On Wednesday morning, ESPN Radio hosts Evan Cohen, Chris Canty, and Michelle Smallmon discussed which current NFL quarterbacks they’d be willing to trade for USC star QB Caleb Williams. Williams, our No. 2 quarterback in the loaded 2024 NFL Draft class, is a tremendous talent.
The segment made us consider which NFL teams would trade their current QB situation to land Williams, Drake Maye, or another top prospect. Consider that each rookie has a locked-in, affordable five-year contract, and the list might be longer than expected.
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Which NFL Teams Would Trade for a 2024 QB Prospect?
Arizona Cardinals
With Kyler Murray still on the shelf almost midway through the season as he returns from a torn ACL, the Arizona Cardinals would consider getting a healthier option even before considering any other factors.
But Murray’s contract is also an albatross, carrying a cap hit of at least $43.5 million each season through 2028. His commitment to football and developmental curve are other red flags that he’s not a franchise quarterback.
The Cardinals have a slew of draft picks to use in a trade-up if needed, and they could potentially get more assets for Murray and a few other veterans on their roster. This roster is clearly entering a rebuild, and the coaching staff has the team playing much better than expectations.
It’s not hard to envision the franchise embracing a new direction with Williams, Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Michael Penix Jr., or Shedeur Sanders instead of Murray.
Atlanta Falcons
The Desmond Ridder experience has been uneven, at best. Ridder has as many touchdowns (six) as interceptions, a middling success rate (44.1%), and a bottom-10 QBR (40.0), meaning he’s a subpar starter.
Time might help him improve, but Atlanta can’t bank on Ridder going from a mid-round project to a bonafide franchise star.
MORE: Top QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
The Falcons’ offense can be more dynamic with a more instinctual and naturally accurate passer. Ridder has better fit the game-manager role in Year 2, but his lack of playmaking that Williams, Maye, or Sanders brings puts a clear ceiling on the unit.
Carolina Panthers
It’s too early to write Bryce Young off, especially after he had some positive flashes in the last two games. However, the Panthers might’ve made their bold, franchise-altering trade too soon and taken the wrong QB1.
Young has been bad for most of his snaps, and blaming the scheme or surrounding cast only stands up so much. Young has struggled reading defenses, creating outside of the pocket against NFL defenders, and pushing the ball downfield, which were areas of concern coming out of college.
Carolina gave up the No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in 2023, their 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, and star receiver DJ Moore for Young. That trade would’ve looked better had they taken C.J. Stroud or Anthony Richardson, but the best route was to wait until this class for an even stronger prospect.
Chicago Bears
I’m not writing Justin Fields off quite yet. He’s playing better lately despite still dealing with a multitude of limitations. His completion rate, touchdown rate, success rate, yards per attempt, and QB rating have all improved.
There’s a path to Fields becoming quite good in the coming years. However, would Chicago prefer to completely clean house and restart the clock on a big QB contract?
It makes sense to pair Williams, Maye, or whomever with a new offensive-minded head coach who isn’t tied to someone with battle scars like Fields does. Right now, Chicago is projected to have the top two picks in the draft, making it harder to justify keeping the incumbent passer.
Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott is far from a bad quarterback. Statistically, he’s a top-10 passer. It’s hard to argue that he’s not a good to very good player at the position.
However, is Prescott enough of a playmaker to get a team over the top in the playoffs? It’s hard to say that we’ve seen enough from the 30-year-old to think Dallas can win a Super Bowl with him under center. He leaves us wanting more far too often to have faith that he’s the guy.
MORE: Caleb Williams and Drake Maye Diverging as QB1 Candidates
Considering the Cowboys will have to address his contract soon, they would swap Prescott for the right to start over with a premier prospect if they could. A high-end young QB would extend their Super Bowl window to match Micah Parsons’ timeline and open up significant cap room.
Denver Broncos
This one is pretty obvious. Russell Wilson has not been able to reproduce the magic he had in Seattle, and Broncos head coach Sean Payton is in no way tied to Wilson in future years beyond the financial ramifications. Payton wouldn’t hesitate to trade Wilson for a standout rookie.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers invested three years into developing Jordan Love just for him to be the same guy he was at Utah State. Love is undoubtedly physically gifted, and his best plays are that of a long-term, standout starter in the NFL.
However, those moments are mere flashes surrounded by a ton of inconsistency. Love will be an outlier if he becomes more than a lower-end starter. Completing just 55.6% of attempts with a 6.7 yards per attempt average, replacing him with a higher-end prospect would be easy to justify.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are floundering, and the franchise has already told Kirk Cousins they’re not interested in extending his expiring contract until the offseason. This has led to trade rumors, with PFN’s Dallas Robinson nominating the Jets as a potential landing spot.
