The Los Angeles Rams signed cornerback TreDavious White to bolster a championship-caliber roster, but a string of injuries could make the team trade him in the coming weeks. A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, White used to be among the league’s top defensive backs. The LSU product hit the ground running, finishing second in the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year voting before earning Pro Bowl selections in 2019 and 2020 along with First-Team All-Pro honors.
Unfortunately, the good times couldn’t last. Injuries limited White to just 10 games from 2022 to 2023, and the financially strained Bills had no choice but to release him in the offseason. While he’s stayed healthy with the Los Angeles Rams, he’s struggled to recapture his past performance. Through four games, the cornerback’s 50.2 PFF grade ranks 90th out of 97 eligible players. Maybe he doesn’t have anything left in his tank, or perhaps a trade could allow TreDavious White to knock off some rust and recapture his old form.
Rams Could Trade TreDavious White to Ravens, Chiefs
The Baltimore Ravens have three reliable cornerbacks in Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, and first-round pick Nate Wiggins, but you can never have too many reliable defensive backs when you share a division with the Cincinnati Bengals and a conference with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. The Ravens have always believed in strength in numbers in the secondary, and a TreDavious White trade could be a fantastic low-risk, high-reward move that finally gets this team over the hump.
Lamar Jackson has played at an MVP level since 2019, but the team has yet to reach a Super Bowl with him under center. While Jackson’s own postseason shortcomings play a strong role in this unfortunate truth, Baltimore needs the defensive pieces to slow down the elite passing attacks of the AFC. TreDavious White signed a cheap one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason, which means a trade shouldn’t cost more than a late-round pick and should have no real impact on the salary cap. Baltimore could pay pennies on the dollar for a player with elite potential, and there will be no long-term consequences if he doesn’t work out.
Defense Wins Championships?
The Kansas City Chiefs are 4-0, but they’re not nearly as good as their record suggests. Patrick Mahomes and company have struggled to move the ball consistently, and those problems should only compound with Rashee Rice on the injured reserve. The defense, meanwhile, hasn’t recaptured their 2023 magic, as the unit ranks 14th in the NFL with -0.044 EPA/play allowed. Nobody should doubt Kansas City’s track record and their ability to turn it around in January, but they could use some outside reinforcements to win their third Super Bowl in as many seasons. If they don’t have the resources to go after a safer name, they could take a low-risk flier on a TreDavious White trade.
Trent McDuffie remains one of the game’s elite cornerbacks, but this team misses L’Jarius Sneed. Jaylen Watson has done well in the CB2 role, but Joshua Williams has not played up to his potential. If the former fourth-round pick continues to struggle, the Chiefs might need to trade for someone like TreDavious White. They were lucky to beat the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in Weeks 1 and 2, and they’ll need more talent to stop the high-flying Buffalo Bills passing attack when they inevitably meet up in the playoffs.
Main Photo: Gary A. Vasquez – USA Today Sports
