Keep an eye on the Chargers as a team that could be sellers early next week ahead of the Tuesday afternoon NFL trade deadline.
If Los Angeles drops its road game against the Titans this Sunday (a very real possibility given the way the Chargers offense looks), general manager Tom Telesco could look at moving on from some of his higher priced talent. A loss against Tennessee would drop the Chargers to 2-5 on the season, and they have a brutal schedule coming up.
It’s no secret that Melvin Gordon is spending his last season with the Chargers, but he could be joined on the road out of town by star receiver Keenan Allen. Allen voiced his displeasure with the direction of the Chargers’ franchise this past Monday following a brutal loss at home to the Steelers.
Allen makes $10 million a year, but he is only signed through next season – which makes him even more valuable to teams shopping for a top notch receiver at the deadline (which there are plenty).
The Patriots are the team that has most often been attached to the receiver market over the past month, and all signs point to Bill Belichick making a move over the next few days. Belichick will need to get creative with the salary cap, but it looks as if he’s already prepping for a move as the Patriots made a flurry of transactions to start this week.
The Pats aren’t the favorites to land Allen if indeed he is placed on the trade block in the coming days, as there may be lingering tension between Belichick and Telesco (a former Colts executive under Bill Polian) – but if the Pats overwhelm the Chargers will a pu pu platter of picks it may be hard for Telesco to say no.
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As we’ve pointed out in this space numerous times over the past month, the Eagles too are top contenders to land an elite receiver at the deadline. There is growing frustration in Philadelphia from fans and even players on the Eagles roster that Howie Roseman didn’t get a deal done for Jalen Ramey, but Roseman may be playing out the string to see what his options are early next week.
If the Eagles lose to the Cowboys on Sunday night, it would put them at 3-4 on the year and Roseman may opt to maintain some of his top assets heading into the next off-season.
Finally, we look at the Steelers’ chances of pulling off another deal ahead of the deadline. Kevin Colbert is not of the mindset that the Steelers should mail this season in, and now he has a couple of victories under his belt to back up his belief. The Steelers are on a bye this weekend and then play the lowly Dolphins on Monday Night Football in 10 days. That means Pittsburgh will likely be right in the thick of things in the AFC North when November rolls around.
Colbert and the Pittsburgh brass are still high on QB Mason Rudolph, as well as backup Devlin Hodges, who looked quite comfortable in the Steelers’ win over the Chargers this past Sunday night. The thought is that if the Steelers can get Rudolph or Hodges one more elite receiver to place next to JuJu Smith-Schuster that Pittsburgh’s offense will be ready to roll for the home stretch.