Cousins shouldn’t be in the team’s long-term plans anyway. At 35 years old, his best days are not in front of him. Minnesota may not need to move on from him right away, but they’d absolutely love to land a better long-term option.
Sitting at 2-4, the Vikings can get into position to draft a quarterback or make a less significant trade-up for one next year. Cousins is a solid player, so replacing him won’t be easy, but it’s necessary for this team to eventually become a real Super Bowl contender.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots seem to be heading for a hard reset soon. Whether it’s replacing Bill Belichick with Jerod Mayo or going big with someone like John Harbaugh, there’s no way Mac Jones will be under center without competition.
Jones, despite Belichick bringing in Bill O’Brien, has been a disaster. New England needs playmaking at the position to score with Miami and Buffalo. That could make them shy away from Penix, but the other top QBs have that ability to create outside of structure.
New Orleans Saints
The signing of Derek Carr was supposed to push New Orleans into a dominant position for the NFC South. The Saints are a good team, but Carr hasn’t yet developed the chemistry with his playmakers as hoped. He’s completing 65% of his passes but only for 6.5 yards per attempt, and his success rate is the second-lowest mark since his rookie campaign.
Turning 33 with a huge cap hit in coming years, Carr looks more like a two-year rental for New Orleans than anything more. They can escape his contract after 2024 and save over $73 million between 2025 and 2026. It’s hard to imagine they’d stick with a game manager over a more dynamic rookie who can grow with Chris Olave.
New York Giants
Daniel Jones has only played five games into his new $160 million deal, but it’s clear that contract was a mistake. New York should have franchised Jones before committing to him, and the structure of his new contract makes his deal hard to stomach through 2025. His neck injury further complicates his outlook.
Despite completing 68.9% of his passes, Jones is far from a playmaker who transcends the offense. He’s averaging 5.9 yards per attempt and has only two touchdowns to six interceptions. This is a no-brainer situation that’s ripe for an upgrade.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Giving up on young quarterbacks is hard, but the Pittsburgh Steelers have too many good pieces on their roster to waste time when a passer isn’t where he needs to be. Kenny Pickett was a reach in the first round to start, and he’s had only fleeting moments through his first 18 games. He’s not a bad quarterback, but Pittsburgh may have overestimated his ability to impact games like he has to for the team to win in January.
Sure, Matt Canada’s offense stinks, but Pickett’s slow decision-making and desire to break out of clean pockets return to his time in college. Ranking 32nd in QBR and success rate, Pickett can’t be viewed as the locked-in, long-term starter anywhere.
Seattle Seahawks
We almost saw Pete Carroll nab Anthony Richardson in the 2023 class, as Carroll admitted they wanted the former Florida star. He didn’t get the chance to take him, of course, but Seattle’s skepticism in Geno Smith’s long-term outlook was clear then. Smith’s been fine thus far in 2023, but the 33-year-old hasn’t been lights out.
Getting more playmaking from the position has been the theme of this piece thus far, and there are many better creators than Smith in the 2024 class. Even keeping Penix local in Washington could make sense, as the Seahawks boast a deep array of pass catchers that would play to his strengths.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay seemed to have the makings of a potential tank team in 2023 after signing journeyman QB Baker Mayfield, but their roster has been just a little too good to bottom out. It may not matter as the season progresses, as the Buccaneers have been hit with some injuries, and Mayfield’s warts have become more apparent in recent weeks.
MORE: How Do Caleb Williams and Drake Maye Compare to Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert as Prospects?
Regardless, Mayfield would never be the long-term answer in Tampa, and Kyle Trask was a bad pick the moment it was made. The Buccaneers need to remake its offense with a more gifted QB who can only make basic reads.
Tennessee Titans
Considering that Tennessee has invested two Day 2 picks into the quarterback position in the last two drafts, they may not feel they have to take one this year. But if they could trade their situation for one of the top few prospects, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t.
Neither Malik Willis nor Will Levis has shown enough to lock down the long-term job. Of course, the Titans’ roster needs a lot of work before this is a great landing spot for any quarterback.
Tennessee’s offensive line may be the worst in the NFL, and their receiving depth beyond DeAndre Hopkins is raw and inconsistent. It’s an ode to how great this coaching staff is that they perform so well with less talent.
Washington Commanders
Sam Howell has not been a bad quarterback for much of his first season as a starter. Sure, his four-interception game against Buffalo was a tough one to watch, but he’s executed Eric Bieniemy’s offense effectively otherwise.
The question is whether he does enough to overcome the struggles of someone who does not have an elite upside.
Howell leads the NFL in sacks taken and ranks close to average or slightly worse in most metrics. He certainly deserves more time to develop, as he’s a gutsy, talented player, but if given the chance, Washington would surely rather have Williams or Maye.