With an early glimpse at the NFL playoff picture, albeit through a small sample size of games, this narrow window marks the time of year teams look to bolster rosters for outlying pieces before the November 4 trade deadline.
Though not privy to blockbuster deals like in Major League Baseball, the NFL deadline occasionally features high-profile names among hopeful contenders. That’s certainly the case this year, with a few dependable veterans with long tenures with their current respective teams being linked to discussions of a possible move.
Here are the latest rumors on two big names that could be on the move.
Three Teams Interested in Roddy White
Atlanta Falcons receiver Roddy White is reportedly drawing interest from at least three unspecified teams, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network’s GameDay First.
According to Rapoport, teams have taken notice of White’s angst about his role in first-year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s scheme. If rookie Leonard Hankerson continues as Matt Ryan’s second option behind superstar Julio Jones, a trade of White could manifest in the coming weeks, per Rapoport.
“White has always loved Atlanta, has a close relationship with (owner) Arthur Blank, but so often in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, he is the third or fourth progression, simply not having the kind of production that he has had in the past,” Rapoport said.
White went public last week with his dissatisfaction in an interview with ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. Entering Sunday, White had just six catches on 13 targets for 92 yards through four games. He had no catches in consecutive weeks against the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, ending a nine-year streak of having at least one catch per game.
For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes. I'm not out here just f---ing around just to sit around to just block f---ing people all day. It's not what I want to do. ... I've contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don't catch any balls in a game because it hasn't happened in so long.
White is due $5.5 million this season and is under contract through 2017, which could throw a wrench in a potential trade, Rapoport said.
It’s hard to imagine White—the franchise leader in touchdowns (excluding quarterbacks), receptions, receiving yards—wearing another uniform, particularly given that he’s adamant about winning a Super Bowl, and the Falcons have emerged as an early contender.
Though Jones played on Sunday, he was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report, giving the Falcons a reminder of how important receiver depth is in Shanahan’s well-equipped offense.
It'll be worth observing if White, who has spent his entire 11-year career in Atlanta, puts a higher premium on individual contributions.
Matt Forte Reportedly on Trading Block
The Chicago Bears are 2-3 and have already begun trimming their payroll in what seems to be an early step in a larger rebuilding process.
The Bears dealt defensive end Jared Allen and linebacker Jon Bostic, and running back Matt Forte has been rumored as another that might be on his way out, according to Benjamin Allbright of KDCO.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that any deal for Forte, an impending free agent this offseason, would not simply be for payroll purposes and that Chicago would want at least a second- or third-round pick. But that might not prevent an eager contender from jumping at one of the league’s most reliable backs, according to La Canfora.
It might require a team with real Super Bowl aspirations losing a starting running back, and even then it would require a serious financial commitment from an owner late in the year when budgets have largely been spent. And it's a position teams are increasingly unwilling to spend on.
A trade for Forte would be a bold statement by a team that would essentially be putting all its chips in for this year. But it’d be getting a back as reliable as they come, as Forte showed in the Bears’ 18-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Forte’s 102 receptions in 2014 set a single-season record for running backs, and entering Week 5, he led the league in yards from scrimmage with 500.
With the Bears barely off to a rough start and Forte’s future in question after the season, a move seems legitimately possible. Forte is arguably the most underrated back in the league and has played in the postseason just once (2010) in seven years with the Bears. He deserves a shot at playing in January, and that doesn't seem likely in Chicago.