{"id":284360,"date":"2026-05-21T11:46:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=284360"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:46:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:46:46","slug":"nfl-trade-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/05\/21\/nfl-trade-rumors\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Trade Rumors Heating Up as OTA’s Begin"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFL trade rumors<\/a> are beginning to heat up across the league as teams evaluate potential roster upgrades before training camp arrives. While some organizations are searching for one final piece to push toward contention, others may already be preparing for difficult financial decisions involving star players. From wide receivers drawing growing attention around the league to veteran quarterbacks facing uncertain futures, several situations are starting to generate serious buzz as the 2026 season approaches.<\/p>\n

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NFL Trade Rumors: Future Hall of Fame Linebacker to Chicago or San Francisco?<\/h2>\n

Some of the most recent NFL trade rumors involve veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner<\/a>, whose name has been brought up as a potential destination with both the San Francisco 49ers<\/a> and the Chicago Bears<\/a>. The 49ers could look at Wagner as a veteran stopgap after a flurry of changes to their defense this offseason, while the Bears may have the future Pro Bowler lead a young defense to try and speed up their progression. At 35-years old, Wagner is still effective enough both statistically and as a leader to be a sought-after option for contending teams looking for linebacker help before the 2026 season kicks off.<\/p>\n

Rashee Rice’s Availability Is Concerning<\/h3>\n

With the NFL trade rumors already swirling around Kansas City<\/a>, the A.J. Brown and Rashee Rice news<\/a> only provided more fuel as OTAs draw near. NFL Network insider Albert Breer recently implied that KC could eventually pursue Brown again if Rice continues to be an issue long-term for the receiver room. Though the NFL trade rumors seem to be based on nothing more than speculation, right now, the thought of Patrick Mahomes having another top target<\/a> to throw to alongside Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce has enough sizzle to keep these whispers around the NFL. There would certainly be money issues, but when the NFL trade rumors pick up steam, they can do it incredibly quickly once offseason activities begin.<\/p>\n

Saints\u2019 Handling of Spencer Rattler Continues to Fuel NFL Trade Rumors<\/h3>\n

NFL trade rumors regarding Spencer Rattler are building as sources reported the Saints are at least open to talking about a potential deal<\/a> involving the younger passer. There is nothing to suggest New Orleans is completely abandoning Rattler’s long-term development, but after acquiring Zach Wilson with Tyler Shough as the expected starter in 2026, his spot in the team’s quarterback room looks more and more questionable as we head into the summer.<\/p>\n

While Rattler possesses exciting upside and arm talent, the landscape of New Orleans’ QB room is now starting to raise the usual NFL trade rumors as OTAs start throughout the league. For any teams who may be looking for a quarterback with developmental upside, Rattler is certainly going to be a player to keep an eye on in the coming months.<\/p>\n

Falcons Tight End Continues Drawing NFL Trade Rumors<\/h3>\n

The talk of Kyle Pitts being traded picked up steam after the information was put out there by ESPN’s Adam Schefter<\/a>. He noted that Pitts was one of a handful of prominent players throughout the league who may garner trade attention, and even Atlanta has noted they are willing to at least hear offers<\/a> for him. That information was more than enough for speculation to run rampant in NFL circles as Pitts is currently playing on the franchise tag while playing for a new front office and head coaching tandem of Ian Cunningham and Kevin Stefanski.<\/p>\n

It still doesn’t appear that anything concrete will materialize about a trade; however, that Adam Schefter directly name-dropped Pitts as someone to keep tabs on as a potential trade candidate indicates these rumors are not coming out of thin air.<\/p>\n

NFL Trade Rumors Always Heat Up This Time of Year<\/h3>\n

With A.J. Brown on the block, Kyle Pitts in question, or uncertainty surrounding up-and-coming quarterbacks such as Spencer Rattler, it always seems to be a flurry of NFL trade buzz once voluntary minicamps and OTAs kick off around the league. Ownership is beginning to see holes in rosters, veterans start contemplating their next step, and competitive franchises are convincing themselves that one additional playmaker could be the difference heading into Week 1.<\/p>\n

Even if none of the buzz around trades ever comes to fruition, with well-respected names such as Adam Schefter and Albert Breer offering insights, there is at least some actual dialogue happening behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: [Matthew Hinton] – Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NFL trade rumors have been heating up around the start tie of OTA’s. Which players are in position to be traded prior to the start of the NFL season?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5774,"featured_media":284414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1051,7312,34873,9716],"class_list":["post-284360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","tag-bobby-wagner","tag-kyle-pitts","tag-nfl-trade-rumors","tag-rashee-rice"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284360"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284413,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284360\/revisions\/284413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}