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The NFL trade deadline is only 15 days away, meaning that teams need to start being honest with themselves. Doing so with a winning record is easy. Obviously, a team like the 6-0 Vikings will (and should) think it can compete this season, even with an underwhelming offense and will look to improve its current roster at the trade deadline. Waving the white flag is a lot harder, though.
Given that, while most teams with an even or losing record will eventually decide to sell, not every team in that situation will. Let's dive in and determine which of the 16 teams in this spot will buy in an effort to win now and which will sell, playing for 2027 and beyond.
It feels like the Arizona Cardinals' trade deadline sell-off has already begun, with the team trading Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Houston Texans for a second-round pick. Sure, perhaps that value was too good to turn down for a Cardinals team that just couldn't make things work with Harrison, for whatever reason, but how can the Cardinals realistically look at their team and not try to play for the future?
They've allowed the most points in the NFL thus far on average (29.7), and their -66 point differential is good for dead last in the league. The Cardinals can get solid value for veterans like Budda Baker and Josh Sweat, while simultaneously losing enough to put them in position to draft their next franchise quarterback. That sounds like a pretty good deal.
The Atlanta Falcons might be under .500, but that feels fake. Three of their losses have come by one possession to teams with winning records, and they also went 0-2 with Cooper Rush to start the year. They're 3-2 with Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback, scoring 29 or more points in three of those games, and even beating the previously 6-0 San Francisco 49ers in Week 7.
Pairing how much better they've looked under Penix with the fact that they play in the NFC South, the NFL's most winnable division, and the Falcons have every reason to buy at the trade deadline, with the goal of improving their defense sticking out.
The Falcons have been better under Penix, but even after their embarrassing Week 7 loss, the Carolina Panthers have sole possession of first place in the NFC South. That might not be such an amazing accomplishment, but there's enough of a reason to believe this team is a playoff team.
That has everything to do with their offense being as dynamic as it's been. Week 7 was rough, but even with that, they're fifth in the league in points per game. Defense has been a struggle, particularly when it comes to defending the run, but they have some talented playmakers like Derrick Brown, Devin Lloyd and Jaycee Horn. Improving the defense would make the Panthers clear-cut NFC South favorites.
The Dallas Cowboys are in a weird spot because their team should be much better than it is. The talent levels on both sides of the ball are obvious, and yet, the team is just 2-4 and can't seem to get out of its own way. Given how things are going, you can argue that the Cowboys don't deserve for Jerry Jones to continue trying to improve their roster in a win-now capacity, but I'd be surprised if that happened for a couple of reasons.
First, the Cowboys have already poured a ton of resources into trying to win now. Going the other way now wouldn't make much sense. Second, and most importantly, the NFC East is a disaster. The Giants lead the way, but does anyone actually trust them? The Eagles were the favorites entering the year, but they're collapsing. The Commanders are even worse. The Cowboys could easily win this division by default, and can do something more special if things can click and if they can continue to improve their defense.
The Houston Texans' Week 7 loss put a crimp into things, but I do still believe they're in a position to buy, even with a 2-5 record. First of all, this team remains insanely talented. Their defense (which has not lived up to its end of the bargain) has as much upside as any defensive unit in the league, and while it's been easy to rip the offense in the past, CJ Stroud has actually played quite well for the most part.
Second, has anyone looked at their remaining schedule? They have the second-easiest remaining schedule in the league per Tankathon, featuring matchups against the Chargers, Titans, Commanders and Colts, four of the six worst teams in the NFL. The Texans have proven they can go on a late-season run before, and I'd be shocked, given the state of their roster and their upcoming schedule, if GM Nick Caserio didn't give them a chance to try to win now.
If the Indianapolis Colts were planning on buying at the NFL trade deadline, as they did in 2025, they probably wouldn't have fired GM Chris Ballard, as they did following their Week 6 loss to the Titans. For those hoping Ballard's firing would lead to some random winning streak, Indianapolis dropped its Week 7 game in Minnesota, scoring only 10 points on the day.
The Colts don't have an incentive to tank with their first-round pick in the Jets' possession, but it's clear that the core they have in place is not working. Firing Ballard shows a willingness to start over, and while they don't have to trade Jonathan Taylor, per se, that starts with selling off veterans at this year's trade deadline in exchange for draft capital.
Quenton Nelson has already been traded — and that will only be the start.
The Las Vegas Raiders started this season 3-0, only to drop four games in a row, allowing 30 or more points in each of those games. It's clear that the Raiders are better than initially expected, but it's also clear that this is not a playoff team in a loaded AFC, especially with a tough remaining schedule. Given that, why not try to win in 2027?
This means that while Kirk Cousins has not been the problem, he should be benched (or traded), with Fernando Mendoza taking his place. The Raiders should not trade offensive building blocks like Brock Bowers, Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Linderbaum, but why not see if you can get an absurd haul for Maxx Crosby when the defense is a disaster with him? Why not see what you can get for veterans on expiring contracts like Jeremy Chinn and Malcolm Koonce? As frustrating as it'd be to give up on a team that was once 3-0, doing so is the only sensible move at this juncture.
