Buy, sell or hold? Assessing trade deadline plans for every fringe NFL contender in hunt for playoff berth

We’re nearing the halfway point of the NFL season in any (imprecise) way to measure it. We’re entering Week 9 of an 18-week season, most teams have played eight of their 17 games, the second month of the season is nearing a close, there’s “football weather” covering large swaths of the country, and the trade deadline is one week away.

Perhaps the biggest sign the season is rolling along is that the playoff picture is starting to mean something. Teams are settling into tiers, and the trade deadline forces them to assess their outlooks.

A strong contingent of contenders has emerged, and a large group of bottom feeders exists, too. Nine teams have two or fewer wins entering Week 9, and two of those teams have already been sellers, with the Browns sending Joe Flacco to the Bengals and the Titans shipping Roger McCreary to the Rams. While trades like these — the league’s worst becoming sellers — are the most likely, trade deadlines are often made by those teams in the middle. They could buy to augment their postseason hopes, sell to keep an eye on the future or hold steady.

We’ll call these teams the “In The Hunt” group, because there’s nothing better than a late-autumn playoff picture where “In The Hunt” means the season is still there for the taking. With the trade deadline looming, we assessed what the teams within two games of a playoff spot could do: buy, sell or hold.

AFC

8. Jaguars (4-3): Buy

Jacksonville GM James Gladstone has been nothing but bold since taking the job. He traded up for Travis Hunter, moving a massive haul to draft a two-way player who is still finding his way on both sides of the ball. Recently, he made a cornerback swap, bringing in Greg Newsome II from the Browns in exchange for Tyson Campbell.

Even after the Hunter trade, Jacksonville holds considerable draft capital, including multiple picks in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. The Jaguars restructured the contracts of Walker Little and Dyami Brown earlier in October. A move for interior offensive line, interior defensive line, tight end or safety help could be in play.

9. Texans (3-4): Hold

After a dreadful 0-3 start, the Texans have won three of four, including an impressive win over the 49ers in Week 8. Houston owns a ton of draft capital thanks to the Laremy Tunsil trade this offseason. While that could make it enticing to buy, we lean “hold.” The defense is absolutely tremendous, but the offense has been too inconsistent to suggest this team could turn into a true contender. Offensive line would be the main area to address, but Houston is currently using a group that has shown improvement this season and is mostly young and homegrown. A win over the Broncos on Sunday could push them to consider buying more, but a loss is more likely in the cards. 

10. Bengals (3-5): Buy and sell

The Bengals have already made one “buy” move in Flacco, holding out hope until Joe Burrow returns. That move would have looked a lot better if they hadn’t collapsed against the previously winless Jets. A win over the Bears this weekend would get the arrow pointing in the right direction again, while a loss would make a dire situation even worse.

We can see the Bengals hedging here considering their defensive woes and the personnel carousel on that side of the ball. There was a players-only defensive meeting after the loss to New York, and with Al Golden tinkering with lineups seemingly every week, maybe the Bengals try to find a few new pieces to the puzzle and move on from ones who just haven’t fit. They need help at edge rusher, run defense and coverage … pretty much everywhere.

12. Ravens (2-5): Buy

(NOTE: The 11th-seeded Raiders are ahead of the Ravens in the standings, but they are not within two games of a playoff spot because the AFC West-leading Broncos are 6-2. The AFC North-leading Steelers are only 4-3.)

With Lamar Jackson coming back and the Ravens coming off a season-saving win over the Bears, Baltimore is worth including here. After all, all three other AFC North teams lost, meaning the Ravens are very much in the AFC North picture considering the Steelers lead the division at only 4-3 and still has to play Baltimore twice this season.

Baltimore acquired Alohi Gilman from the Chargers for Odafe Oweh in early October, and the returns have been encouraging. The Ravens are playing a lot of three-safety looks and have been much improved defensively. Baltimore, per usual, has a ton of draft capital. We wouldn’t mind them trying to add a low-cost pass rusher or run stopper.

NFC

8. Bears (4-3): Hold

Injuries have wreaked havoc on Chicago’s cornerbacks and had a smaller — but still notable — impact on its defensive front. Still, it’s Year 1 under Ben Johnson. The offense has been inconsistent. The defense is allowing the third-most yards per play in the NFL and only (barely) hiding that unsightly statistic by forcing the most turnovers in the NFL. Though a hypothetical addition to the cornerback group might be nice to envision, Chicago should hold and continue to build internally.

9. Panthers (4-4): Sell/hold

Our “sell” mention on this list, the Panthers are 4-4 but with an ugly -34 point differential on the season and one of the NFL’s most difficult schedules remaining. There have been encouraging signs after last year’s difficult campaign, but right now the Panthers have some young guys we’d like to see more often.

If Carolina can fetch anything for veterans like edge defender D.J. Wonnum, safety Nick Scott — both 2026 free agents who are ahead of younger guys on the depth chart — or even some offensive line depth, that would be worth exploring. The Panthers certainly don’t need to force it, though.

10. Cowboys (3-4-1): Buy

Jerry Jones has said he’s willing to buy at the trade deadline, and his team’s defense — pass rusher and cornerback specifically — could certainly use the help. The offense has been mostly terrific, but a blowout loss to the Broncos threw water on the fire.

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11. Falcons (3-4): Hold

Since beating the Bills to improve to 3-2, the Falcons have gone from potentially interesting team to dud in the blink of an eye. That’s what double-digit losses to the 49ers and Dolphins do. Atlanta likely can’t buy after trading up for James Pearce Jr. in April’s draft. It seems unlikely that ut would sell considering the potential hot seat statuses of coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot. In all likelihood, they’ll hold and hope to get back on track.

12. Vikings (3-4): Hold

Last year was supposed to be a transition year for the Vikings. Then they won 14 games. This year is actually the transition year. J.J. McCarthy — basically a rookie after missing all of his first season — has missed significant time this season and has very much looked like a rookie when he has played. The defense has really fallen off, and there are significant issues in the secondary. Perhaps the Vikings could entertain moving on from some veterans, but really, this feels like a “hold and reassess in the offseason” situation.

13. Commanders (3-5): Hold/sell

The darlings of last season, Washington was also the biggest buyer of last year’s trade deadline, acquiring cornerback Marshon Lattimore. This year, Washington has disappointed due to a bevy of factors, including health, regression and underperformance.

GM Adam Peters, coach Dan Quinn and co. may have to take a long, hard look in the mirror. SportsLine gives Washington an 8.6% chance to make the playoffs. The team has the third-hardest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL, and there are several veterans in the final (and, in many cases, only) year of their deal who might be able to fetch something. The Commanders won’t have a fire sale, but maybe a yard sale of a piece or two is in order.

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