NFL trade rumors: 5 receivers the Rams should target in a deal, including Cowboys’ George Pickens

With NFL trade deadline coming up at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, one team to watch is going to be the Los Angeles Rams, who are currently in desperate need of some help at receiver. 

The Rams first took a hit at the position back in October when Davante Adams went down with an injury and they took an even bigger one this week with the loss of Puka Nacua. The Rams’ star, who is dealing with MCL and PCL sprains in addition to turf toe, is expected to be placed on injured reserve this week, which will knock him out until at least Week 15.

With Adams and Nacua both out until at least December, that means a Rams team that went all-in this season with a Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald juggernaut defensive line to maximize reigning MVP Matthew Stafford’s remaining window is down to Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell, and Jordan Whittington at receiver. That trio has combined for just 20 receptions, 273 yards, and one receiving touchdown this year. During an interview Monday, Sean McVay admitted that a trade might happen by the deadline. 

“You look at all avenues to solve the situations that come up. I would never rule it out,” McVay said. 

If we know one thing about Rams general manager Les Snead, it’s that he loves to wheel and deal. He’s proven throughout his career that he’s not shy when it comes to pulling the trigger on a big trade, so it’s very possible we’ll see the Rams make some sort of deal by 4 p.m. ET.  

The options for those deals are narrowing quickly, though. According to ESPN, the Jacksonville Jaguars are planning to keep wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. on their roster despite him having just one reception for 12 yards in their last four games. 

With that in mind, let’s check out five possible trade options for the Rams at receiver. 

Cowboys WR George Pickens

There is no team that loves to make a big trade more than the Rams, and this would be huge. Going after Pickens would make sense, and that’s because the Cowboys actually might be willing to deal him. Pickens is playing on the franchise tag this year, and there’s a good chance that he ends up leaving Dallas after the season. If that happens, the Cowboys would get nothing, but if they traded him now, they’d at least get something in return.  

The only problem with this option is that the Cowboys play in a bad division, so it might not make any sense for them to start trading away their best players. The Cowboys are currently 4-5 and sitting just 1.5 games out of first place. Dallas may still think the NFC East is up for grabs and worth trying to win, especially as the Philadelphia Eagles begin to sell pieces and load up for the future. 

On top of that, the Cowboys just might not be active at all this deadline, especially after already making a midseason deal for Joey Porter Jr. . Despite Dallas not playing Pickens in their Sunday win over the Colts, team owner and de facto general manager Jerry Jones said on his weekly 105.3 The Fan radio spot that the decision was “100 percent injury related” and not tied to any pending trades. 

Although the Cowboys are very much still in the division race, our reporter in Dallas, Garrett Podell, still thinks it makes sense for them to trade Pickens, and it’s certainly possible that the Cowboys will at least be open to listening to offers at the minimum. 

Pickens’ production in Dallas has been underwhelming this year. He’s caught just 39 passes for 533 yards for the Cowboys, but he might be able to put up bigger numbers if he became the top weapon in a Rams’ offense that ranks seventh in the NFL in passing yards per game. A move to Los Angeles would also give Pickens a chance to play with the reigning NFL MVP.  

Although adding Pickens would make some sense, it wouldn’t be easy. The Rams don’t have a lot of draft capital to send to Dallas, so they’d have to get that figured out. The Rams also don’t have very much salary cap space, so they’d have to figure out a way to fit the rest of Pickens’ fully guaranteed franchise tag salary under their cap. Pickens’ deal is worth $27.3 million, and the Rams would owe him the pro-rated amount of that, which would be about $13.65 million. 

Vikings WR Jauan Jennings

When Jennings signed with the Vikings back in May, he probably figured he was going to have a big year. With opposing defenses worried about Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, that should have opened things up for Jennings, but that hasn’t happened.  

Through eight games, Jennings has caught just six passes for n54 yards, which is an extremely low total even when you take into account the Vikings’ offense has been historically bad this year. Jennings has understandably been frustrated, and those frustrations are starting to show on the field. 

Due to the Vikings QB situation, things likely won’t be getting better any time soon. Jennings is a the third option in a loaded offense and even if the Vikings add a QB, that’s going ot benefit Jefferson and Addison more than it will benefit Jennings. 

One interesting to thing to keep in mind with Jennings is that he had a chance to return to San Francisco: The 49ers had a deal in place to acquire him from Minnesota, but he basically killed the trade. There appears to be some bad blood there and going to the Rams would be a way for him to get revenge on the 49ers. 

The veteran receiver caught 55 passes for 643 yards and nine touchdowns while playing for the 49ers last season, and he would probably enjoy a return to the NFC West. 

Titans WR Calvin Ridley

This move feels like it would make a lot of sense for both sides. On the Titans’ end, they have several solid receivers, but everyone is essentially going to waste while playing in a Tennessee offense that ranks in the bottom five in the NFL in passing yards per game. Rookie Carnell Tate leads the team in receiving yards (413) while free agent addition Wan’Dale Robinson is leads the team in receptions (35).  

Ridley has basically been the odd man out this year: He’s caught just six passes for 91 yards through eight games. If the 1-7 Titans decide to hold a fire sale, then it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see them dump Ridley.  

The 31-year-old actually took a pay cut this year to stay with the Titans. The upside for the Rams is that Ridley doesn’t have any guaranteed money left on his contract after this season, so they wouldn’t be on the hook for anything in 2027. 

Ridley was recently involved in an incident at the Nashville airport and that could make the Titans more likely unload at him at an even lower price than they might have originally been hoping to get.  

One thing that could scare the Rams away is that Ridley (Hip) was on the injury report for Tennessee’s most recent game back in Week 8. He also missed a total of 10 games last season due to injury. Considering the Rams’ luck with injuries right now, those two things might be enough of a red flag to keep them away, but the 2018 first-round pick would certainly be an intriguing option. 

Colts WR Josh Downs or Keenan Allen

With Alec Pierce still out, the Colts might not be interested in trading one of these two receiver, but with the way their season is going, the Colts should really be open to trading anyone and everyone. At 2-7, the Colts aren’t going anywhere this season, so there goal should be to stockpile as many draft picks for the future by trading players away.  

On Downs’ end, he’s in the final year of his rookie deal, which is one reason why a trade could be win-win for both sides. The Colts would get something in return for a player they’re possibly going to lose anyway, while the cash-strapped Rams would only have to worry about Downs’ $3.9 million base salary. Since he’s already played nine games, the Rams would only owe him about $1.95 million.  

As for Allen, he’s a savvy veteran, who would probably love to close out his career with a playoff contender. The 34-year-old is in his 14th NFL season and he’s never made it past the divisional round. Allen just signed with the Colts this year and in his first season with the team, he’s been effective, catching 40 passes for 351 yards, which is similar to what Downs has done this season (He has 33 catches for 354 yards)

Between Thomas, Downs and Ridley, it seems that Snead just needs to make a call to every team in the AFC South and hope that someone answers.