By AJ Olona

With the NFL trade deadline quickly approaching, we are likely to see some players on the move. Usually, we tend to see players moved at the very last second before the deadline is up as teams are trying to make a move last second, but this year is different. We have already seen a few players get moved, namely K’Won Alexander and Desmond King. With less than 24 hours until the deadline has officially passed, let’s take a look at some of the biggest players around the NFL that definitely should be on the move, but likely will not get traded.

Jacoby Brissett

When Jacoby Brissett was suddenly thrown into the fire and named the starter for the Indianapolis Colts after Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement, expectations were mixed. The Colts were viewed as a Super Bowl contender heading into the year with Andrew Luck under center. Jacoby was expected to step in and continue the Colts’ trajectory to the top. After starting the year off promising, Jacoby Brissett was injured in the middle of the season and was forced to miss a little bit of time. Once he returned, he was clearly not the same player he was at the beginning of the season and it showed on the field. The Colts ended up middling out for the rest of the season and finished 7-9 on the year and missed the playoffs.

For the 2020 season, the Indianapolis Colts brought in 38-year old veteran Philip Rivers to be the immediate starter. So far in the season, Rivers has been up and down but has the Colts sitting at 5-2. With the Colts drafting Washington quarterback Jacob Eason in the 6th round of this past draft, the Colts made heavy investments in the position. Brissett’s contract does not extend past this season for the Colts and he will be a free agent, likely moving on to somewhere where he will be able to be the starter again. The Colts would be wise to move on from Brissett’s $21 million cap hit if he is not in their plans for the future. Many teams could use Brisset, as he could be an upgrade over several teams starters at this point in the season. However, the Colts have learned the value of having a good backup quarterback which means that they are likely to keep Brissett around for the rest of the season to serve as a safety net for Philip Rivers. 

Julio Jones

Julio Jones has been one of the best receivers in the entire NFL for the last decade. Over that period, he has put up over 12,000 receiving yards and 59 touchdowns. He has been the face of the Falcons offense for years. However, the Falcons are currently sitting at 2-6 and in 4th place of the NFC South. They have little to no chance of making the playoffs at this point and are likely headed for a top 5 pick in the draft. The Falcons are heading into next season desperately in need of cap space. Julio Jones alone has a cap hit of $20 million in 2020 and that goes up to $23 million next season. Between both Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, the Falcons are holding up too much cap space to be able to properly build their team. 

While Matt Ryan could also eventually be moved due to his high cap hit, it is much more unlikely. Replacing a starting quarterback in the NFL is not easy and Matt Ryan is still showing signs of prolific play this season. On the other hand, it is much easier to replace the production of a number one wide receiver, and the Falcons have seemingly already done that. This season, Calvin Ridley has stepped up big time and become the go-to receiver for Ryan and the Falcons offense. Being able to move on from Julio Jones’ contract would be huge for this team going forward. It would wise for the Falcons to clear up some space and start thinking about their future. 

Ezekiel Elliott

After losing Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys are quickly realizing who the heart of their team is. The Dallas Cowboys were quick to lock up their offensive stars in Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper to long term deals, as well as several key defensive players. However, when it came to their starting quarterback, the Dallas Cowboys could not commit. It was almost as if the Cowboys believed that their offense was going to be prolific no matter who was under center. However, since Dak Prescott got injure, we learned that that was not the case. Star running back Ezekiel Elliott has been one of the main issues for the Cowboys not being able to get going. While the Cowboys are missing several keys starters on their offensive line, Elliott was paid because he has shown that he can be a game-changer no matter what. However, in 2020 that has not been the case.

It is always a risky move to pay big money to a running back, but the Cowboys did not hesitate, giving Elliott a six-year extension worth $90 million. In 2020, Elliott has been the worst that we have seen him in the NFL. He has yet to have a game of more than 100 yards and only has 521 rushing yards at the midway point. The main issue in 2020 is that Elliott has turned the ball over 4 times this season. A guy getting paid $90 million should never be a weak point on the offense, but that is what Elliott has been so far. With the Cowboys having a lot of money tied up all over their roster, they are going to have a hard time bringing back Dak Prescott. After seeing how poorly the team is playing without Prescott, the Cowboys would be wise to get rid of players that are taking up large portions of the cap space that are not contributing. The Cowboys would be wise to get rid of Elliott while they still can, but it is unlikely to happen as Elliott is such a huge point of the Cowboys identity. It will be interesting to see what happens going forward with this Cowboys team. 

JJ Watt

Not too long ago, J.J. Watt was one of, if not the, best players in the entire league. However, it feels like it has been years since Watt was the game-changer on the defensive front for the Texans. J.J. Watt has been selected as an All-Pro 5 times in his career, the last being 3 seasons ago in 2018. Since 2016, Watt has only played more than 8 games in a season once and that was in his All-Pro 2018 season. While J.J. Watt has started 2020 by playing better than we have seen from him in a while, the Texans are simply not a good team. The Houston Texans currently sit at 1-6 on the year and have virtually no chance of making the playoffs. It would be wise to start dumping some of their assets and planning on building a younger team around DeShaun Watson. 

Watt currently has a team-high $15.5 million cap hit for 2020 and only has one more year left on his deal after this season. In 2021, Watts cap hit goes up even more to $17.5 million, and the Texans are going to start dealing with DeShaun Watson’s huge contract then as well. While J.J. Watt is still a good player, he is not making the team better as the Texans currently have one of the worst all-around defenses, especially against the run. The Texans would be smart to move Watts huge contract, especially since he is not elevating the defense to a high level like he once did. Just like with Elliott and the Cowboys, the Texans may be hesitant to move on from J.J. Watt because of how tied he is to the franchise and the city of Houston in general. Time will only tell. 

Follow AJ on Twitter @age_lona