By Joshua Queipo,PewterReport.com
Copyright yardbarker
Perhaps slightly more feasible than the other two, Heyward is still not likely to be moved due to his tenure with the Steelers organization as a franchise legend. There is also the small matter of this being an “all-in” year for Pittsburgh. They went out and acquired Aaron Rodgers, D.K. Metcalf, Jonnu Smith, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey in an effort to get past their perpetual purgatory of Wild Card losses. At 1-1 they are far from throwing in the towel on the 2025 season. And teams that are legitimately trying to make a deep playoff run don’t ship off resources that can help them win now in favor of future assets.
But if Heyward were to be on the market he is under contract for 2026 in addition to this year at a modest $19 million in cash. That’s a desirable trade asset. But I think the Bucs wouldn’t necessarily bank on the 36-year-old Heyward to play in 2026 and would likely insist on only valuing him for this year. That would make for a second round draft pick as fair value for him in a trade – but one that Jason Licht would never consider.
Bucs Trade Scenarios – Group 2: So You’re Saying There’s A Chance?
These players fit some of the requirements for a trade to take place, whether it be the team situation, or the contract isn’t insurmountable.
DT John Franklin-Myers – Denver Broncos
John Franklin-Myers has been one of the more underrated pass rushers in the NFL for several years. It seems that everywhere he goes he ends up as part of an impressive unit. He was a part of the peak of the Jets’ four-man rush powers and now he is with an equally dominant unit in Denver. Franklin-Myers, 28, would fit into the Calijah Kancey/Logan Hall role of playing a base 4i/five-technique spot and kicking into a three-technique in nickel sets. He is an incredibly efficient pass rusher and just came off of an eight-sack season while getting pressure on an absurd 13.7% of his pass rushes leading to 53 in total.
Unlike many of the above players, JFM’s contract would not be a barrier to acquisition. He is due just $8 million this year and he’s a free agent in 2026. He publicly sought a contract extension this offseason, but Denver opted to leave his deal as is, signifying they are ready to move on from him. He is playing well above his salary right now and Denver would look to extract that surplus value in draft capital. A third-round pick wouldn’t be out of line.
The real issue here is where Denver is on the win curve. They were a playoff team last year. They have a strong chance to be a playoff team this year, especially with the AFC West now wide open due to a struggling Kansas City. There is no incentive for them to discharge a win-now asset for a down the line draft pick. Additionally, if Franklin-Myers does sign elsewhere next year, Denver could be in line for a compensation pick in 2027 depending on their own free agency plans.
DT Quinnen Williams – New York Jets
Quinnen Williams is off to a hot start this season on top of a career that was already impressive. He has 182 pressures and has gotten to the quarterback 27 times since the start of the 2022 season. What makes this slightly more realistic than Dexter Lawrence or Cameron Heyward stems from the Jets being under a new management regime. Head coach Aaron Glenn isn’t necessarily beholden to keep Williams, and by virtue of being new, he has additional runway to value draft picks developing down the line.
