’s the perfect mentor to heir apparent Xavier Legette, another former Gamecock who boasts a similar big-body, do-everything play style to Samuel.

Sprinkle in the fact that there’s solid trade history between the Niners and Panthers and this deal makes a lot of sense for both teams.

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