As the NFL trade deadline looms on Oct. 29, teams have to decide whether they want to be buyers or sellers.
The Baltimore Ravens have already been buyers prior to the trade deadline, landing cornerback Marcus Peters from the Los Angeles Rams last week. It’s a move that paid off immediately, with Peters giving Baltimore enough of a push — and a pick-six — to pick up their first statement win of the 2019 season. With the success of that trade, will the Ravens continue to be buyers as the trade deadline gets closer?
If they do, these four players are ones to watch out for.
1. Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars appear to be sellers at this point, sending cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Rams well before the trade deadline. If they make another move, Ngakoue is the guy most likely to get traded.
Jacksonville has been unable to re-sign Ngakoue, who is in the final year of his rookie deal. The talented pass rusher turned down short-term deals and skipped mandatory minicamp, according to NFL.com. But much like Ramsey, Ngakoue is one of the best young players at his position and could command a huge return in draft equity for the Jaguars.
It’s a trade that would make a ton of sense for the Ravens. They desperately need a pass rusher, especially with Pernell McPhee going on injured reserve this week. While Ngakoue may only have two sacks this season, he has 31.5 over 54 career games.
Still on his rookie contract, Ngakoue would only cost about $1.1 million against Baltimore’s limited salary cap right now.
2. Vic Beasley, OLB, Atlanta Falcons
This might be the most likely trade to happen, to the Ravens or elsewhere. The Falcons have Beasley firmly on the trading block but aren’t getting much interest in return, according to The Athletic’s Jeff Schultz.
That makes some sense considering Beasley’s massive $12.8 million cap hit in 2019 (he’d cost roughly $7.5 million for any team that traded for him right now) and limited production. Beasley has just 1.5 sacks through seven games and is coming off back-to-back seasons with five sacks. It makes his 15.5-sack 2016 campaign seem like a distant memory or even a fluke.
Beasley’s cool trade market means the Ravens wouldn’t likely have to part with too much draft equity in return. But the big hurdle is fitting Beasley into the salary cap. If they could work out either an extension or have Atlanta eat most of his cap space for 2019 in exchange for a higher-round draft pick, it’s the type of low-cost move the Ravens typically like to make.
3. Leonard Williams, DE, New York Jets
This is another player that seemingly fits so many of the requirements for a trade. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, several teams have shown interest in Williams ahead of the trade deadline. He’s young and has been productive in his career, though not so much this season.
While Williams has no sacks this season, he has 17 sacks and 90 quarterback hits in 70 games. A change of scenery could be all it takes to get Williams back to the top of his game.
Much like Beasley, the salary cap hit is perhaps the biggest hurdle here. The Jets picked up his fifth-year option, which pays him $14.2 million in 2019 (he’d cost roughly $8.35 million for the remainder of the season). But there are ways to lower the cap hit either through a contract extension or having the Jets eat some of the money.
The Ravens have ties with the Jets: Former Baltimore scout Joe Douglas is the general manager in New York, and the teams already made a trade this season — guard Alex Lewis was traded to the Jets in training camp.
4. Michael Bennett, DE, New England Patriots
As I wrote a week ago, Bennett would be a good fit for Baltimore even if he’s not publicly on the trade block. New England has clearly been less than impressed with his production, limiting his snaps dramatically over the season. That caused Bennett to get frustrated and earned him a one-week suspension from the Patriots for conduct detrimental to the team.
In spite of his limited chances, Bennett has 2.5 sacks on just 130 defensive snaps through six games. By comparison, McPhee had three sacks on 260 snaps through seven games before going on injured reserve.
Considering how little New England is using him right now, Bennett shouldn’t cost much in a trade. Better yet, Bennett has a far lower cap hit than anyone else on this list, making it easier for the Ravens to fit him into their current salary cap constraints.
