NFL preseason trade matches: Which teams could make a deal? - ESPN

With NFL training camps underway, the draft is long gone and free agency is essentially over. So if a team wants to make a roster upgrade in August, it might instead look to the trade market.

The trade scene has been quiet for a bit now — there hasn't been a deal since the Jets traded wide receiver Denzel Mims to the Lions last month — so we decided to kickstart things, play matchmaker and throw out some ideas that might make sense for both teams. We came up with five deals that would be mutually beneficial and theoretically could happen in the final weeks before the regular season.

Let's dive in, starting with giving the Buccaneers another candidate to replace Tom Brady.

Jump to a hypothetical deal:A new spot for a young QB?Fresh start for promising edge rusher?Top-tier receiver in a new city?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receive: QB Trey Lance, 2024 second-round pick, 2024 sixth-round pick

San Francisco 49ers receive: 2024 second-round pick, 2024 third-round pick

The Bucs aren't contenders in 2023, so their moves should be focused on saving money and acquiring draft assets. But there's one exception to that framework: chasing quarterback upside. They might as well use the upcoming 17 games as a testing ground for a potential future QB — even if he's a long shot. That precisely describes Lance. If there's a 10% chance that Lance can become a long-term solution for the Bucs, that's still a lot higher than Baker Mayfield's chances to be that guy.

In the event that Lance — who is only 23 years old — pans out, the Bucs would retain control in 2024 for cheap and have the right to exercise Lance's fifth-year option in 2025. Injuries have limited him to eight games over the two seasons since he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021