The NFL trade deadline is now less than a week away and the Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a curious spot. The Cardinals are 4-4 on the season and sitting as a surprise team on top of the NFC West. With the realistic prospect of making a second half push towards the playoffs, the team can now either sit pack, try for a blockbuster move, make a small move or sell. Selling doesn’t make much sense with them having a clear path to the playoffs, and the team seems to far away to compete for a championship to make a blockbuster move worthwhile. That leaves staying put, or making a small trade, which I feel they would be best suited to do. Arizona has the cap space and the draft picks to shop for a useful piece and desperately need help on the defensive line.
Here are three guys Arizona should make a call about, starting with Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney. The former 1st overall pick is having a quiet season, but a lot of that has to do with the fact he’s on the Panthers who are awful this season. Carolina will undoubtedly be selling at the deadline and Clowney should be available if Arizona wants to make a move. Along that same line of thought, the Saints will likely be open to moving Chase Young. After having a great rookie season, the former 2nd overall pick has watched his play fall off a bit but he could still be a valuable piece to a defense and already has 2 sacks this season. Finally, Za”Darius Smith for the Browns. Cleveland is nearly going into full tank mode after a disastrous start to their season and will likely be looking for any draft pick they can get their hands on after mortgaging their future with the Deshaun Watson trade.
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Spenser Tilus is a sports reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account @Spenser_Tilus