There is one winless team remaining: the Los Angeles Chargers. Just as everyone predicted. In all seriousness, what's happening in L.A. is a catastrophe. Justin Herbert and the offense as a whole look completely dysfunctional, and even the defense hasn't been all that great. This is a team that entered the season expecting to win, so waving the white flag won't be easy, but is there another choice?
Coming back from an 0-3 record to make the playoffs is tough enough. Try doubling that. Making the playoffs with an 0-6 record is realistically impossible. With the playoffs out of the picture, how can the Chargers justify doing anything but selling? This doesn't mean they have to trade Justin Herbert, but they have several players on expiring contracts, including Khalil Mack, who should be gone.
The Los Angeles Rams even being on this list is pretty insane, given that some thought they'd have a perfect season. As poorly as they've played, though, I can't envision the team giving up on this season. Not only have they invested too much into winning now, but the talent level is too strong to give up on.
From Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua to Myles Garrett to Aaron Donald (I can go on but won't), this is as talented a roster as any in the NFL. Injuries are a real concern, as is how they've played overall, but the Rams are too talented and too close to a playoff spot to give up on this season. We saw just how good they can be in their dominant Week 7 win in Las Vegas.
The Miami Dolphins already started what figures to be a long rebuild this past offseason, letting guys like Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle (to name a few) go, and even after winning their Week 7 game, they're just 1-5 on the year. The Dolphins didn't expect to compete and are not competitive, so they might be the most obvious seller on the list.
There isn't too much to sell anymore, but moving on from guys on expiring contracts like Josh Uche, Willie Gay Jr. and Austin Jackson is a no-brainer, even if the returns for those players isn't anything special.
It'd be fair to argue that the New Orleans Saints should buy, given the division they're in and the fact that Tyler Shough and the offense have shown some nice things this season, but at the end of the day, this team is 2-5 with a bottom-five defense in the sport. The odds are against them to win the NFC South, and even if they can somehow get to the playoffs, does anyone expect this team to do anything of note?
The Saints don't have much to trade, but they could try to move on from Alvin Kamara and some other veterans they don't view as part of their future. Their foundation is improving, but now isn't the time to be buying at the deadline.
Any hope that New York Jets fans had entering Week 7 completely vanished when the team lost to the previously winless Dolphins. Now, it feels like a matter of time until Aaron Glenn is fired and deadline moves are made. I don't envision the Jets selling to the level that they did last season, mostly because they don't have premier assets like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams that they should be moving on from, but losing at home to the Dolphins is a clear sign that the Jets are nowhere near competitive.
We'll likely see the Jets move on from players on expiring contracts like Geno Smith and Harrison Phillips, and we could even see them take things a step further by moving on from Will McDonald or other players under control who the Jets don't see as part of their long-term plans.
If the Philadelphia Eagles were even close to healthy, I'd predict they'd be buyers at the deadline. The NFC East is a mess and when healthy, this is a talented football team. Unfortunately, Jalen Hurts is out for the year, Devonta Smith could soon follow, Lane Johnson unexpectedly retired, and their injury report ahead of their Week 7 game against Dallas is ridiculously lengthy.
It's hard to win without your starting quarterback, and it's even harder to do so when there are so many other injuries to worry about. Whether the Eagles should move on from the likes of Saquon Barkley and Landon Dickerson, both of whom are under contract for a while, can be debated, but moving on from expiring contracts is a must at this point.
On one hand, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just earned an impressive 43-13 road win in Carolina, and each of their five losses has come by one possession. On the other hand, the Bucs are 2-5, have gone 4-12 since Week 10 of the 2025 season, and as impressive as their Week 7 victory was, there's no reason to believe that performance is sustainable.
The Buccaneers' upcoming schedule (Falcons, Bears, Lions, Panthers) is not easy, and they guys like Vita Vea, Yaya Diaby, Chris Godwin and several others will likely fetch a ton of interest around the league. Perhaps with another win, the Bucs can hold off from selling, but for now, they haven't shown enough to avoid waving the white flag on 2026.
The Tennessee Titans have looked better of late and have an obligation to build around Cam Ward if they want to give him any chance to succeed at the NFL level, but they are what their record says they are. They're a 1-6 football team that has looked like one of the worst in the sport all year.
Given that fact, it'd be malpractice to buy at the trade deadline. Perhaps you can argue that they shouldn't be major sellers (I might agree, given that they don't even have much to trade to begin with), but Tony Pollard and other veterans who are not part of the long-term plan in Tennessee should be gone sooner rather than later.
It's been over a year since Jayden Daniels last won an NFL game. Injuries have a lot to do with that, but the Washington Commanders are 0-7-1 in games Daniels has appeared in since his last victory on Oct. 5 of last season. That's hard to fathom, and it shows exactly why the Commanders need to sell at the trade deadline, especially with Terry McLaurin out for the year.
It's clear that the roster that the Commanders have assembled around their star quarterback is not good enough, even in a pathetic NFC East, and that's despite them having one of the oldest rosters in the league. Moving on from veterans on expiring contracts like Stefon Diggs and Daron Payne, to name a few, in exchange for assets that can help this team win in 2027 and beyond would be nice, and getting younger would be even nicer.
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