The pool of prominent NFL player trade candidates is shrinking as teams reach deals before the trading period opens March 14.
Quarterback Alex Smith, cornerback Marcus Peters and defensive end Robert Quinn already have new homes for 2018.
Before another wave of players change addresses, I've assembled five proposed swaps featuring marquee players, beginning with Seattle Seahawks free safety Earl Thomas.
NFL executives proposed, vetted and/or heard rumors about all five of these deals. A bonus sixth trade proposal from an exec solves the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback dilemma with an established veteran other than Kirk Cousins.
1. The Seattle Seahawks send free safety Earl Thomas to the Dallas Cowboys for interior defensive lineman David Irving and a 2018 second- or third-round pick.
Jerry Jones adds star power with a game-changer in his secondary. Seattle, having already traded away its second- and third-round picks, gets badly needed draft capital, in addition to a talented young player who provides flexibility as Michael Bennett and Sheldon Richardson face uncertain futures. Irving would join the 25-year-old Jarran Reed and 24-year-old Frank Clark to form a young, hungry defensive front in Seattle.
Unloading Thomas would cause some to conclude the Seahawks were waving a white flag, as one exec put it, but Seattle figures to part with Thomas when his contract expires after the 2018 season anyway. The team has come to regret signing other longtime contributors to third contracts, so there could be incentive to avoid a similar fate with Thomas.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider have embraced youth in the past. Irving had seven sacks in eight games last season. The restricted free agent missed four games to a performance-enhancing drugs suspension and four more to a concussion.
2. The Houston Texans send pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney to the New England Patriots for a 2018 first-round choice.
Clowney, 25, is a dominant force coming off the first 16-game season of his four-year career. He is scheduled to earn $13.8 million in 2018 before becoming eligible for free agency. He had 9.5 sacks last season. The NFL credited him with 21 tackles for loss, which ranked second to former Patriots linebacker Chandler Jones, who had 28 with Arizona.
If the Texans think J.J. Watt will justify his current expensive contract for years to come, they could have reservations about paying Clowney even more. This deal would help Houston recoup an early pick after sending its second-rounder to Cleveland in the Brock Osweiler deal.
New England owns two second-round choices, having picked up one from San Francisco in the Jimmy Garoppolo trade. Parting with the 31st overall choice would not hurt too badly. In Clowney, the Patriots would be getting a badly needed game-changer on defense for the next season or two. New England could then land a compensatory pick if the team decided to let Clowney leave in free agency. Clowney would depart with a Super Bowl ring as a parting gift -- if all goes according to plan.
3. The Dallas Cowboys send WR Dez Bryant to the Miami Dolphins or Chicago Bears for a 2018 sixth-round pick.
Bryant will turn 30 in November, and he has declined markedly from a production standpoint, which is why the trade price would be relatively low. He still would provide a talent infusion for teams seeking options at the position. Chicago's receiving needs are acute. One question would be whether adding a potentially high-maintenance veteran wideout would make sense for a Bears team with a young quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky and a first-year head coach in Matt Nagy.
Bryant averaged 91 receptions for 1,312 yards and nearly 14 touchdowns per season from 2012 to 2014, when he did not miss a game. He has averaged 50 catches for 678 yards and fewer than six touchdowns per season since then, missing 10 games total. The drop in production coincides with former quarterback Tony Romo's demise as the starter, but Bryant also has had injuries.
4. The Oakland Raiders send a 2018 second-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for DT Gerald McCoy.
Defensive tackle is a big question mark for the Raiders. McCoy, who turned 30 last month, remains a front-line player at the position. He is signed through 2020, with base salaries between $10 million and $13 million, and only $500,000 of proration remaining, all in 2018.
Tampa Bay could use its early picks to revamp its defensive line, with an emphasis on outside rushers. There was some question among execs whether McCoy would command a second-round pick at age 30 and whether the Buccaneers could comfortably part with him.
Buffalo could be another logical destination for McCoy. Tampa Bay could conceivably ask for defensive end Jerry Hughes as part of its return for McCoy. Hughes is scheduled to earn $7.35 million in salary and bonuses for each of the next two seasons. Sending receiver DeSean Jackson to Kansas City for Dee Ford was another suggested trade to help the Bucs' pass rush, despite doubts over whether the Chiefs would be interested in Jackson at this stage.
5. The New England Patriots send WR Brandin Cooks to the Washington Redskins or Chicago Bears for a 2018 second-round choice.
Cooks is entering the final year of his rookie contract after catching 65 passes for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns in his first season with New England. The Patriots could decide to get value for him now if they aren't excited about a lucrative long-term extension with him. They gave up first- and third-round picks for Cooks and the Saints' fourth-rounder last offseason. The price for Cooks would come down in this scenario, which makes sense given that Cooks, though still only 25, has less time remaining on his inexpensive rookie deal.
The Redskins and Bears are among the teams needing to upgrade their wide receiver situation this offseason.
Chicago does not have a 2018 third-round pick, so the Bears might be reluctant to part with their second-rounder. However, their receiver needs are acute, and Cooks is much more proven than any receivers the team might target in the draft, which is a consideration after 2015 first-round pick Kevin White missed 43 games in his first three seasons.
6. The Los Angeles Chargers send QB Philip Rivers to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2018 second-round selection and 2019 first-round pick.
Rivers has a no-trade clause in his contract, and the Chargers have no viable alternative to him on their roster. The exec who conceived this deal strictly as a hypothetical thought Jacksonville would have been the perfect destination for Rivers if a trade were plausible. With the Jaguars having already re-signed Blake Bortles, the exec thought Arizona, Miami or Minnesota could be interesting destinations for Rivers to finish his career.
The exec saw the Chargers as a team in NFL purgatory, with a 36-year-old quarterback reluctantly commuting from San Diego. He thought the team could not credibly build for a long-term future in Los Angeles with Rivers as a centerpiece. This exec also noted that while the Chargers might see themselves as contenders, they struggled against quality teams last season. (They were 2-5 against teams that finished with winning records, including a victory over a Dallas team that was 5-5 at the time.)
With Rivers gone, the Chargers could reunite head coach Anthony Lynn with current Buffalo Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who could be available by trade. Los Angeles also could target a quarterback in the draft ("take a chance on Lamar Jackson" was how the exec put it).
Minnesota would be getting a two-year quarterback rental at a financial cost much lower than what Kirk Cousins would command (Rivers is due $15 million this year and $16 million in 2019, figures low enough for the Vikings to consider re-signing Teddy Bridgewater as well). If Rivers lifted the Vikings over the top for their first Super Bowl victory, no one would care about not having a 2019 first-round pick. Perhaps Bridgewater would be ready to take over eventually.
Other trade ideas tossed around: CB Aqib Talib from Denver to New England for later-round draft considerations; QB Nick Foles from Philadelphia to Cleveland or another QB-needy team; OT Cordy Glenn from Buffalo to Indianapolis for late-round considerations; and DL Michael Bennett from Seattle to Atlanta or other teams running a similar defensive scheme.